Nowadays, when almost all business activities have been transferred to the online environment, the latest knowledge in marketing and advertising technology can determine the proverbial "to be or not to be" for many companies.
The latest marketing platforms, the most interesting promotional tools and, last but not least, clever sales tools – all this will help you to establish yourself online and win the hearts of loyal customers. Therefore, no entrepreneur can do without this knowledge, even though the market is changing at an alarming pace and it is becoming more and more difficult to keep up with new trends.
However, we are here to help, because today we are going to answer some key questions in this domain. What are sales tools? What are their characteristics and what are they used for? And what are the most interesting sales tools according to our experts? We are going to cover all of this today. So let's get started!
What are sales tools?
Sales tools are specific digital instruments used by sales professionals to accelerate sales processes and streamline their performance. The term sales tools is a collective concept that encompasses a range of different technologies, including those for customer relationship management, sales analytics and prospecting tools, sales acceleration, and data connectivity and integrity. E-commerce tools are usually either SaaS or OpenSource engine based solutions that incorporate a range of functionalities.
The three main benefits they provide are assistance in automating certain organisational processes, more efficient time management, along with improved customer service. Furthermore, they also have a great potential for marketing, communication, sales management and, in doing so, influence the increase in the number of regular customers and overall improvement of business efficiency.
Sales tools in business – are they worth using?
According to LinkedIn's 2021 State of Sales survey, as many as 94 percent of sales professionals say that sales tools help them close more deals and make their jobs easier, highlighting the importance of sales tools among industry practitioners. Sales tools help salespeople understand which prospects are most likely to buy and which companies will succeed with their products or services, when to reach them and what to talk to them about, and how to serve them information to maximise the likelihood of a sale.
Sales tools also allow them to save time on tedious and time-consuming administrative tasks
and they can focus on what matters most, which is providing value to people and businesses. Yet one
more rationale for investing in sales enablement technology is that employees have begun to request
access to more state-of-the-art tools as a way to make professional tasks easier and more efficient. It means that firms using old-fashioned or no sales technology not only take the risk of missing out on sales, but even departing their top talent to destinations where employers are more respectful of their time.
Six essential types of sales tools that every company should incorporate into their business
The most popular sales tools are either those based on Customer Relationship Management or those
that help create practical sales strategies and forecasts. What is also becoming increasingly popular are special CRM enhancers, which are nothing more than add-ons to existing sales systems.
Such elements add specialised functionality to an established CRM or incorporate customer, product or sales data into it. Furthermore, the basic types of sales tools that every company should include in its operations include sales and market intelligence tools, which are particularly useful for businesses that deal with new products and services, technology for handling leads and prospecting future plans and strategies, and tools for process automation and integration.
The last two types, though no less important, will prove best when our company already has the aforementioned sales tools in place. What are they?
Obviously, the most important from the point of view of creating corporate strategy
and verification of all internal processes, i.e. tools for analytics and reporting, as well as processes and training, i.e. something that helps to train new employees quickly and efficiently.
Our 5 favourite tools to use in 2023
Below is a ranking of the best sales tools, in our subjective opinion, that we currently have on the market. In the list you will find only the most effective tools which may be useful in your business and that have the best value for money factor.
1. Crescendo – the best sales enablement tool
Clearly, first place in our ranking goes to our own CrescendoApp sales tool, which can shorten your sales cycle by up to 61%. A sales enablement tool is a platform or system that provides you with end-to-end exposure across the entire sales content lifecycle.
With efficient prospecting, lead scoring and timing features, a sales enablement tool completes the cycle loop between marketing, sales and customers and assists teams in tracking content performance from the point of release to the commencement of sales.
Crescendo provides a gorgeous, custom, branded presentation of your content. It keeps your uploads up to date in real-time as you modify assets in your company's cloud based storage. Whether working online or offline, and with additional features, Crescendo turns into a mobile sales tool to help you plan, present and organise in unprecedented ways. A definite must-have among both sales enablement and sales tools! Highly recommended!
2. Salesforce CRM, SAP CRMAs or Microsoft Dynamics CRM – CRM of your choice
At its core, customer relationship management (CRM) software helps you manage your company's relationships with its existing and new customers. It allows you to monitor existing activities and customer feedback, reinforce customer relationships, improve customer retention, remain on top of sales and marketing activities, and automate communication and overall professional image quality that affects the level of customer relationships.
Among other benefits, it also supports the improvement of cross-functionality, thus increasing team collaboration, improves their efficiency and thus reduces the company's costs and makes its employees have more time for other tasks. We have not chosen one, as all of the above have their pros and cons, and the choice should be based on the individual characteristics of your organisation.
3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator or HubSpot Sales Hub – interesting tools for sales analysis and sales prospecting
Third place in our list is also a draw, and is occupied by interesting tools for sales analytics
and sales prospecting. The phrase 'sales intelligence' describes a comprehensive array of software
technologies and tools that aid salespeople in locating, tracking and comprehending information about the day-to-day activities of potential prospects and existing leads.
Sales Intelligence assists marketers in determining exactly who they should be communicating with, discussing what and when, and making all relevant information accessible during these communications.
Sales Intelligence tools provide contextual insights associated with these contacts, such as purchasing history, ongoing contracts, business goals and many more. Definitely worth having such tools in your repertoire!
4. Lead Connect – a good tool to accelerate sales
Lead Connect is useful software when it comes to sales acceleration tools. Lead Connect is a tool that unifies your workflow on LinkedIn and allows you to generate leads by automatically searching a directory of prospect profiles and accelerate sales by automating administrative tasks and streamlining sales processes.
This in turn increases the productivity of your sales team, which of course translates into increased revenue for your business. Sales acceleration is a strategic initiative to make more sales calls, shorten the sales cycle or close more deals. It's definitely worth thinking about incorporating sales tools into your mix.
5. GoodData – a tool for data analysis
GoodData is an analytics platform designed for professionals that brings together marketing analytics, social analytics and predictive analytics in one system. Sales analytics software is the umbrella term used to describe tools and software systems that enable sales professionals and managers to effectively monitor, evaluate and improve the performance of sales efforts, while predicting future trends. It enables sales managers to get a detailed picture of the situation so they can review their actions and make changes to avoid losses.
Sales tools – summary
Sales tools are definitely tools that every company should incorporate into its activities because, apart from the direct impact on the company's sales increase, they allow the improvement of almost all internal processes. They help create new strategies and improve the effectiveness of existing ones.
In addition, tools such as CrescendoApp allow you to shorten the sales cycle and the clever data analysis tools enable you to avoid mistakes and take the right steps in time. In short, a modern company cannot do without them!
