Smart selling is an innovative approach to sales that leverages digital tools to optimize sales processes, improve customer relationships, and personalize offerings based on specific needs.
In the age of coronavirus, even the realm of sales demands a shift. We're compelled to work from home, discovering the pleasure of more personal time and fewer work interruptions. Yet, we face many challenges in not being able to relate to people in the ways we're accustomed to. In the sales domain, there's a sense of being greatly constrained due to the absence of those relationships and encounters that form the basis of any sale.
Thus, we need to find new ways to interact with our clients and prospects. Even though we're unsure of how all this will change, one thing is certain: remote work is our new reality, at least for now.
How can sales teams respond to this era of "mandatory" remote work? How can a salesperson approach their work differently from what they're used to? What are the benefits of tools supporting digital and smart selling?
Digital tools offer unprecedented potential in developing and fostering relationships. They aim to enhance customer interaction, placing the user at the center of their design to make everything simple, fast, useful, and, why not, aesthetically pleasing. In the sales world, this approach has practical implications, exemplified by:
The ability to present and share marketing content and sales material in digital formats: brochures, videos, presentations always up-to-date and in line with the company's brand image.
The ability to configure an offer in real-time, involving the customer in choosing products and services tailored to their needs, modifying requests with a few clicks, thus adapting and speeding up the process, made as standardized as possible.
The ability to easily generate, modify, and send contracts, formalizing them through electronic signatures, even remotely.
The ability to monitor sales activities in real-time.
Digitalizing sales activities does not alter the role of the salesperson; rather, it strengthens their advisory approach. Thanks to digital support, salespeople have more time to dedicate to building relationships with customers, listening to them, and supporting them in configuring offers tailored to their specific needs.
An idea of the impact of sales digitalization is provided by Solarplay, a company specialized in renewable energy, which has initiated the digitalization process to improve sales processes together with Apparound.
Manuele Solazzo, General Manager of Solarplay, explains that both sellers and customers have welcomed the new tools because they facilitate staying in touch with customers.
He adds: "Many offers have already turned into contracts without any difficulty in using remote signatures, which has been welcomed with satisfaction even by older individuals."
Through this new virtual meeting mode with customers, salespeople have become more efficient. By limiting the number of travels, they have freed up time for sales activities and customer contact.
"Our company used to spend tens of thousands of euros a year on paper for advertising materials, offers, and contracts. Thanks to sales digitalization, not only can we save this expense by ensuring constantly updated materials, but we can also add another element to our mission as a green company”.
Thanks to the digitalization process, these objectives have been achieved:
Increased professionalism of the sales network with entirely digital tools;
Reduction in the time required to issue offers;
Growth of the sales network through a tool that allows simple and rapid onboarding;
Ongoing training in a technological market that is constantly evolving;
Collection of authentic and real-time data on sales activities to deepen market analysis.
Managing change within companies is not easy at a time when there are many new things imposing themselves in our lives. However, as Gianluca Cagiano, CEO of Apparound, states, "We are aware that the market is undergoing a profound transformation, but the versatility of Apparound ensures that we can ride the wave of change. For the sales world, the path of digitalization is the right one because it allows business to continue even at a time when interpersonal relationships are very limited, maintaining a customer-centric approach.”.
Therefore, the necessary digital transformation is an excellent growth opportunity to seize, especially now, even in the world of sales.
Smart selling is an innovative approach to sales that leverages digital tools to optimize sales processes, improve customer relationships, and personalize offerings based on specific needs.
The main advantage of smart selling is its ability to enhance effectiveness within company sales teams by enabling digital presentation and sharing of marketing materials, real-time offer configuration, facilitated generation and sending of contracts, and more accurate and timely sales activity monitoring.
Essential tools include content management solutions, CPQ platforms, digital contract generators, electronic signature systems, and reporting solutions.
The impact of smart selling can be measured through KPIs such as the time taken to issue offers, the efficiency of the sales network, increased customer satisfaction, and savings on operational and material costs.
