Sales Engagement

What is Sales Engagement?

Sales engagement refers to the various touchpoints of contact a salesperson will have with a prospective customer. This engagement can be done in a number of ways and using various tools but traditionally, these connections happen in person or via email. The primary aim of these engagements is to close a deal between the two parties. 

The sales engagement process can vary in length and form from company to company, but each will be measured by different data points that are collected at each stage and at specific times. The beginning of the sales engagement process starts the moment the customer engages with a piece of content shared by the business, for example, a Google banner or a mailer. 

Synonyms

• sales engagement strategy
• customer engagement
• sales engagement platform

How Sales Engagement Solutions Help Sales Teams

Groove has noted that feedback from sales teams across various verticals has shown a need for sales teams and businesses to invest in sales engagement solutions, in order to streamline processes and ensure sales reps are quick off the mark. Due to the buyers of today moving at their own pace and often being approached by more than one service provider at any given time, a multi-touch buying solution is fundamental to stand out from the crowd. 

Sales engagement platforms deliver a single user interface for the full sales team to engage with and access, providing a plethora of information, resources, tactics, and communication touchpoints to make their roles seamless. The automation of this sales engagement software always gives sales teams much-needed time back, which they can use to actively nurture prospective customers. 

Alongside, these solutions ensure the sales rep has everything they need in one place, giving them the unparalleled ability to pull up key contacts, share information, and tailor communication with ease. 

Ways Effective Sales Engagement Benefits Customers

When a customer is on the hunt for a partner to deliver a product or service, they are bombarded with millions of pieces of content and touchpoints telling them why they should choose that option. An effective sales engagement strategy allows sales reps to efficiently tailor and personalize communication with a prospective client, based on information they’ve been given. 

1. Increase Revenue 
   Having a solid engagement strategy in place is incredibly important for your bottom line as it allows you to properly map where each lead is and what communication point you are at with each of them. Smarter, more tactical communication is essential to increase the likelihood of repeat business.  

2. Identify New Opportunity to Up-Sell 
   Managing all communication and engagement you’ve had with a customer is one easy way to ensure you’re always able to identify key upsell opportunities with each of them, which is a huge benefit to these customers, too. If you’re able to pinpoint a solution over and above what they already use, this helps them in the long run. 

3. Streamline Communication 
   Knowing when you contacted a lead and what you shared is crucial in order to avoid over communicating when it’s not needed. Customers are busy and inundating them too soon or when they haven’t read your last communication can impact your relationship negatively. 

4. Feedback Loop 
   While sales engagement is a great way to provide leads with the information they need about your business and its offering, it’s also a fundamental approach to creating a way for the customer to engage with your sales team whenever needed. 

What is a Sales Engagement Platform?

Traditionally, sales reps would need to manually connect with their leads, using various platforms for various objectives. Thanks to the development of sales engagement platforms, salesforces now have everything in one place, streamlining the process and making follow-up easier. 

Sales engagement platforms are an additional engagement layer that can be added to most customer relationship management systems. They allow sales teams access to fully synced data, the ability to automate manual – and time-consuming – tasks, and provide a layer of data for seamless and insightful reporting. 

The overall goal of having a sales engagement platform in place is to enable sales teams to close deals faster and with less effort. Key benefits of this additional layer of efficiency include a single interface for easy task management, automated workflows, live data for optimization on the go, and analytics for easier tracking and management of leads. 

Analyzing and Measuring Sales Engagement

Measuring the return on investment of a sales engagement platform can be tricky due to the fact that there is no direct monetary value attached to the solution. In a recent study, Gartner noted that “90% of sales leaders plan to invest in technologies that boost sales engagement with prospects and customers.” In essence, this shows that sales engagement tech is at the top of sales teams’ minds.  

Prezentor outlines the most universal content metrics a sales team can use to measure the success of a sales engagement solution:

1. Buyer Content 
   Tracking what content a lead engages and interacts with is key to understanding what they’re interested in as well as what they’re not.
   
   For example, if a sales team’s goal is to drive leads to their website to download a whitepaper to introduce them to a product or service, it would be smart to ensure tracking pixels are set up to understand where they engage and where they don’t. 

2. Seller Content 
   If implemented properly, the sales engagement platform can work as a library of key assets and resources that sales teams can lean on to pique customer interest and move them down the sales funnel. Measuring the rate at which your sales team makes use of this content is a good indication of the team’s ability. 

3. Email Open Rate 
   Tools that track emails sent versus emails opened are beneficial in that they give a solid idea of what content attracts attention, and what doesn’t. Understanding what mailers your potential customers are interested in is important so you can focus on communicating more of what they want. 

4. Revenue Driven by Content 
   Sending out content is important for many reasons, but sending out the right content at the right time can impact your bottom line positively.
   
   For example, if a sales team normally sends a certain white paper out at a given point in the sales cycle but engagement with it is low, it should be swapped out for something more likely to drive the prospect to the next stage in the funnel. It might take some time to get it right, but monitoring each piece is key to insight and learning. 

5. Engagement Time 
   Analyzing the time it takes for a prospective customer to engage with a piece of content or document shared with them is a good measure of their interest and likelihood of conversion. For example, a customer who is quick to get back to you or shares documents you’ve requested is showing intention and this should be nurtured. 

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