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Your sales team is only as good as their strategy. What are they prioritizing in their sales approach? How are they leveraging sales enablement tools? What are other departments doing to support them in their efforts? The answer to these questions will change with the ebb and flow of sales trends, and teams will need to pivot their strategies accordingly.
The sales landscape continues to evolve each year, presenting new opportunities for businesses to drive revenue and growth. What worked five years ago for landing new business might miss the mark entirely in 2024.
To help teams stay ahead of the curve and win more business this year, we rounded up 7 sales trends that can be implemented today.
Brand-forward assets
Oftentimes sales teams will create their own collateral to avoid the marketing bottleneck. But this can result in a hodgepodge of assets that don’t properly represent the brand and what the business stands for. The initial point of contact is the first impression prospects get, and as such should be an extension of the brand. From sales materials to demos and presentations, every asset after that first touchpoint should be on-brand and professional.
Sales representatives aren’t designers by trade. Thankfully software— like Beautiful.ai— gives sales teams the tools they need to create professional presentations with little-to-no design experience. But even still, brand management is important to ensure that each client-facing deck has the proper branding. With Beautiful.ai’s Team Plan, you’re able to lock in the right logo and brand elements across your organization, so that the sales team isn’t piecing together fonts and colors for each slide. By setting Shared Slides and Shared Themes, managers are giving teammates the guardrails they need to stay visually consistent from pitch to pitch.
Better alignment between sales and marketing
With the increasing integration of online and offline channels, it's essential to create a seamless experience for customers across all touchpoints. In 2024 we’ll see more teams implement an omnichannel strategy that allows customers to interact with your brand consistently, whether they're online, in a meeting, or scrolling on social media. To achieve this, there needs to be a strong alignment between sales and marketing to ensure that all client-facing materials are consistent and cohesive.
When sales and marketing collaborate together, it can be mutually beneficial. On the sales side, it opens the door to more qualified leads that come directly from marketing efforts. Similarly, the sales team can help inform more targeted marketing strategies based on use case feedback they’re receiving from clients and prospects.
AI-powered sales tools
Would it be a 2024 trend round up without mentioning AI? It’s no secret that AI tools can help enhance performance and increase productivity, and that applies to sales efforts, too. Teams can leverage AI-powered tools for sales enablement such as chatbots, email generation, predictive analytics, automated lead scoring, and presentation software. These technologies can help streamline sales processes, enhance customer interactions, and identify valuable opportunities more efficiently.
Personalized sales approach
People want to feel special and heard. That’s why personalization remains a critical aspect of successful sales strategies in 2024. Sales teams can utilize customer data and advanced analytics to tailor their sales approach to the specific needs and preferences of each prospect or customer. This can be personalized emails, one-pagers speaking to their unique use case, or presentations.
In Beautiful.ai you can easily recycle pre-existing, brand-approved slides and decks from your team library, and quickly customize them for each client. By copying over the slide you can then swap out content like logos, case studies relevant to the prospects, or even tailor the demo to appeal to their unique pain points.
Remote selling capabilities
The shift towards remote work and virtual interactions has made remote selling capabilities more crucial than ever. It’s important to equip your sales team with the necessary tools and training to effectively engage with prospects and customers in virtual environments. From video communications to presentation software, these tools make it easier to facilitate meetings and foster connections from afar.
While remote selling makes it easier to connect with prospects regardless of their location, we’ll start to see a rise in in-person sales again in 2024. Sales teams have learned to master the art of remote selling, but there’s something invaluable about being in the same room with a prospect. Teams should be prepared to nail both types of sales meetings this year and beyond.
Subscription-based models
In 2024, subscription-based sales models continue to gain popularity across various industries. Businesses might consider incorporating subscription offerings into their product or service portfolio to provide customers with a convenient and predictable purchasing experience.
In the same vein, gone are the days of closing a deal and moving on to the next client. After the initial deal, there will be more opportunities for upselling and expansion with existing customers in a subscription-based model. As a result, existing customers will become just as— if not more— important than new customers in 2024, and sales teams will have to find ways to nurture those relationships.
Emphasis on customer experience
This year customer experience continues to grow as a top priority for businesses. From the initial point of engagement to post-purchase support, sales teams should invest in resources and strategies that enhance the overall customer journey. Building and maintaining relationships with clients can be the difference between a customer that churns after a year, and one that sticks around and continues purchasing long-term.
