[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/08\/10\/best-sales-strategy-for-success\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/08\/10\/best-sales-strategy-for-success\/","headline":"Decipher intentions, predict results: A data-optimized sales strategy","name":"Decipher intentions, predict results: A data-optimized sales strategy","description":"Ten years ago, unlocking insights with data was a competitive advantage. Today it\u2019s a competitive necessity for a successful sales strategy.","datePublished":"2022-08-10","dateModified":"2022-08-09","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/grant-smith\/#Person","name":"Grant Smith","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/grant-smith\/","identifier":307,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/410a6ed4b1bf9318b153b5db16d0a11f6e71495022a98ead8a1fa1f87e98b3a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/410a6ed4b1bf9318b153b5db16d0a11f6e71495022a98ead8a1fa1f87e98b3a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Sales-strategy-BtoB_FTR.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Sales-strategy-BtoB_FTR.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/08\/10\/best-sales-strategy-for-success\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/ai\/","name":"AI","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Artificial_intelligence","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q11660"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/crm\/","name":"CRM","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_relationship_management","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q485643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/","name":"Sales","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sales","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q194189"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/sales-general\/","name":"Sales","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sales","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q194189"]},"Sales Success"],"wordCount":1205,"keywords":["B2B Sales","CRM | Customer Relationship Management","Guided Selling","Intelligent Sales","Sales Forecasting","Sales Success"],"articleBody":"Data helps navigate the path to a successful deal. It helps you see the three critical parts:Your customer\u2019s prioritiesThe needs of the buying centerThe length of time before the opportunity is wonIn turn, it will also help sellers do a better job.But data alone is not enough. In a sales strategy, its value comes from using it to decipher intentions and predict results, and plotting the complex correlation between the elements that make a successful deal.Because, like an iceberg, what\u2019s immediately obvious doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Below the surface lies a complicated web of relationships, ambition, and motivation. Data analysis helps explain and illustrate this web and gives your organization oversight into the process.It will also improve your sellers’ ability to focus on the right opportunities, helping make them more successful and giving them a reason to stay with you. These are the results of a sales strategy that puts data at its heart.      Contextual selling: How customer centricity helps seal the deal                Learn how contextual selling helps organizations boost engagement by using real-time data to personalize the sales process for each buyer.      Sales strategy: The view from data mountain is a good oneThink of data as supplying both the high point you can stand on and the really good view you get from up there. It gives you the ability to see everything and the things you need to see. That\u2019s a great advantage when it comes to navigating the sales process.At its most basic, the success of a sales organization is linked to hitting sales goals and quotas. But to grow it must accurately forecast revenue and set goals. Forecasting is data driven, so for it to work it needs accurate data: the computing principle of garbage in, garbage out applies here.For accurate forecasts, you need data that tells you what\u2019s going on at an individual level. That isn\u2019t just how many calls someone made or how long they\u2019ve spent progressing an opportunity. It\u2019s going a step further and using the data to ask and answer questions that will predict the future.A modern sales solution helps remove the guesswork from the immense amounts of disparate data associated with an account or opportunity by providing recommendations and highlighting correlations.With the hard work done, sales leaders can focus on answering the key questions based on the data:What are your sales reps doing on a daily basis?Which deals are the most likely to close, and which ones look like they won\u2019t?Why do some deals get stuck, and what\u2019s needed to close them?The answers, a mix of third-party data, signals from the buyer, and intelligence from sellers, will help streamline processes and unblock deals.      Sales Forecasting in 2025: Definition, 5 proven methods, and How\u2011To guide                An accurate sales forecast is vital for business success. Learn how organizations can improve the forecasting process and common mistakes to avoid.      Spot sandbagging and other bad behaviorActionable data helps organizations fight negative selling behavior such as ghost-selling (a seller claiming to work on a deal when they\u2019re not) and sandbagging (a seller underplaying a deal\u2019s value or keeping its progress hidden, to spring it as a surprise and look like a hero when it closes).The same goes for pipeline value inflation and opportunity spoofing, when sellers create bogus opportunities to feign progress.With actionable data, these inconsistencies are automatically flagged, showing where it\u2019s happening and who\u2019s doing it. You\u2019ll spot sandbagging from the high level of activity on a deal that\u2019s being reported as less advanced than it looks. You\u2019ll be able to see the forecasted deal that isn\u2019t looking as good as the seller is claiming.Crucially, these insights allow sales managers to take proactive action with their team to improve outcomes.      Show me the way: How guided selling helps seal more deals                The modern B2B sales process is dynamic and fast-paced. Through guided selling, businesses can empower their sellers to engage more effectively with customers and win more deals.      Help sellers succeed and be happier in their workHigh turnover is an expectation for many B2B sales organizations. But like sandbagging, just because it happens doesn\u2019t mean it should be ignored.Given the cost and disruption of hiring and training, retaining good sellers is always a good sales strategy. Money is one way of keeping people, but job satisfaction goes beyond money. Sales can be repetitive, complicated, and stressful \u2013 anything you can do to make it less so helps.Employees want their jobs to be straightforward \u2013 not necessarily easy, but they don\u2019t want to face endless obstacles caused by internal policies or outdated technology.\u00a0Data helps you help your people, providing insight and structure that reduces complexity and improves outcomes.Techniques such as guided selling use data to tailor the sales cycle to a buyer\u2019s needs, giving sellers the chance to not only win the deal but also build a better relationship with the customer.Using data to focus on specific aspects of a buyer\u2019s needs is much more accurate than a traditional one-size-fits-all approach, and it means the seller is more likely to succeed. You\u2019re helping them move from selling things to solving the customer\u2019s problems.Data is also a catalyst for coaching and guidance. Performance analysis helps identify underperformers and top performers, so managers can pair coaches by proficiency. Spotting underperformers early gives them a chance to turn things around.      Lead acceleration: When digital selling and collaboration tools collide                Clear communication comes naturally to traditional, in-person sales engagements, but faces significant challenges over digital channels. Collaboration tools can help solve those pain points.      Streamlining the sales process\u00a0How you make data actionable is as important as having it in the first place. Millennials and digital natives have grown up being able to easily find and use data: every time they use Google, they\u2019re looking for and using data. Why should it be any different at work?Employees don\u2019t want to navigate complicated, dated systems to find information that should be available at the touch of a button, or automatically appear when relevant. Spreadsheets, which cause so many serious data errors that there\u2019s a group of experts dedicated to limiting the associated risk, aren’t up to the job.Effective sales organizations provide their sellers with insights where they need them most. Modern sales technology finds the right analytics, KPIs, and recommendations based on data, instead of the data itself.Users can dig into the detail, but actionable data helps sellers focus on their core task: selling.Ten years ago, unlocking insights through data was seen as a competitive advantage. Today it\u2019s a competitive necessity for a successful sales strategy.If you don\u2019t use data to improve the sales process and your sales strategy, you\u2019re going to be overtaken by your rivals.Not only that, but you\u2019re going to lose sales, customers, and staff. You can’t afford to ignore it.  Digital selling.Interactive reports.Better outcomes.Try out the future of sales for free\u00a0HERE. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2022","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/08\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Decipher intentions, predict results: A data-optimized sales strategy","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/08\/10\/best-sales-strategy-for-success\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]