Want to review your sales techniques? How about strengthening your digital presence? Websites, social networks... digital tools are your best allies. Discover their potential and how to use them, with Françoise Landuré, communications consultant and trainer.
Standardised e-mailings, telephone calls... traditional sales techniques are no longer popular.
With a bit of warning, consumers search on Google, surf on social networks, visit online comparison sites... and often only meet the sales representative when they are ready to make their decision.
That's why digital tools are essential if you want to be known and chosen. By making good use of these tools, you can be present in the minds of your prospects throughout their journey, from consideration to purchase. A good way of convincing them when the time comes!
Where should you start? Let's look at the two essential levers - your website and social networks. Then let's look at how you can put in place a winning sales strategy using the power of digital tools.
Optimise your website and bring your prospects to you
Your website can help you attract new customers and increase your sales, provided that it is well referenced, attractive and offers calls to action.
The aim of a search engine is to offer Internet users quality content that answers their queries. Ask yourself what queries your prospects are likely to write: what questions are they asking? What problems do they need to solve? This will enable you to choose the right keywords and write relevant content.
Best practice in search engine optimisation
It is important to apply good SEO practices:
- use one key expression per page, as well as synonyms ;
- position these expressions strategically (titles, headings) ;
- write rich, informative content ;
- regularly update content;
- write qualitative URLs, complete the tags (TITLE, ALT, description) ;
- usefully insert links to other pages on the site (internal) and to other sites (external);
- obtain links from credible sites.
Other criteria contribute to good referencing, such as the structure of your website and its loading time. Bear in mind that it takes time for a web page to be referenced. Be patient and persistent.
Attract and incite
Attracting large numbers of visitors is all very well. But that's not enough to turn them into customers! Once on your site, visitors need to want to discover what you have to offer. Attractive visuals, a clear presentation of your offer and content organised in an intuitive way all help to attract them. The majority of websites are now consulted from smartphones, so think about optimise yours for mobile.
Make a concrete proposal to your visitor with clear, motivating calls to action. Suggest that they subscribe to the newsletter, fill in a form to request information or a quote, receive a call back, etc.
By applying the right methods, you can turn your website into a real lever for commercial development.
Be visible and attractive on social networks
According to the We Are Social report, in 2023, 80.5 % of French people will be present on social networks. For a quarter of users, the aim is to find inspiration for activities or purchases. These media therefore offer excellent opportunities to raise your profile and generate sales.
To develop an effective strategy, start by asking yourself the right questions: which networks are your prospects using? What are they using them for? What are they looking for? And ask yourself what resources you can mobilise. It's better to maintain an effective, regular presence on one or two platforms than to spread yourself too thin.
Platforms to plan your publications
Do you manage several social network accounts and want to optimise their management? You can centralise them on a single platform. There are many features available:
- Schedule your publications,
- Reply to messages and comments,
- Analyze your performance,
- Keeping an eye on...
Hootsuite, Agorapulse and Swello are some of the most popular platforms.
Good practice on social networks
Sharing your expertise, conversing with your community, advertising... there are many different approaches, but a few good practices are essential:
- publish regularly, based on an editorial schedule;
- distribute informative and useful content for your target audiences;
- diversify content by using videos, images, infographics, carousels, polls, etc. ;
- interact with your subscribers by asking questions and replying to comments;
- use relevant hashtags to ensure that your content is discovered by a wider audience;
- maintain a consistent brand image and communication tone.
Social networks are not just for communicators. Visit social selling (or social selling) is booming. The idea is that salespeople should use social networks to develop business opportunities. Not by multiplying contacts and inundating them with private messages! The right attitude is to converse, answer questions and publish content that demonstrates your expertise. The aim is to establish your credibility and build relationships based on trust, some of which will lead to sales.
Responding to customer reviews
Some platforms also receive customer reviews. It is essential not to remain passive in this area and to use these reviews as opportunities to strengthen your image. First of all, keep an eye on reviews, particularly on your Google business page. Respond systematically and appropriately (courtesy, transparency, constructive response, etc.).
Customers are more likely to leave reviews when they are unhappy. Hence the importance of encouraging satisfied customers to express their opinions. Tools exist to automate the collection and distribution of reviews.
Tools for collecting customer reviews
Customer reviews can be collected automatically, boosting your image, reputation and search engine optimisation.
Generally, a request for a review is sent after a purchase on your e-commerce site or in-store. Depending on the features offered, reviews are published on your website or product sheets, Google, your social networks, the yellow pages or the review platform itself.
Guest Suite, Truspilot, Avis Vérifiés and eKomi are among the market leaders.
Accompany your prospects, from initial contact to the act of buying
By being visible on the Internet and on social networks, you can bring potential customers to you.
This should not be done in an intrusive way, but by offering quality content at each stage of the customer journey:
- awareness of the subject: article, white paper, etc. ;
- consideration: case study, customer testimonial, etc. ;
- conversion: demonstration, simulator, conditions of sale, etc. ;
- customer loyalty: tutorials, support, training, etc.
In doing so, it is essential to encourage your targets to show an interest in your subject, your products or your services. This is known as lead generation. By means of a call to action, you suggest that they fill in a form to obtain a document, take part in an event, subscribe to a newsletter, and so on. You then obtain their contact details and can continue to send them content that meets their expectations.
There are tools that allow you to automate the segmentation of your prospect base and the sending of personalised campaigns via different channels (e-mail, SMS, posts on social networks). These are marketing automation solutions, some of which, like Plezi or Hubspot, are tailored to SMEs.
As you can see, sales techniques have entered a new era. Used properly, digital tools can help companies to be found and chosen by their future customers, provided you get your teams on board and train them, from management to communications, marketing and sales.
