Inbound marketing is a philosophy that encompasses how we market, how we learn, and - most importantly - how we sell.
In a world that is rapidly becoming disillusioned with interruptive, invasive marketing tactics, it’s difficult to imagine these same people responding well to interruptive, intrusive sales tactics.
So what can sales people do? HubSpot put together this great list of the 15 outdated sales techniques you need to stop doing, and we’ve chosen our three favourites and why we think they’ll work.
1. Stop cold-calling
It’s first on their list, and first on ours. As HubSpot sales director Dan Tyre puts it, “Cold calling is hard, wasteful, ugly, and negatively impacts your brand and potential success.”
Instead of cold-calling, try content creation.
I’ve never met a person who told me how much they love getting calls in the middle of a busy day. What I have experienced, however, is my colleagues sharing a great blog post with me, stating “I just loved this - I think you can learn a lot from it.” The difference is night and day.
A sales call lasts a minute. Online content lives forever.
2. Treating marketing like second-class citizens
“2017 is the year you need to realise you are only as good as your marketing department.”
Sales and marketing should never be at cross-purposes. The inbound philosophy embraces smarketing, which means that sales teams and marketing teams work in tandem. Inbound marketing can generate leads and qualify them as being sales-ready.
Try viewing your marketing team as your sales enablement team.
A well functioning relationship between marketers and salespeople is one of constant feedback and communication. If the marketers know what the sales people want in a lead, they can tailor their content accordingly. If the sales people know what the marketers need in order to attract the right people, they can make sure they get it.
3. Thinking you're too good to learn new things
Products change, solutions change, and people change. The way you sell will change. Your customers are doing their research, and you should too.
Always be learning
Talk to your team. Talk to your marketers. Read blogs. Ask your customers. What are the industry trends? Is your product the same as it was a year ago? How are your competitors selling? Keep on top of how your industry is changing. Your customer is also your best teacher - what works for them can work for you.
3 Key Takeaways
- Content creation trumps cold calling (whew, what a mouthful)
- Think of your marketers as sales enablers
- You will never know every new thing, but you can definitely try
If you would like to read Dan Tyre’s full article, click here.
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