Why You Need A Data-Driven Sales Team—And How To Build One

Um blog de convidado de Josh Brown (Marketing da Helpjuice)

We’re just gonna come right out and say it:

Vendas é um jogo de números.

Hold on, hold on… we don’t mean that in the traditional sense.

(In fact, we’d argue that a wide net, “spray and pray” approach to sales definitely isn’t the way to go by today’s standards.)

What we mean is that, if your goal is to maximize your sales productivity, your first step should be to look to the numbers. This means the myriad data available to your team regarding your customers, your team’s performance, and more.

Seu próximo passo: mergulhar de cabeça.

 

1. Definição da equipe de vendas orientada por dados

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to nail down exactly what it means for a sales team to be “data-driven.”

Let’s start with a more overarching (and admittedly vague) definition:

Uma equipe de vendas orientada por dados é aquela que integrou a análise e o uso de dados em todo e qualquer processo e atividade relacionados a vendas.

As you might imagine, organizations that have become truly data-driven typically outperform their competition—by a pretty wide margin, too. High-performing sales teams are 3.5 times more likely to have used a data-driven approach than their under-performing counterparts. And companies that have “injected” data into their daily operations are 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than their competition.

Now, there are a few key words we want to call attention to: “integrated” and “injected.” That is, truly data-driven sales teams don’t just “use” data: they find ways to “integrate” and “inject” the data into their daily activities through data transformation. Essentially they put data at the center of everything they do. For such teams, data and hard evidence is never an afterthought. In fact, it’s more often the catalyst that leads the team to make a certain decision or take a specific action.

In this article, we’ll discuss everything that needs to happen for your sales team to become truly data-driven in its everyday operations.

Before we dig in, though, let’s talk about some of the more specific benefits of becoming data-driven.

 

2. Três vantagens principais de ser orientado por dados

Como acabamos de mencionar, as equipes de vendas orientadas por dados são mais produtivas e lucrativas do que seus concorrentes com baixo desempenho.

Mas esses são realmente os produtos de se tornar orientado por dados. Você se torna mais produtivo e eficiente não simplesmente por se tornar orientado por dados, mas por causa do que se tornar orientado por dados permite que você faça.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into that, shall we?

 

1. Permite processos de vendas padronizados (e otimizados)

Em poucas palavras:

Most sales teams and organizations end up wasting a ton of time, money, and energy, because they haven’t truly optimized their various processes.

For starters, sales teams waste a lot of time doing “legwork” rather than actually being productive.

As the image above shows, nearly one-fifth of the average salesperson’s day is spent searching for pertinent information. Not “putting collected data to use”; just searching for it in the first place.

As we’ll get to a bit later on, one of the first steps to becoming data-driven is creating a central data hub that your sales team (and other employees) can access as needed. The easier it is to find the information they need, the quicker your sales team will be able to get to work.

Another issue that comes along with not being data-driven is that you run the risk of wasting resources without even realizing you’re doing so.

Por exemplo, a Altify descobriu que um número surpreendente de $591 bilhões é perdido nos EUA (e $1,4 trilhões perdidos em todo o mundo) por equipes de vendas que perseguem leads menos do que excelentes que acabam não indo a lugar algum. Isso se alinha com os dados coletados pela MarketingSherpa que mostram que apenas 27% dos leads que são passados para as vendas são de fato leads qualificados em primeiro lugar.

In such cases, it’s clear that the marketing team’s qualification process differs wildly from the sales team’s processes. Chances are, the data each team is looking at throughout these processes differs just as wildly. Because of this discrepancy, it would simply be impossible for each team to get on the same page moving forward.

However, by centralizing all incoming data (for example, through the use of a CRM)—and collaborating to determine which pieces of information are most vital to a given process—your marketing and sales (and other) teams can begin creating a more systematic approach to creating a funnel that sells.

 

2. Permite que sua equipe de vendas seja personalizada

No lado voltado para o cliente, tornar-se mais orientado por dados também torna muito mais fácil para sua equipe de vendas engajar-se com clientes potenciais e clientes em um nível mais individual.

