Inside Sales Best Practices

9 Sales Tools to Increase Productivity

Christopher Tuttle

May 28, 2020

When it comes to increasing sales productivity, the simplest answers are still the best. Productivity tools are a great way to work smarter.

In this article:

Productivity Tools

CRM
Dialer
Template Emails
Screen Sharing
Automated Proposals and E-signatures
Social Media
Lead Generation
Scheduling Meetings
AI-Driven Sales Engagement

There are constantly new innovations to sales tools. Today it’s possible to check your CRM, manage relationships with your clients, and organize trip expenses entirely through mobile apps (to learn more about the latest and greatest, read Kelly Liyakasa’s “5 Emerging Sales Productivity Tools”).

However, despite these innovations, there are several sales tools that are still necessary for any company hoping to increase sales. The following tools are ones we consider the basics:

1. CRM

It may seem obvious, but having a CRM to organize your leads and information is crucial to your company’s success. There are several leading CRM companies out there, including Salesforce, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics. Whomever you choose to work with, finding a CRM that works with your business model is the first step to increasing your productivity and sales. You also can’t use the nifty CRM mobile apps until you have one.

2. Dialer

We don’t mean a phone. We mean a intelligent communication technology, a powerdialer, or click-to-call. XANT, Five9, and Interactive Intelligence all offer dialers for your needs. Depending on your business model, you may choose one over the other, but having a dialer is necessary in order to start calling more of the right people at the right time.

3. Template emails

Another pretty simple one. And not too hard to figure out, especially if you are using a CRM. Template emails make it easier to reach more of your leads, faster. They also make it easy for you to create killer message content, making your emails more consistent and professional. Act-On, Hubspot, Marketo, and Eloqua all offer template emails.

4. Screen Sharing

If you want to sell your product, you’ve got to be able to do remote demos. Being able to offer a demo, instantly, while on the phone with your prospect is a powerful way to get him or her interested in your product. You can’t beat the immediacy of a screen share. GoToMeeting, iMeet, and Glance are all companies that market screen sharing.

5. Automated Proposals and E-signatures:

Automating your proposal process is another simple step you can take to increase sales productivity. Consider hiring someone to create a professional proposal. Doing so will add to your company’s professionalism, as well as make the whole process more efficient. There are many proposal software companies to choose from, among them are TinderBox, Proposal Software, CallidusCloud, and Qvidian.

Another great way to speed up your sales process is through e-signatures, or electronic contracts. Instead of having to send documents to your prospects and wait for them to be returned, you can get instant approval. Docusign, EchoSign, and Sertifi all specialize in e-signatures.

6. Social Media:

This one is less a single tool and more a series of tools. Social Media (including LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook) is one of the best ways to keep up with changes in administration or policy in your client’s company which may affect your relationship.

Social Media is also a great medium for sharing your product. To learn about how to create strong social media content, check out this article featuring 3 social media mistakes to avoid or this article about why to invest in Google+.

7. Lead Generation Productivity Tools:

No sales business would be able to generate sales without leads, and the sales process needs lead generation as a basic step.

It’s a vital aspect that creates more traffic leading to higher conversion rates. Good strategies create target groups, finding the right customer for your business.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sophisticated system amongst many on the market. Using advanced filters, salespeople can reach their preferred leads including B2B sales, offering further information and insights of prospects. Prospective clients can also be approached on LinkedIn without having to connect directly.

8. Scheduling Meetings:

Having a system that negates the need for setting manual reminders, which can be time consuming, means less chance of missing those important meetings.

Schedulers allow for better organization, allow you to plan in advance, and distribute tasks in a smart way. They use real-time data and analytics and allocate resources based on capacity, availability, and project scope.

Tools like Calendly and AcuityScheduling are market leaders who all help to schedule meetings without the ‘back and forth’ emails.

9. AI-Driven Sales Engagement:

Salespeople are notoriously busy, so the main benefit of using an AI-driven sales engagement platform is to minimize the amount of time spent in various applications and manually inputting data in different interfaces.

Although a generic category, and incorporated into many productivity tools mentioned, AI is getting bigger and better at improving sales processes through automation and augmentation.

The XANT Enterprise Sales Engagement Platform is a great productivity tool example that delivers results with productivity, visibility, and prioritization. You can consistently accelerate your sales team’s activities, see who is contributing, and engage with the right customers

Did we get all of them? What other productivity tools do you consider essential to sales productivity? Share your thoughts in the comments below

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