The process of engaging prospective buyers and taking them through the cycle to close the deal is quite challenging. But with the huge prospect of enterprise, the challenge is even more intense. The cycle of enterprise sales are much longer and the salespeople have to influence the decision makers in order to make it into a sale. Even if the company is large and the decision makers are quite powerful, sales people can overcome the challenges with practice and strategies. Some of the ways to transform a lead into a deal are discussed below. Please read on to find out more or log in to Salesforce.com training for getting a grip on enterprise sales.
- Get thorough data: For closing an enterprise deal, it is vital for the sales team to be fully equipped with the all the information that is related to it. Just an estimate or a calculation would not do. An exact analytics of the situation is necessary for him to make progress. Using the information and data would also help the sales person to understand how to make the deal more personal and what mode of interaction pattern he should adopt. The statistics would also give a clear indication on the participants / influencers involved and also on when to proceed to the next stage in the sales process. Many pioneers in the field suggest that, good and successful salespeople would always be good relationship builders too. So when analytics are added on, they would be able accelerate the performance as well as achieve their numbers. When the sales team has accurate data, they would be able to prioritize all their efforts to converting the projects in the pipeline to successful deals. This would also help them to identify the higher probable deals than the weaker ones, thereby not wasting any time in poor engagement.
- The factor of time: When there is a longer sales cycle, it could either be an opportunity or a challenge. When there is enough time to carry out a proper discovery, it would enable in building a good relationship which would most possibly be converted to a deal.This also gives the salesperson the chance to validate the business deal and make it a personal experience for his client. However when it’s an enterprise deal, it would mean that the sales person would have to do an intense research to completely understand the complex deal as well as its negotiators. So the more research is done, the more chances will he have in converting it to a sale.
- View selling as a team activity: Any successful enterprise deal has different parts and it cannot be closed alone. In enterprise deals, it is mandatory for the team to work together to achieve its goal. A good team work matters a lot here, so when it is approached like a team sport or activity, it has more chances of being successful. They would be able to quickly work through the first few stages of the sales process in order to achieve at the right solutions at a faster pace than its competitors. It may not be an easy task getting all the team members to work in cohesion. But a good team leader could do that through constant motivation and good leadership. It would also be better if members from different teams across the organization (like marketing, administration and finance) could work together in bringing the necessary information for the team’s success. It is seen that, the high performing companies actually see sales as the need of the entire organization and likewise contribute to it effectively.
- Understanding App Creep: For many enterprise companies, App creep is a huge hindrance to their efficiency. It would be quite difficult for the buyers to understand and analyse the perfect solutions for their sales problems. This also gives a lot of problems to the other areas in the company like their budgets, IT teams etc. These organizations mostly depend on sales team to help them learn on using the technology which offers solutions.The buyer’s side of the enterprise companies is entirely different when compared to smaller companies. The enterprise salesperson has the huge responsibility to educate the prospects, come up with suitable options and also to ensure that the best possible service is given to the customers.