Como você provavelmente sabe, essa personalização está se tornando cada vez mais procurada hoje em dia. De acordo com dados coletados pela Evergage:

• 63% dos consumidores têm uma opinião positiva sobre as marcas que fornecem ofertas e conteúdo personalizados e relevantes
• 77% dos consumidores escolhem, recomendam e pagam mais por marcas que oferecem um serviço mais personalizado
• 78% só se envolvem com ofertas que são adaptadas às suas necessidades, com base em seu histórico com uma marca

For our purposes, here’s the big one: Most consumers are perfectly fine with companies using their private and public data in order to provide them a more personalized experience.

Needless to say, the more data you collect on your prospects and customers—and the more focused you become on what this data actually “means”—the easier it will be for your sales team to engage with them and nurture them toward conversion.

Along with this, a comprehensive collection and understanding of data can take the guesswork out of approaching relatively unknown prospects. For example, in recognizing similarities between a new prospect and your most-valuable customer segment (in terms of persona, behavior, etc.), you’d know exactly what to do at a given point in time in order to get them to convert.

For a prime example of all this in action, look no further than easyJet’s 20th anniversary campaign. Essentially, the travel company used individual customer data, along with automation software, to develop a dynamic email campaign showcasing each customer’s experience with their brand.

The results were nothing short of outstanding. First of all, the team created and sent out over twelve million unique emails—and saw a massive 100% increase in open rates throughout the campaign. What’s more, the campaign earned a 25% higher click-through rate than easyJet’s typical average.

So…yeah. If your goal is to provide a more personalized experience to your audience, your first step should be to go to the data.

 

3. Descubra as principais oportunidades

Anteriormente, discutimos como o fato de ser orientado por dados permite que você reconheça e se afaste de leads sem saída e similares.

The other side of all this is that you’ll in turn uncover and recognize a treasure trove of opportunities you may have otherwise overlooked.

Novamente, tudo se resume à personalização e a oferecer exatamente o que um consumidor específico deseja no momento certo. Alguns exemplos:

• Saber qual produto ou produtos exatos um novo cliente em potencial consideraria valiosos
• Fornecer ofertas de upsell e cross-sell aos clientes com base em compras atuais e anteriores
• Envio de lembretes oportunos e ofertas adicionais para clientes recorrentes antes do momento médio de compra

In each of these scenarios, data is at the center of the sales team’s ability to follow through.

Sem um grande foco em dados, a equipe pode:

• Lose sales by showcasing products that aren’t best-fit for specific prospects
• Perda de receita adicional por negligenciar oportunidades de upsell e cross-sell
• Corra o risco de perder clientes recorrentes ao deixar o retorno deles ao acaso

Obviamente, você quer evitar esses cenários o máximo possível. Um foco nítido nos dados tornará toda e qualquer oportunidade clara como o dia para sua equipe de vendas.

No fim das contas, tornar-se mais orientado por dados é simplesmente bom para os negócios:

• Processos simplificados garantem o máximo de eficiência e uso de recursos
• Engajamentos personalizados levam a um aumento nas conversões
• A visibilidade aprimorada dos dados destaca as principais oportunidades de vendas

Agora que sabemos de tudo isso, a questão é:

Como podemos nos tornar mais orientados por dados em nossas próprias organizações?

 

3. Criação de uma equipe de vendas orientada por dados

As we made clear earlier, there’s a huge difference between merely collecting and using data in a more surface-level manner, and truly integrating data into your overall operations and processes.

Here, we’ll dive into all that goes into creating a sales team (and overall organization) that is truly driven by data.

Without further ado, let’s dive in.

 

1. Facilitar uma mudança cultural e organizacional

If your team isn’t on board with the shift, it’s simply not going to happen.

Há uma série de coisas que você precisa fazer para gerar essa adesão entre sua equipe de vendas.

First, it’s essential that you frame this discussion in terms of what it means for them. As we talked about earlier, this is all about becoming more productive and efficient—and overall more successful in their efforts as salespeople.

On that same token, it’s also important that you explain why becoming more data-driven will allow your sales team to become more successful. Tap into some of the frustrations your team likely has revolving around data (or lack thereof), such as miscommunication, down time, and wasted opportunities—and show your sales team exactly how a focus on data will help alleviate these pain points moving forward.

