Using Technology to Sell

Using Technology to Sell: Tactics to Ratchet up Results shows salespeople and sales managers the most effective ways to leverage a variety of technologies to increase sales and gain more customers. Topics include making the most of cloud-based customer relationship management software like SalesForce.com, putting social media like Twitter to the best use, forecasting and tracking sales using spreadsheets and dashboards, presenting on three continents simultaneously through advanced video conferencing, boosting sales with the aid of smartphone apps, and much more. As this book shows, while the sales process will remain pretty much the same from now until the end of time, technology used properly can increase sales power at every step of the cycle. Technology, in the right hands, is a strategic weapon and a competitive differentiation tool that can dramatically improve close rates, deal size, efficiency, total sales, and much more. Using Technology to Sell: * Shows sales management and salespeople in organizations of any size how to sell more products or services using technology * Takes the reader step-by-step through the sales cycle and explains how different technologies can be used to maximum effect * Helps salespeople avoid overusing or abusing technology * Provides a rundown of the best sales skills and practices, which in combination with the proper use of technology is a lethal competitive advantage What you'll learn * How to gain new customers and increase order size through the use of technology * How to employ cloud applications like SalesForce.com or BatchBook.com to keep track of customers, stay organized, and sell more systematically * How to use social media to increase sales * How to maintain the personal element in a world wired with technology * The best sales methodology and how to integrate each step with technology * How to avoid the trap of overuse or dependency on technology Who this book is for There are many salespeople in the U.S. According to Selling Power magazine, roughly one in every 14 Americans works in a large sales force. The U.S. government puts the total number of salespeople at around 16 million. This does not include entrepreneurs, who don't usually classify themselves as salespeople but who need to have a strong sales capability. Nor does it include the number of people who use technology to support salespeople. While this book can help all of them, the primary audience is business-to-business salespeople (selling engines to car makers, ERP software to IT departments, office supplies to large companies, etc.). It is just as useful for the many business-to-consumer salespeople selling cars, electronics, insurance, services, and much more. Although the numbers are not as big, the book is crucially important to sales management who stand to benefit from systems that work and training staff on appropriate processes. Finally, the IT department in charge of implementing technology for salespeople can turn to this book in order to customize technology for their company's specific needs.