The Inbound Sales Methodology attracts the prospects to you who fit the profiles of the customers you can serve best. The primary goal is to create a selling experience that helps prospects choose your products and services. The ultimate goal is to delight these buyers so that they become your promoters.
The initiative in sales has shifted to reflect the power of buyers in the digital age. Marketers and sales teams can respond and thrive in the new order by embracing the framework of the Inbound Methodology, in which (for marketing) you attract, convert, close and delight buyers and transform them into promoters for your brand. The Inbound Sales methodology borrows from Inbound Marketing but lays out its sales outreach method to engage the modern buyer with the identify, connect, explore and advise stages of engagement.
Bonus Sharable Infographic: How To Find Customers, Generate Leads, And Close Sales
Cold calling and direct mail shots were effective when mass-market selling was the only option. This traditional approach to selling no longer impresses buyers, and they have the power now to dictate how the process proceeds.
The buyer-centric philosophy of the inbound sales methodology means that customers will have done the majority of the work to understand the suitability before they reach out to you. Buyers now come to the table armed with information.
Old style outbound selling is perceived as a pushy, expensive and ineffective process. Inbound selling is a much more efficient allocation of your most precious resource, your people, because it engages prospects on their terms.
Whereas the traditional sales process was transactional and driven by the priorities of the seller, inbound selling creates the experiences that solve for the customer. As the seller, you work to educate and support your buyers as part of the experience while leveraging digital assets that address the buyer's needs.
Bonus offer: Download the Guide to Inbound Sales: Transforming the Way You Sell to the Modern Buyer
As the balance of power favors buyers now, it is vital to understand the experience from their perspectives. The customer experiences the stages of awareness, consideration, and decision, i.e., the inbound marketing Buyer’s Journey.
In the simplest terms, inbound as a concept means focusing on solving the pains, frustrations, and goals of individual buyers. The inbound sales strategy transforms your relationship with buyers in light of the greater confidence that they bring to it.
The inbound sales methodology employs personas as part of the framework to focus and direct your content assets to match the buyer’s journey. A persona is a profile that captures the essence of the most likely candidate to purchase your products and services.
With well-defined personas to guide your marketing and sales process, your prospects will find you by searching the web and social media. Your carefully crafted personas will enable you to deliver valuable information so the right prospects to find you.
Your buyers have more information than ever before; they can research your company online as quickly as you can for them. Your contact can also investigate you personally, and since trust is essential to successful inbound selling, it means that your online reputation is precious.
The inbound selling best practices are designed to work congruently toward providing a positive sales experience for the buyer; it means selling in the way that reflects the customer’s buying process while delivering value with each and every touch.
While inbound marketing and sales work together to enable prospects to find you, it is still the job of your sales team to help the buyers through the decision stage of their journey and the closing and delight stages of the inbound process. Adopting the inbound sales methodology means transforming the way you target accounts. Sell to the leads that fit the personas that need with your offerings.
Salespeople still have an important role in the process. Research by Hubspot.com shows that, while customers are much better informed than they were ten years ago, they often have gaps in their knowledge that only your sales team can fill.
To maximize the value your sales process adds, transform the way you prospect accounts. Research your buyer diligently, so that you know who they are as an organization. Embody this empathetic approach by building rapport with your contact as a person, know who they are and speak their language to build a relationship. At all times be helpful. Businesses are no longer B2b or B2C, they are H2H (Human to Human)! While the buyer goes through the Inbound Marketing stages of Awareness, Consideration and Decision, the Inbound Sales representative should:
This inbound sales approach demonstrates to your prospects that you are different, more than a traditional salesperson. The inbound sales methodology requires that you be a listener and educator as part of your interactions. The trust you create from this type of engagement will earn you the right to ask for the business you earned.
Inbound selling means creating a positive experience for the buyer as a person while you fulfill a need for them as an organization. Bristol Strategy is a comprehensive Inbound Sales Services Agency for all stages of your marketing and sales funnel. Connect with us to find out how inbound sales can positively transform your relationships with buyers.
Not convinced? Check out the research report that shows how buyer's perceive sales in this modern digital world. Download: Buyer's Speak Out: How Sales Must Evolve in the Modern Age.
Bristol Strategy is a full funnel inbound marketing agency and inbound sales agency offering the full complement of Inbound Marketing services that enable our clients to surpass their business objectives by transforming the way they engage with their buyer on-line. Reach out to us to learn more about how our experience and capabilities can help your business grow.
Modern Buyer Image Copyright: 123RF Stock PhotoInbound Sales Image Copyright: Hubspot