Finally, in terms of cultural shift, you’ll want your team to begin operating with a “data first” mindset. That is, your sales team should begin looking to data to inform the next decision they make—not to retroactively rationalize decisions that have already been made. While this might sound like mere semantics, the reality is that taking a “data first” approach to sales will all but ensure your sales team focuses on making improvements that actually matter.

Now, in addition to the cultural and mental shift that must occur throughout your sales team, you’ll also likely need to facilitate a shift in how your sales team interacts with your organization’s other departments.

First, you need to be sure cross-team communication and collaboration is possible, let alone practical. Obviously, if it’s too difficult—or actually impossible—for your sales team to communicate with your marketing and other departments, it’s just not going to happen.

Once cross-team communication is possible throughout your organization, you need to ensure it actually happens—and is done so correctly. Basically, this means systematizing what data and information certain teams are responsible for communicating to whom at certain points in the sales funnel.

We’ll get more into this in a bit, but for now just know that the better your sales and marketing teams communicate, the more aligned they’ll become. By focusing on and communicating the data and information that really makes a difference, each team will gain a more consistent understanding of what a “qualified lead” really is. In turn, your sales team will be able to nurture these high-probability candidates through the sales funnel with relative ease.

Mas, novamente, nada disso é possível a menos que você facilite a mudança em toda a sua organização.

 

2. Define and Prioritize “Quality” Data

We’ve danced around this topic throughout this article, but let’s lay it right out there:

Part of being truly data-driven is knowing that some data is simply more valuable than other pieces of information. In that same vein, it’s also in knowing how to discern a so-called “vanity metric” from a metric that truly matters to your company’s bottom line in some way or another.

Of course, if you don’t have a specific definition or criteria for what your team considers “quality data,” you’re going to run into problems pretty quickly. As we alluded to earlier, if your marketing team is passing through leads based on one set of data, and your sales team is looking at something completely different, there’s little chance that those prospects will end up converting.

Conforme mostrado acima, uma falta de foco na qualidade dos dados pode, na verdade, ser o motivo pelo qual uma empresa fecha definitivamente. Por outro lado, as empresas que focam na qualidade dos dados tendem a experimentar um maior crescimento nas vendas.

Agora, para nossos propósitos, há dois tipos abrangentes de dados nos quais devemos nos concentrar:

• Dados relacionados ao cliente
• Dados de desempenho de funcionários e equipes

In terms of customer-related data, we’re talking about segmentation and persona information, combined with a specific customer’s individual history with your company.

To be sure, each piece of information you collect on a given customer is important in some way or another. However, it’s important to explicitly define and prioritize specific data to be used at given points in time for sales-related purposes. Not only will it ensure consistency between your marketing and sales teams, but it will also ensure your sales team has exactly what they need to make an informed decision regarding a specific prospect.

In defining these data points, you’ll want to consider a variety of questions such as:

• Quais dados a equipe de marketing coleta que a equipe de vendas precisa conhecer?
• Ao pontuar os leads, em quais informações você deve dar mais importância?
• How will having x piece of data affect the sales team’s approach?

We’ve said it before:

Quanto mais alinhadas suas várias equipes estiverem em termos de orientação por dados, mais produtiva poderá ser sua equipe de vendas.

Speaking of that, the other side of defining “quality” data is in looking at the performance of your sales team overall.

Again, our focus here is on the metrics that truly make a difference to the overall productivity and efficiency of your business. More specifically, we’re looking at data points such as:

• Taxa de conversão de leads: Obviously, a salesperson’s job is to make sales. If their overall conversion rate is relatively low, you’ll need to dig deeper to determine where the leak occurs, and what the problem actually is.
• Duração do ciclo de vendas: Simplificando, quanto mais tempo sua equipe leva para fazer uma venda, menos tempo ela tem para se concentrar em fazer outros sales. Similarly to the above, it’s important to get granular in determining what, exactly, needs to be improved to shorten an all-too-lengthy sales cycle.
• Valor médio do pedido: The probably goes without saying, but the more your sales team can sell at a single time, the better off your business will be. Digging into changes in AOV and other related metrics will give you better insight into what, specifically, presses your target customers’ buying button.

Again, this isn’t to say these are the only metrics that matter; far from it, in fact. The point is that you need to define the metrics that tell a more overarching story about a certain aspect of your business, then dig deeper to decipher the details. The more granular you get, the more information you’ll have on-hand to make improvements in the future.

