Promoting throughout a pandemic is extraordinarily tough. Clearly, there are extra necessary issues occurring, nonetheless, small companies nonetheless have targets to fulfill, and creating income is a necessity in the event that they wish to survive as soon as the fog has cleared.

When March hit, firms needed to throw their authentic gross sales plans out the window and shortly determine a option to adapt to the surprising disruption COVID-19 offered. Many months later, manufacturers nonetheless haven’t completely figured all of it out.

In case you’re nonetheless struggling to seek out your gross sales footing, know that you simply aren’t alone. To proceed to thrive, although, perhaps it’s time to check out adjusting not solely your gross sales course of, but additionally your gross sales pipeline. And whereas we all know there aren’t any guidebooks to comply with for easy methods to promote successfully throughout a worldwide pandemic, we do have some concepts so that you can attempt which are positive to get you transferring in the best path.

Put Gross sales and Advertising and marketing Automation to Work

First up in your new pipeline: a plan for incorporating gross sales and advertising and marketing automation, should you haven’t already.

There are loads of advantages to automating these core processes, however proper now, it actually comes right down to their utility in serving to you have interaction with folks on-line, in addition to their skill that can assist you shortly adapt when the time requires it.

Listed here are some particular capabilities an automation software program (like BenchmarkONE) helps you obtain:

• Simply create and ship emails
• Handle your gross sales follow-up by duties and reminders
• Set up your contacts, monitor exercise and website interplay with a CRM
• Tag your contacts primarily based on varied traits so you possibly can section them and ship personalised emails
• Create touchdown pages and popups to transform on-site guests into leads you possibly can nurture
• Improve your e mail subscribers so your model can keep high of thoughts

And that’s not even the exhaustive checklist. However, have a look at what having a advertising and marketing and gross sales automation resolution can do for you. As an alternative of needing to carry out these duties individually or by-hand, you possibly can deal with different necessary duties and depart the remaining as much as your software.

It’s greatest to seek out an all-in-one resolution. Whereas most platforms have varied integrations, permitting you to make use of your CRM, advertising and marketing, and gross sales automation collectively, nothing tops having one resolution that caters to all of it. The extra you possibly can centralize your gross sales and advertising and marketing efforts in a single place, the higher basis you’ll have for weathering the storm of what is perhaps (and what’s already right here).

Ramp Up Your Prospecting

Typical knowledge could say that it pays extra to deal with retaining present prospects than gaining new ones, however typical knowledge isn’t all the time sufficient within the face of a pandemic. Whereas usually buyer acquisition and retention are equally necessary, for varied causes, we suggest stepping up your prospecting sport proper now. Put just a little extra power in the direction of discovering — and interesting with — potential prospects, even when it’s not one thing you’re completely snug with.

We all know reaching out to potential new prospects appears awkward proper now. However so long as your outreach doesn’t deal with promoting and conveys how a lot you wish to be of help, you’ll present your prospects that you simply worth their time and constructing a relationship with them. By fostering this type of belief, you’re setting your self and your model up for fulfillment later down the road. They will not be in the best place to companion instantly, however they’ll keep in mind how useful you had been and genuinely considering their enterprise’s well-being that you simply’ll be the primary they consider when they’re prepared.

Align along with your advertising and marketing group to seek out out what methods they’re discovering most profitable. Then use them by yourself finish to achieve out to leads instantly, even ones that haven’t been certified but. This isn’t the time to let alternative slip by your fingers, nor do you may have a lot to lose by deepening your gross sales pool.

Look by your organization’s weblog content material and your data base to tug items that may assist your prospects. And should you aren’t discovering that content material, have your advertising and marketing group create it so you possibly can present your prospects that you simply’re listening and could be that dependable useful resource of their time of want.

Look Into Re-Engagement Methods

Talking of not letting alternatives slip by your fingers, now is a good time to re-engage previous leads that had been as soon as sizzling however have since cooled off. Think about using drip campaigns to steadily deliver them again into the fold or providing some incentives that would encourage them to lastly take the leap. You’ve received a bonus since these leads have already expressed heightened curiosity sooner or later, so you might as nicely use it.

Use your advertising and marketing automation software program to run a report on leads with low engagement. In BenchmarkONE, you possibly can assign a quantity system to sure actions, so each time a lead opens an e mail or downloads a chunk of content material, they accumulate factors. The leads with the bottom factors symbolize the least engaged. Our customers can leverage that system to find out which leads may wish some TLC from a devoted nurture marketing campaign.

Concentrate on Upselling

Upselling doesn’t must be a grimy phrase. As an alternative of approaching an upsell such as you’re simply attempting to tack on extra greenback indicators, think about it as a option to profit the shopper as a lot as your self. Your job is to indicate how your services or products might help them meet their targets, and you realize higher than anybody else precisely what is going to get them the place they wish to go.

Don’t be afraid to counsel larger offers. As talked about earlier, be sure you convey that you’re extra considering serving to Them. Whereas it could sound contradictory, you’re actually simply recognizing a means on your buyer to get extra worth out of what you’re providing them. In case you nonetheless really feel shady about it, you then’re in all probability considerably conscious that it gained’t really assist your buyer. If that’s the case, then don’t push it.

Discover Alternatives Elsewhere

There could also be some gross sales methods that you simply postpone prior to now as a result of they weren’t aligned along with your targets or the truth of the scenario. Nicely, instances have modified, and maybe it is best to brush the mud off of these concepts and put them to make use of. It doesn’t damage to conjure up some new ones, too.

Have you ever tried out an associates program? What a couple of referral program to incentivize current purchasers to ship extra leads your means? Have you ever tried swapping companies with different manufacturers? Assume outdoors of the field, and also you may find yourself discovering a brand new go-to that actually works.

Promote Longer Contracts

Your prospects are additionally more likely to be going through some instability in the mean time. Longer contracts imply they don’t have to fret about altering issues up once more anytime quickly, and neither do you.

If it’s in your funds, think about providing a particular deal in return for an prolonged contract. There’s a ton of worth in doing so, particularly in the case of making certain a gradual base of consumers. And most often, your purchasers will recognize the choice.

This technique can apply to your current prospects, too. If you realize any are being hit further exhausting, supply to increase their contract for a reduced price or to supply a month at no cost. This straightforward favor might unfold sufficient goodwill that they’d be open to partnering for years and years to come back.

Occasions are powerful, however promoting doesn’t must be. Modify your pipeline to adapt to the second, and also you may simply discover that you simply’re in a greater place than ever when issues begin to even out once more.