According to a study conducted by HubSpot, only 3 percent of people consider salespeople to be trustworthy. A quick look into various polls and researches from distinguished websites also provides you with the same sentiment– that salespeople are truly among the least trusted professions.
An article on LinkedIn also affirms the same conclusion, that salespeople are indeed a shady bunch.
This presents us with a bit of a dilemma given that sales as an industry encompasses a lot of professions. We are not just talking about your typical car salesmen here, no. We also have telemarketers, marketing people, advertising people. Sales as an industry is the reason why countless people have jobs today, it only makes sense that we feel concerned over this apparent distrust of them.
If you have a career in sales, we won’t be surprised if, while reading this, your mind is immediately bombarded with questions like, “Should salespeople shift careers?”, “Is it time to jump ship?”, “What happens to the world economy when people stop selling?”.
Now, that’s just a load of junk.
The sales industry will not be annihilated, let alone crippled just because they don’t have the trust of the people. A study showing they are not trusted by a substantial number of the population doesn’t mean nobody buys what they sell anymore. We have capitalism to thank for that. *wink*
Sales people will probably be able to keep their jobs far longer than a politician could. But, in response to this “distrust” from the people, what can salespeople do?
Well, for one, a change of strategy could help.
Now you’re probably wondering, what strategy do we have in mind? Since salespeople mostly fail because they are still employing old traditional sales strategies that rarely succeed in getting prospects to buy, let alone look at their products, then we can employ one that uses the exact opposite of those old traditional sales strategies.
We’re talking about the Inbound Sales Strategy. In this article, we’re going to present you with reasons why you need an inbound sales strategy.
Ready?
Let’s dive in!
Why implement an inbound sales strategy? What is so special about it? And what makes us think it would work better than the tried and tested strategies that your business has been using for the longest time?
Checkout our list below and prepare to be convinced!
An Inbound Sales Strategy is universal. This means that it can be applied to and practiced by every person in your company. And what does this imply?
It will practically harmonize your processes, every department will be supportive of the other, and when applied altogether by your marketing, sales, and customer service teams, you will be giving your customers a great customer experience through and through. And when customers are happy with their overall experience, they’ll keep coming back.
This is a pretty convincing reason for why you need an inbound sales strategy. With the Inbound Methodology at its core, an inbound sales strategy means having to employ tactics that will get people to come to you, notice you, and go through the entire sales process you have laid out for them without them even realizing it.
Learn more about these tactics here: (insert link)
This actually supports reason #2, and is another great answer to the question: why implement an inbound sales strategy?
An inbound sales strategy will require you to put up web pages, blog posts, and social media pages. These days, leads conduct their own research before purchasing any item– big or small. Building these platforms is crucial because it is tantamount to hiring a salesperson to hand out pamphlets containing information about your product at malls, where there is plenty of footfall.
Having social media pages and websites of your own will allow you to be found by prospects at a time when they are looking for solutions to whatever problem or challenge they are facing in their day to day lives.
Having your own platforms also means that you need to regularly publish content, and in the process of doing so, you slowly build a reputation as a reliable source, provided you create helpful and valuable content, of course.
Being elevated to the position of “thought leader” can only be beneficial to your brand. You will earn the trust and high regard of readers. And when the time comes that they are in need of a product or service that you provide, they will go to no one else but you.
Studies have shown that salespeople who use social selling are 51% more likely to reach quota than those who don’t. Moreover, according to research by CSO Insights and Seismic, 31% of B2B salespeople say social selling helps them build deeper relationships with their contacts.
Social selling basically means making sales through social media, which is the inbound way.
So again, why implement an inbound sales strategy? It’s all those reasons we’ve listed above, and MORE!
Inbound is the strategy that works in the digital age. A wise salesperson knows how to adjust when the situation calls for it, today’s generation calls for an inbound sales strategy, salespeople must make the only wise choice there is.