Você pode acompanhar essas métricas exatas e muito mais usando um CRM como o Salesflare. Dê uma olhada no nosso tour de produtos para obter mais informações.

 

3. Integrar ferramentas e tecnologia

Hey, you didn’t think you’d be tracking all this data by hand, did you?

Brincadeiras à parte, a tecnologia é essencialmente o cerne de sua capacidade de coletar e usar todas essas informações em primeiro lugar.

While there are, of course, a plethora of tools and software to choose from to serve your data-driven needs, you’ll at least want to invest in the following:

• Raspadores de dados de clientescomo, por exemplo Datanyze InsiderO sistema de gerenciamento de dados da Web, que permite coletar rapidamente informações de clientes de vários bancos de dados com facilidade. Em seguida, é possível analisar a lista coletada com base em critérios específicos para pesquisas adicionais sobre os clientes.
• Software de gerenciamento de relacionamento com o cliente como Salesflare make it easy to keep track of customer profiles and track engagements with prospects throughout their personal buyer’s journey. The more information collected and stored within your CRM, the more personalized your sales team’s approach can be.
• Bases de conhecimento tais como Ajuda permitem que você crie, armazene e compartilhe informações importantes sobre processos, produtos e outros dados internos. Você também pode criar bases de conhecimento voltadas para o clienteIsso permite que seus clientes se envolvam mais com sua empresa e obtenham mais valor de seus produtos.
• Rastreadores de desempenho de vendas como Ambition facilitam para sua equipe a avaliação da eficácia dos processos de vendas em nível macro e micro. Por sua vez, sua equipe pode se concentrar em fazer melhorias específicas que lhes permitirão operar com mais eficiência.
• CDPs or DMPs – other software like a CDP or DMP might also be useful to you. These tools will enable your sales team to have a complete 360 view of customers across all the touch points your business has.

The “best” software for your company depends on your company’s current needs, bandwidth, and other such factors. Before you commit to using any one specific tool or service, make sure you’ve found the one that will integrate most seamlessly into your operations, and that will provide the most value in return.

 

4. Fazer aprimoramentos contínuos

As you can probably tell, shifting toward becoming more data-driven isn’t something that will happen to your sales team overnight.

And, in a sense, it’s not something that ever fully “happens,” at all. That is, there will always be ways for your team to become more data-driven, and to become more efficient and effective in their overall processes, as well.

A boa notícia é que:

Quanto mais orientado por dados você se tornar, mais fácil será se tornar ainda mais orientado por dados.

For one thing, once your sales team begins to see the positive impact of becoming more data-driven, they’ll inherently want to dive deeper into this “new way” of doing things. Soon enough, your sales team will begin seeing this “new way” will as the normal and natural mode of operating.

Com essa maior adesão da sua equipe de vendas, fazer melhorias contínuas se tornará essencialmente parte do processo, de modo geral. A equipe de vendas verdadeiramente orientada por dados não apenas compreende a importância de injetar e integrar dados em seus processos, mas também começa a pensar criticamente sobre a melhor forma de fazê-lo.

As you look to make improvements, you’ll want to think about the answers to questions such as:

• Como o fato de nos tornarmos mais orientados por dados nos permitiu melhorar na área de xyz?
• Quais dados determinamos serem os mais essenciais ou informativos para melhorar a área de xyz?
• Que outros dados ou percepções podemos usar para melhorar ainda mais a área de xyz?

Obviamente, essas perguntas são apenas pontos de partida para ajudar a sua equipe a se aprofundar em um processo ou área específica. Não é preciso dizer que sua linha de investigação será muito diferente, dependendo da sua área de foco.

Regardless of your focus, though, with data at the heart of your inquiry, you’ll easily be able to dig up the information needed to make your next steps crystal clear.

Um pouco sobre Josh:
Josh Brown faz parte da equipe de marketing da Helpjuice. A Helpjuice fornece bases de conhecimento fáceis de usar e totalmente personalizáveis, projetadas desde o início para ajudá-lo a dimensionar o suporte ao cliente e colaborar melhor com sua equipe.

Esperamos que você tenha gostado desta postagem. Se gostou, espalhe a notícia!

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