Frictionless Sales

“Frictionless selling” is a phrase that has been used to describe a streamlined, seamless sales process. It is based on the idea that customer experience should be as smooth and effortless as possible. 

This means that customers are not required to go through many steps or try to understand complex processes in order to purchase products or services.

What Is Frictionless Sales?

Put simply, frictionless sales refers to a process where customers can purchase products or services quickly and easily. This type of sale eliminates the need for customers to go through multiple steps or fill out complex forms, which simplifies the buying experience. The goal is to make it as efficient and simple as possible for the customer to complete their purchase.

Sales reps say that 20% of their Closed Lost deals were due to customers finding the process too long and complex because of internal procedures and processes. Even more reps have the issue of customers abandoning their carts due to sales cycle length, poor customer service, or complicated payment processes.

Especially for B2B companies that engage in complex sales or have long sales cycles, frictionless selling can be an invaluable tool for making the process quicker and more efficient. And in the end, that leads to more conversions.

Synonyms

• Frictionless Selling – The act of streamlining the sales process to eliminate roadblocks and make it easier and quicker for customers to purchase.
• Frictionless Selling Framework – A set of strategies and tactics that can be used to reduce touchpoints, simplify processes, and make the sales process more efficient.
• Removing Sales Friction – Taking the unnecessary or difficult aspects of the sales process out of the equation.
• One Fluid Sales Motion – A buzzword in the business-to-business (B2B) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) spaces. This phrase refers to the idea of having a unified sales process that guides customers from start to finish without any unnecessary steps.

Boosting Frictionless Sales: The Frictionless Selling Framework

Frictionless sales is a term that has been popularized by HubSpot in their flywheel model. The flywheel model is a business strategy that is based on the idea of creating a virtuous circle of growth. In other words, once you get the flywheel spinning, it will continue to turn on its own.

The flywheel model is built on the following three principles:

1. Create a great product or service
2. Attract more customers with great marketing
3. Keep them happy with great customer service

Each of these three principles feeds into the next one, creating a continuous cycle of growth. And the best part is that once you start, it keeps going on its own.

Frictionless sales is an integral part of the flywheel model, as it helps to ensure that customers have a smooth and effortless experience with your product or service. This means ensuring customers don’t have to jump through hoops to make a purchase, fill out forms, or wait on hold for customer service representatives—all of which can be a huge turn-off.

The way to achieve frictionless sales is to create a unified process that takes customers from start to finish without any unnecessary steps or delays. This can include streamlining payment processes, simplifying customer service inquiries, and reducing the number of touchpoints in the sales cycle.

Let’s take a look at how it’s done.

Enable the Sales Team 

Sales managers need to provide sales reps with the tools they need to be successful, including the people, processes, and technology that enable them to focus on selling more and handling administrative tasks less.

Sales reps should have access to customer data, sales materials (e.g., a sales playbook or videos), and a sales platform that allows them to quickly identify opportunities and move customers through the sales process.

Automating processes like lead routing, scheduling meetings, and logging activities can also save a lot of time for sales reps.

Customer-Focused Selling

By aligning the sales team with the company’s ideal customer profile (ICP) and target buyer, reps can focus on the customers who are most likely to convert.

By giving reps a North Star when prospecting and selling, they can quickly identify opportunities and focus their sales process on the customer’s needs rather than trying to fit them into a pre-defined sales process.

And when more leads are actually Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), sales reps can spend more time working on deals that are further down the funnel and more likely to close.

Transform the Sales Team 

A culture of learning goes a long way with sales teams—especially when they can easily access and analyze their sales data.

Sales teams should be using reports and analytics tools to identify where they are successful (or not) so that they can iterate on what is working. They should also be leveraging sales playbooks, coaching from managers, and sharing insights with each other to get better at selling faster.

Again, the responsibility falls on sales management to provide their teams with the tools and data they need to stay ahead of the competition and excel in their roles.

Technology to Reduce Sales Friction

Using technology to reduce sales friction is actually a lot easier than it seems. A recent article of ours details it with real-world examples.

There are five main technologies that businesses use to create one fluid sales motion.

Sales Engagement

Sales engagement platforms enable sales reps to quickly qualify leads, send personalized emails and follow-ups, schedule meetings, and log activities. It’s the perfect way for sales teams to be proactive rather than reactive regarding customer interactions.

These platforms integrate with CRM systems for a more holistic view of customer data and provide sales reps with the tools they need to be successful.

A few examples of popular sales engagement tools include Outreach, SalesLoft, and LeadIQ.

Analytics

Reporting and analytics are essential for sales teams to identify areas of opportunity, track team performance (e.g., number of calls and emails sent), and generate insights that can be used to optimize their processes.

Most CRM systems offer basic reporting, but there are also more advanced analytics tools that can be used to unlock the power of customer data.

A few examples of popular analytics tools include Domo, Tableau, and Looker.

CRM

CRM software is the ultimate data hub for sales teams. It stores customer data and gives sales reps access to real-time insights about their contacts, conversations, deals, and more.

CRM systems can be customized to fit the company’s specific needs and integrate with other software like marketing automation platforms or analytics tools.

A few examples of popular CRM systems include Salesforce (the holy grail of CRM), Zoho, and HubSpot (a robust free CRM tool).

CPQ

Configure, price, quote (CPQ) software is popular in B2B sales, as it allows companies to quickly generate quotes and proposals for customers.

These tools also enable reps to add custom discounts, define customer-specific pricing, and create bundles with multiple products or services.

Benefits of integrating CPQ into the sales tech stack include:

• Streamlined quoting process through CPQ automation
• Improved sales accuracy with fewer mistakes
• Increased revenue through better pricing control
• Increased customer satisfaction and a faster sales cycle

Automated approval workflows that are part of CPQ solutions can also help companies reduce sales friction.

Digital Sales Room (DealRoom)

DealRoom is the ultimate tool for speeding up B2B sales—it enables sales reps to quickly create custom deals with customers and get them approved fast.

This software centralizes all customer data, documents, and approval workflows, so sales teams don’t have to worry about managing multiple spreadsheets or manually sending out emails.

DealRoom also helps streamline the entire negotiation process by giving sales reps visibility into customer conversations, allowing them to make quick decisions and respond quickly to customer requests.

All of these things result in a better B2B buying experience for the prospect.

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