What other tools can help SMB sales teams be more successful?
Customer Relationship Management systems have been recognized as the top tool for sales teams for the past twenty years. It’s undisputed, and likely not a title CRM’s will lose in the next twenty years. This begs the question, once you’ve equipped company with a CRM, what’s the next best tool to evaluate for the sales team?
Let’s take that one step further and introduce a few natural constraints such as a skinny budget and limited technical resources. What tools are highly adoptable, nearly implementation free, and provide great value for your dollar?
1. Zapier for integrating the CRM with other business systems
Zapier is an integration tool that can be used by individuals or companies. In short summation Zapier is an If This Then That platform whereby users connect the business systems in their tech stack. Zapier has more than 1,500 applications on its platform ready to be connected to each other. All a user needs to do is translate the desired data flow and timing into Zapier’s array of application “triggers” and “actions”. These processes of triggers and actions are called zaps.
No technical experience is required, and Zapier has user-friendly pricing.
Example 1: A zap triggers when a website contact form is submitted, sending the information to the CRM.
Example 2: A zap triggers whenever a salesperson wins a deal in the CRM, and sends an email notification to the Sales Director.
2. Slack for chat and virtual meetings
Slack is the premier workplace chat app. Slack is a key tool in the increasingly decentralized and remote-friendly corporate environment. Slack’s ability to dramatically increase collaboration and centralize project communication between distant colleagues is crucial for sales teams with reps in the field.
Slack simplifies the user’s inbox. A primary benefit of sales teams communicating on Slack is the reduction of internal emails in users inboxes. Instead of long and unwieldy internal email chains creating clutter Slack orchestrates workplace communication into topic focused “Channels” as well as direct chat communication between individual users.
Slack meets our criteria with its free and paid options, as well as its natural ease of adoption.
3. SmallChat for Website Chat
SmallChat is a chat application which embeds on your website and uses Slack as the portal for conversations. Website chat functionality has been skyrocketing in acceptance by users. Any sales team that relies on web leads should be equipped with chat functionality on their website.
The smallchat interface is easily used and highly adoptable. This is perfect for small businesses where chat responsibilities will be split between two or three people with other job functions.
4. WordPress for Website
Firms who rely on website leads for business must have a modern, clean web presence. It’s hard to overstate the impact a website can have on your brand’s perception. The impact of an unkempt web presence will only continue to grow.
Thankfully a modern website is achievable and economically viable with WordPress and a few Youtube tutorials. The wealth of free tutorials and resource material makes a new website possible for teams with varying (to zero!) technical ability.
We enjoyed this read by Jeff Bullas listing your digital marketing assets.