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Don’t assume cloud technology for small businesses is only for accounting and file sharing. Use it well - the same way a multinational would - and your sales team could discover an entirely new level of performance.
The benefits that cloud technology can bring a small business are well documented. They range from lower running costs to increased cyber security. Yet all too often, people disregard the considerable difference technology can make to a company’s sales team. It comes down to the old adage ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’. But, what if it is broken? Like a leaky bucket, your outdated processes could be slowly spilling leads and taking you closer to emptiness, while your competitors’ buckets are brimming.
You owe it to your stakeholders to keep your skin in the game, and that means staying current when it comes to technology. We’ve outlined five ways in which adopting cloud technology can lead to sales success in your business.
Better customer relationships come from knowing your customers like the back of your hand. And, customers that are in a relationship with us do more business with us – it’s that simple! So, having an effective customer relationship management (CRM) platform in place is essential for your sales team to access reliable, relevant and up-to-date customer data in an instant. A cloud CRM platform empowers employees to see and share real-time information about prospective, current and past customers – irrespective of where they are or what device they are using.
When you give your sales team access to the information they need to do their job in the cloud, you should expect to see big increases in efficiency. Cloud sales platforms especially bring about large improvements in functionality, thanks to features that make arduous tasks automatic, such as:
Click-to-dial
Automatic dialling
Screen-pop (customer’s essential details showing on screen at time of call)
Automatic call logging
Centralised call reporting
These little features simply make your sales staff more productive. Giving them to your sales team on a mobile device dials up productivity another notch, letting them work from anywhere or from home.
The transparent nature of cloud task management platforms means employees can easily track their own performance and compare it with their colleagues.
The result? Employees who are motivated to do their very best are more aware of the areas in which they could improve and the results they could achieve by improvement.
Ever wanted to be recognised as a great manager with your finger on the pulse of the business? Give yourself the gift of real-time data.
Cloud platforms give sales managers the information and tools they need to manage their teams effectively. They let managers view their entire teams’ workloads at a glance and help them make informed decisions when it comes to allocating new tasks or projects.
Cloud systems also let sales managers monitor their teams’ performance metrics in real-time. This means they can identify individuals’ strengths and weaknesses, and make management, reward and training decisions based on those real-time insights.
You can’t kick a goal if you can’t see the posts. If you want to drive more sales, good reporting is essential. That’s why cloud sales platforms are not just for multinational corporations. They are also a powerful tool for SMBs, delivering smarter, real-time reporting. Rather than relying on monthly sales reports that are painstakingly compiled by staff and are out of date before you get a chance to react, cloud-based reporting ensures that a steady stream of sales data is constantly available in real time, to all relevant parties.
These are just five of the ways small businesses can use technology to get proactive and productive when it comes to sales.
To learn more about what the right CRM can do for you, download our free ‘How a CRM helps your business grow’ eBook today.
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