Love technology? Check.
Want to make your life easier? Check
Driven to to earn more money? Check.
Here are 11 apps that will help you smash your sales target and bring in more commission bonus.
1) Never let a lack of parking stop you from getting to your sales meeting on time with SpotHero
I’ve been late to so many sales meetings (which is 100% unacceptable) because of parking issues.
How many of us factor in finding a parking space into our journey time really?
SpotHero allows salespeople to book a parking space before they set off to avoid any embarrassment.
2) Engage your prospects with insights with ClearSlide
ClearSlide (a partner of the Salesman Podcast) allows you to not just track when your sales emails are opened (which is useful in itself) it gives you the power of launching a pitch or product demo with just one click.
The main barrier for most pitches is that you have to arrange dates, times, software, hardware and more to make it happen.
A good percentage of the time the prospect will shrug it off as you haven’t managed to show the value you can offer then yet.
ClearSlide reduces this friction and so leads to more deals closed.
3) Instant email conversation starters with Rapporative
Whether you’re reaching out to someone new or an old contact, it’s important to keep the conversation current.
Rapporative is a gmail extension that gives you updates from your prospects social channels right when you’re about to message them.
Everyone likes having their ego stroked so don’t forget to mention the prospects new car that they’re plastering all over Twitter when you reach out.
4) Search your meeting notes instantly with Evernote
I take copious amounts of notes in my sales meetings which allows me to do two things –
- At the end of the meeting sum everything up and confirm 2-3 action points to happen before the next meeting
- Have a track record of everything that both I’ve promised to the prospect and importantly they’ve promised to me
When a prospect is struggling to commit to closing a deal, there is no bigger motivator than quoting back what they said a few meetings ago about “moving forward when X, Y and Z have been confirmed”.
People like to stay consistent with what they’ve said in the past.
I type all of my notes during sales meetings into Evernote because their search feature is so comprehensive.
They even translate your handwriting into searchable text if you’d rather stick to pen and paper.
5) Know everyone in the room with LinkedIn
Have you ever been sat in a sales meeting, everything’s going great, so great in fact that they ask the CEO to pop in?
This has happened to me and you wouldn’t believe my embarssment of not knowing what he looked like, his hobbies, how long he’d been with the company or any of the other information salespeople should know about their key decision makers.
The solution, excusing yourself, opening the LinkedIn app and looking up the prospect.
5 seconds of research and your’re then ready to rock and roll.
6) Sit next to your prospect and present with Keynote
Many times a projector, long table, lots of people and a dramatic entrance just isn’t needed to close deals.
If you can plonk yourself next to your prospect and share your iPad screen with them you can have a conversation rather than a pitch.
7) Let your prospects book sales meetings that work for them with Calendly
We use Calendly to book our guests into recording sessions for the Salesman Podcast.
Why? It allows us to add value to the guests by enabling them to choose a meeting time that is convenient for them rather than us.
It also stops that horrible back and forth over email when one date isn’t available, then it is, then the person has booked in something else.
Share a Calendly link in your email signature and let your prospects come to you!
8) Manage business cards better with CardMunch
We millennial’s might not give out business cards any more when a phone number or email address is more useful but you’re bound to be dealing with people who still use them.
CardMunch enables you to take a quick snap of a business card and have it strip the details then add it to your library.
Finally with one click you can add the information to your LinkedIn account and inadvertently drag your prospect into the 21st century.
9) Quickly work out your margins so you can quote deals that work with Profit Story
If you’re in a position where you are in control of the price of your product, one small mistake on the paper you’re scribbling on can lead to disaster down the line.
I’ve misquoted customers and then had to fight with sales management to honour the broken pricing I’ve offered them to keep them happy (and loyal, hey who doesn’t love a bargain).
Profit Story takes some of the maths out of working out case discounts/profits/unit deals and so it removes a little bit of sales stress from your day too.
10) Record what was said so you can keep your promises with QuickVoice
QuickVoice is probably the most simple recording app there is and that makes it perfect for a busy salesperson who doesn’t want to learn a bunch of new technology.
Put your phone on the desk, click record and then you’ve a decent recording of what went down.
11) Find that unfindable email address with Lead411
Lead411 does one thing and one thing well, it gives you access.
If a secretary won’t give you a decision makers email address, if someone has moved companies and you want their new contact details, if that prospects email just isn’t available anywhere else – it’s likely on Lead411.
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