Nobody likes missing their annual sales goals. But just because you came up short for the year doesn't mean you're bad at selling or aren’t using the right tactics for your sales team. The truth is that field sales is becoming more complicated every year, creating new challenges to deal with. Here we will cover five challenges field sales teams will encounter and how they can overcome them.
Ever since the pandemic, the field sales landscape has become increasingly more digital. With far fewer face-to-face interactions with potential buyers and leads. The challenge for many sales teams is how to build trust with a prospect or customer in a world where their only interaction with you is digital.
Building trust in a digital landscape comes down to making the sales team feel genuine. Sales is a people business, after all. Protect your customer's data, and let them know you're doing so. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your company website and social media channels. And finally, prioritize the customer over the sale in all your interactions with them.
This has always been a challenge, but it has become especially unique post-pandemic. In an increasingly digital world, it's harder to get a response from a potential client you don't meet in person. Emails and phone calls are easier to ignore than a person who is standing in front of you. Sales reps can lose motivation when prospects stop responding. This results in leads not getting converted.
Consistent and frequent follow-up can help keep your leads engaged and move them along the sales cycle. With the right sales enablement tools, you can accomplish this through automation. You can also change up the channels you use to connect with prospects. In addition to calls and emails, you can use text messages and social media to nurture leads.
In sales, differentiation is key. Setting your company apart from your competitors is challenging when your industry is packed with competition from a variety of options that may serve the same general purpose. How do you convey your specific value to potential buyers?
The first step in overcoming this challenge is to have a deep understanding of your buyer personas, what their pain points are, and what your product or service does to solve those pain points. Keeping track of all that information is easier to do with the right sales enablement tools. Next, you want to have a thorough pulse on your competitors and what they offer - how you're different, where you're stronger, where you're weaker, etc. Knowing where you stand compared to the competition is half the battle in rising above it.
Sometimes it can seem like the marketing and sales departments are at odds with one another. The two teams have different goals and may not recognize how they help each other out. It can sometimes lead to the marketing team not understanding what the sales team needs to close a deal, and the sales team not understanding the value of the materials the marketing team creates.
Getting the sales and marketing teams to cooperate usually comes down to better cross-communication. An open line of communication between the two teams and having them develop shared objectives and goals can go a long way toward improving collaboration and closing the gap between marketing and sales.
In the days of face-to-face interactions between prospects and field sales reps, you could get away with managing data through spreadsheets, calendars, and email threads. These days, field sales is much more data-driven, and how well you can manage client information can make the difference between successfully closing a deal or watching the deal fall through. Spreadsheets and calendars just aren’t up to the task anymore.
Dedicated sales enablement software is a must for anyone looking to overcome field sales challenges in 2023. The right software helps you manage sales data, tackle mundane administrative tasks, track client data, and capture competitor information. When you empower your sales team with proper management software, they can sell more efficiently and effectively.
2023 is going to present a number of challenges for field sales teams. But as long as you persist, adapt, and equip yourself with the right sales tools, you'll be able to handle any challenges you face in the upcoming year.
See what Perenso's field sales software can do to help you overcome this year's challenges.