Every sales-driven online business has a goal in mind, which is to make enough sales. However, when the sales begin to flood in as expected, it becomes difficult to keep up with your leads. Since there are several steps to lead generation and conversion online, it can be challenging to keep up with manually doing it. It can, in turn, lead to the loss of your customers. That is why you need to automate the sales process to maximize the returns generated from your pipeline.
WHAT IS SALES AUTOMATION?
It is a marketing strategy that allows businesses to run effectively without or with minimal human input. It involves following a set of principles to create a sales framework that best fits the business goals.
According to a report from Forrester, online sales automation can lead to a 90% reduction in your spending cost. Although the approach might be different for various businesses, implementing the strategies explained in this article will make it easier to convert your audience to leads and start earning online.
The following are things you need to know & implement on how to automate the sales process for your business;
SALES FUNNEL OPTIMIZATION
A sales funnel consists of the steps or a set of actions taken for your prospects to buy your product/service. Sales funnel optimization is important to get the right audience to remain on your page online and convert them to leads. It is a very important part of the sales automation system. There are three basic levels to sales funnel building: the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel. It is designed such that it caters to every stage of the buyer’s journey.
The top of the funnel is designed for those who are just getting to know your products or services for the first time. This is the awareness stage. They are not particularly interested in buying yet. They probably just stumbled on your website and are just trying to understand what it is all about. You want to be careful not to be too salesy with the kind of content to pitch to your audience. However, ensure to carry them along to the other levels of the content, eventually converting them to leads.
The middle of the funnel is for people who already know what you offer but need more insights. This is the consideration stage. It is the longest step in giving a detailed description of your products or services. At this level, you want to ensure you include all the details of your business in an interesting and engaging approach.
The last level is the bottom of the funnel, and at this point, the audience is getting ready to make the purchase. This is the decision stage. These categories of people fully understand your business is either ready to buy or not. At this point, you need to give them one last reason to make the purchase.
GREAT PRODUCT/SERVICE OFFERING
One of the key parts of your sales framework is the product or service offering. It is very vital such that it will determine the longevity of your sales automation system. Also, you can create a free product/consultation for visitors. It would help you fill your sales pipeline with prospective buyers/clients. Everyone likes a bonus or free offers, and you can capitalize on this in keeping your audience and even converting them to leads.
The kind of lead magnet you offer is dependent on your business, goals, and the solution you offer. It could be a book, a promotional offer, a webinar, a newsletter, or a free 1:1 consultation. If these offers are strategically placed in your sales funnel, you can be sure that getting the emails and converting leads for your online business can become easier and automated.
CALL TO ACTION TAGS
The goal of every offer for every level of your sales funnel is to get your audience to take a particular action. That is why you need to put the call to action in the right place to attract them. A squeeze page can help you make your offer and get your audience’s email while separating it from the other pages.
You can also create several landing pages, each with different calls to action. However, it would be best if you were careful, so you don’t push your customers to get several things all at once. They might get confused and frustrated, causing them to opt for other options instead.
CONSISTENT, QUALITY TRAFFIC
Once you have been able to create the multiple landing pages and offerings, it is time to drive traffic to those pages. You can do this organically via social media, search engine optimization, blogging, or paid advertisements. All of these steps will involve writing the right content to capture everyone’s attention that has a link to your business. You can advertise on various social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Medium, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others.
You can also begin your blogging journey by writing rich content on your websites, which educates your readers on various aspects of your businesses. Getting the right keyword in each of these contents will go a long way in helping your website appear on top of search engine result pages.
TESTING
After implementing all the following strategies above, it is important to determine what is working and what is not. It can be done by testing several variables using A/B testing. This will help you know the kind of layout, colour, content position, image, or other working elements.
Testing to know what works will help you work smartly; hence, instead of driving several traffics, you will be able to focus on what is working. It will help convert your audience and increase your sales while you focus on other aspects of your business.
CONCLUSION
I trust that you’ve learnt a few things on how to automate the sales process for your business. Now that you know that sales automation is possible, you should also know that most of the strategies involve content creation. Hence, writing the right content can go a long way in helping you boost your sales.
As a seasoned content marketer and SEO expert, I can help you create the right content that fits your business goals. I can write your landing page copies, onboarding emails, etc. and help you create a high-quality sales automation system.
Contact me immediately, and let’s get started.
ABOUT THE WRITER
I am John Oladokun Opeyemi. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to access several updates on Business, Work, Marketing, Freelancing, and How to Build a Reputable/Profitable Brand or Business on the Internet.
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