Three ways to improve sales in the manufacturing industry

How does your company stand out amongst the others? It’s a competitive playing field in the manufacturing industry, and if your sales process isn’t top of the line, you’ll lose current clients and prospective clients.

Our team has drawn up three major factors to help manufacturers stay ahead of the competitive curve and nail those key account sales. By simplifying your sales tactics and creating a seamless and continuous strategy throughout your pre-sale, selling, and post-sale process, your company will be set up for long-term success.

Collaboration

How well do your sales, marketing, and support teams communicate? Do you have a system in place for your support team to quickly access your sales team or experts in the organization? Simplifying your internal communications can improve your overall sales and keep your employees on track to give your customers the best experience possible.

Did you know?
35–50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first.

Using a modern cloud CRM integrated into other departments in your business offers your team the capability to share customer data between internal groups. This creates a more seamless process of communication throughout your organization while mitigating confusion between customers and teams.

Not only will a robust CRM help your organization strengthen customer relationships, but collaboration and consistent communication can create more engaged employees and increase productivity by 20-25%.

Accurate, Fast Pricing

Are your sales reps and channel partners lacking the necessary tools for quoting and pricing? When your team implements Salesforce CPQ, your sales reps and channel partners will be able to configure, price, and quote those complex solutions, FAST. What does this do for your business and customers?

• Unify sales and pricing functions with complete visibility throughout the entire customer lifecycle.
• Easily recognize revenue and report on quotes, orders, invoices, and payments to make more strategic business decisions.
• Automate complicated billing requirements and electronic payments for invoices.
• Reduce customer churn by proactively reaching out to customers before their contracts expire.
• Identify and select the right products to bundle together for customers’ unique business needs.

Your team can streamline their entire quoting process through CPQ functionality while reducing the potential for error and improving overall customer retention.

Invest in Tech

How can investing in tech make a difference? With the right tech, you can find key customers, close deals faster, and make a big jump in your revenue. Salesforce offers an array of solutions to improve all areas of your business to push sales and give support to your entire organization. Take a look at how it can impact these target areas:

• Marketing & Sales Teams: Salesforce CRM and Pardot Marketing Automation can create personalized sales journeys for every customer. By connecting data across sales and marketing, you can engage every prospect and customer on their preferred method of contact. Sales can drive revenue through Salesforce CPQ, bundling and packaging the right products for your customers’ individual needs.

• Customer Support Team: Your support team will get calls and emails from your customers, and it’s essential they can respond with quick, reliable, and helpful information. When they have access to the data that your CRM stores, your support team can see your customer’s purchase history and previous interactions with the sales team. This data will guide your support team to help resolve any issues or questions your customers may have.

• Operations: With a modern CRM, your team will receive an accurate view of your entire pipeline with in-depth forecasts for each segment. Forecast expected sales, opportunities, and product quantities to make better business decisions based on past customer data and insights.

These three tactics will help your sales team simplify their process, improve overall ROI, and help your entire organization stay ahead of the competitive curve. Check out our free guide on CPQ for manufacturing.

About the author

Spencer Pereira has a degree in integrated marketing communications and writing. He has worked in various marketing roles at Google and Valmont Industries.