{"id":14650,"date":"2018-05-10T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fullcontact.com\/?p=14650"},"modified":"2022-12-19T04:48:04","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T11:48:04","slug":"pmk-how-automation-can-open-you-up-to-the-human-side-of-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fullcontact.com\/blog\/companies-we-love\/pmk-how-automation-can-open-you-up-to-the-human-side-of-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"How Automation Can Open You Up to the Human Side of Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Automation opening you up to the human side of sales sounds counterintuitive, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t automation dehumanize the entire process?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re automating everything, yes. But if you\u2019re using it strategically, absolutely not. If anything, it allows you to connect with more prospects and customers on a more personal level.<\/p>\n

How so? Glad you asked.<\/p>\n

How Automation is Changing Sales<\/span><\/h2>\n

In sales, you have to juggle a lot of balls: prospecting, following up, nurturing, answering questions, providing information \u2026 and eventually, making the sale.<\/p>\n

Much of that is tedious, repetitive, and takes away from the time you have to truly connect on a one-to-one personal level.<\/p>\n

But what if, by automating, you could eliminate the laborious but necessary tasks from that list?<\/p>\n

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of a typical sales rep\u2019s day is spent on non-selling tasks<\/a>. Automation can reclaim lost time, and make selling the lion\u2019s share of how you spend your days \u2013 which is how it should be.<\/p>\n

Sales Hacker reports that the average sales rep spends six hours each week<\/a> prospecting on LinkedIn alone. Throw other social media platforms and channels like blogging, cold calling, and cold emailing into the mix, and it starts to add up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/15-sales-statistics.html<\/p><\/div>\n

Lead Discovery<\/span><\/h3>\n

Conventional wisdom says that if you\u2019re not growing, you\u2019re dying. That\u2019s true \u2013 and leads are the lifeblood of business.<\/p>\n

In the past, you\u2019d have to track down leads and prospects on your own. You\u2019d make a discovery call<\/a> and hope that the time and energy you invested paid off with a qualified lead.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it would, and sometimes it wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Since the discovery call is all about filling in the blanks, automation can take that task off your to-do list. Create a customizable email template<\/a> that asks the right questions, personalizes where possible, and automatically sends to every name and email address as they\u2019re added to your list.<\/p>\n

No more calls until they\u2019re ready to talk to you and close the deal.<\/p>\n

Action-based Segmentation<\/span><\/h3>\n

Segmenting your email list<\/a> is a must in the 21st century. Consumers expect only communication and content that\u2019s relevant to them.<\/p>\n

Segmented campaigns have open rates that are 14.31% higher<\/a>, click-through rates that are 100.95% higher, and 9.37% fewer unsubscriptions than those that aren\u2019t segmented.<\/p>\n

An email marketing solution like Mailchimp<\/a> or Mailshake<\/a> can automatically segment your lists based on the action (clicks, opens, responses, etc.) taken by individuals on your master list, shunting them to different lists depending on what they do or don\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

Automated Follow-up Sequences<\/span><\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s the cold, hard truth: a full 70% of unanswered email chains stop after just one message.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/www.yesware.com\/blog\/sales-email-frequency-guide-pays-follow\/<\/p><\/div>\n

But recipients will respond on the third, fifth, and even tenth message they get. The takeaway? Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/www.yesware.com\/blog\/sales-email-frequency-guide-pays-follow\/<\/p><\/div>\n

With email automation, you set the number of days between messages, and the platform does the work. No response? It\u2019ll send the next email in the campaign. Get a response? It\u2019ll shift them to a separate list and send a notification so you can reach out personally.<\/p>\n

And all without you spending another minute tediously tracking responses and wait times.<\/p>\n

Chatbots<\/span><\/h3>\n

They\u2019re everywhere now. And with good reason.<\/p>\n

A chatbot keeps the lines of communication open even when you\u2019re busy, asleep, or on vacation. 24\/7.<\/p>\n

They can answer questions, book an appointment, deal with a complaint, assist with a billing issue, and more. Chatbots are equally popular with both millennials and baby boomers<\/a> for their convenience and ease of use.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

http:\/\/www.convinceandconvert.com\/digital-marketing\/6-critical-chatbot-statistics-for-2018\/<\/p><\/div>\n

In fact, 35% of people want to see more chatbots<\/a>, and 40% don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a human or chatbot that assists them so long as they get the help they need.<\/p>\n

If you removed those dreary tasks from your plate, how much more time would you have for real engagement and personal attention with qualified leads and existing customers? Hint: plenty.<\/p>\n

How to Leverage Automation for Low-Touch Sales Activities<\/span><\/h2>\n

The bottom line is, sometimes you need a real live human, and sometimes you don\u2019t. Identify those instances where you don\u2019t, and you can add hours to your day through automation:<\/p>\n

Prospecting.<\/strong> You need to do it, but what if you didn\u2019t need to do it? List and data sourcing is one of the top sales rep challenges<\/a>. Finding, verifying, and adding contact information to your CRM or marketing platform takes time. Instead, use a tool like Dux-Soup<\/a> to automatically generate and export a list of potential prospects from LinkedIn based on your search criteria and keywords.<\/p>\n

Lead enrichment.<\/strong> The name and contact details aren\u2019t enough, of course. You need as many details as you can find. FullContact<\/a> can turn a prospect fragment \u2013 email, Twitter handle, or phone number \u2013 into a fully realized prospect profile for you.<\/p>\n

Lead scoring.<\/strong> All leads are not created equal. You need a way to highlight those leads that are engaged and connected enough to warrant a personal call from you. Services like HubSpot<\/a> and Marketo<\/a> can automatically score your leads<\/a> based on demographics or interactions.<\/p>\n

Meeting scheduling.<\/strong> An AI tool like X.ai<\/a> can schedule, manage, and notify all necessary parties about appointments and meetings. You\u2019re in the loop, but not in charge of it.<\/p>\n

Programmed follow-up\/lead nurturing.<\/strong> As mentioned above, follow-ups are crucial. An automated system doesn\u2019t forget or make mistakes. Cold email outreach<\/a> with automated follow-ups and nurturing will deliver more leads than a sales rep could ever hope to do manually.<\/p>\n

Reporting, sending proposals, and more. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Automating all of this and more makes you more efficient and productive, freeing you to focus on activities that require a greater level of human touch.<\/p>\n

Bringing In the Personal Touch<\/h2>\n

Both AI<\/a> and machine learning<\/a> have improved in recent years, but they\u2019re not replacements for people. They serve as a starting point from which you can build more meaningful relationships. So how and when do you escalate to more personal contact?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. When you don\u2019t really know your prospect.<\/strong> Automation can deliver a great deal of data, but when there are blanks and gaps, you need to reach out. Discuss. Ask questions. Discover exactly how you can make their life better and easier. Bond with them \u2026 because no bot can do that.<\/li>\n
  2. Lead scoring reveals:<\/b>\n