What will the top 5 sales trends of 2018 be?
The times have changed and we need to keep up with the times.
With this in mind and the fact that there has been boundless advancement of digital marketing, it’s good to know that the face of your typical sales department has drastically changed. Gone are the days of only cold calling, now we make use of email marketing, WhatsApp messaging and several social media platforms. These are effective ways of attracting clients to either buy your product, or at the very least, to encourage them to try it out.
In this digital age a great way to attract clients is through video marketing and believe it or not, is also quite a handy way to fill your sales funnel! Stats show that from this year going forward video marketing will be the most powerful way to market your business.
Top Sales Trends in 2018
Market analysis shows that in 2018 sales trends will have changed drastically from using only a sales force (salespeople) to sell. As tech develops so does automation, meaning, more and more you’ll notice a lot of the sales conversation starting online before anything happens at a physical location.
If you think about it, this actually makes your selling job easier. It is easier to start the sales process in a digital manner and then to take it offline to further the business relationship. (I’m a huge advocate of building relationships and this for me is the cornerstone to any successful and sustainable sales transaction).
Video Prospecting
You can bet your bottom dollar that one of the most effective methods of selling products (and services) will be via video. Read this as digital or online meetings as well as actual sales videos. This is one of the key trends for 2018 and you’ll see the greats like GaryVee speak of this as well. (It doesn’t hurt that he endorses this method, so naturally it’s included in my trends list :-))
Video prospecting will help you stand out from the crowd, and make the right kind of impact on your prospective clients.
Front-line Training
One of the major drawbacks which are faced by current sales force is lack of training to attract potential clients. Due to this lack of training you’ll notice that there are sales teams who haven’t learned to move with the times. Our usual way of doing sales has changed, and with it means being more caring and compassionate, developing relationships first and selling last. Sounds strange, I know, but with the right kind of training sales teams can implement more “modern ways” of selling. The result? More effective sales techniques and better client retention.
Messaging
Messaging has become quite common now. If anyone had said to you 3 years ago that you would use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to sell, well, you would have laughed in their face. Now, instead of sending an email or a link to a promotional video, it is rapidly becoming the norm to use platforms like these as part of the sales process. Yip, the times sure have changed!
Personalised Selling
Sales people will have a much better understanding of their buyer persona this year, which means that targeting will be improved and closing the deal will be that much easier. Take the time to define and understand your buyer persona (target market) so that you can hone your selling skills to suit your potential client base better.
Automation in Sales
There is talk in the industry that by December 2018 rolls around huge chunks of the sales process will move towards automation. This means that more and more bots will be handling your sales activities. A great example are the chat bots you see pop up when you visit certain websites. A chat block will appear and the bot will ask whether they can assist you in any way. Keep in mind that we live in times of instant gratification, so even though you may feel adversely to these bots, keep in mind who you are selling to.
Bringing it together
If you are willing to embrace change, then you’re going to have a great 2018! This is the year for great change when it comes to sales and the fundamentals of how we do business. Be willing to adapt and move with the times. The better your input the greater your output.
