Top 10 Sales Tools for 2021 | The Only Guide You Need
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Sales are all about communication and understanding a client’s needs, yet only one-third of the time spent on sales is used to communicate with potential clients.
Luckily, 2021 is bringing us new trends and new sales tools:
→ The use of artificial intelligence (AI) for sales automation.
→ A stronger marketing and sales alignment.
→ A new focus on customer experience.
Designing a sales process with these trends and tools in mind will save you time and boost productivity.
Here’s a list of the Top 10 Sales Tools for 2021 that will help your business to grow, alongside some action points to improve your sales process.
#1 Hubspot
The first tool is a CRM or Customer Relationship Manager. There’s no excuse not to use an Excel Spreadsheet, and I love spreadsheets, when you have an excellent and free tool available, aka Hubspot.
Hubspot will :
→ Store all your contacts, establish sales phases, communicate with clients, and build reports.
→ Create a chatbot.
→ Use the Hubspot Academy to learn more and obtain certifications.
It’s difficult to improve on this tool. The main difference with other CRMs, like Salesforce, is that Hubspot makes the Sales and Marketing teams work together.
The free version is ideal for anyone who is not ready to make an investment and purchase the full version.
Action points:
#2 Intercom
Imagine, it is early in the morning and you open your laptop and grab a coffee. Then you log into your Intercom account and start a conversation with leads and clients, and start helping them out.
Intercom takes all your inbound communications and creates chats – messenger style, out of them.
Sounds good? It gets better, as Intercom will label your leads with a chatbot which is super friendly and not ‘roboty’, so you can focus on the meaningful interaction.
In their own words: ‘Intercom gives us a single tool that lets us sell to and support users through every step of the funnel’.
Action points:
- Take your sales funnel and analyze how many communication platforms you are using. If your business model needs lots of interaction and you’re using too many platforms and sales software, try intercom for free here.
Best Sales Tools: What You Need for 2021 | @ matfelipe
#3 Lusha
If you need a little push with prospecting, Lusha is a fantastic tool.
The software is perfect if you’re trying to reach decision-makers contacts in big corporate organizations.
With the basic, free version, you’ll get phone numbers and email addresses for impactful leads. With the paid version, you’ll get CRM integrations and other functionalities.
#4 LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Although Lusha is a proven sales prospecting tool, LinkedIn is the social media with higher conversion rates, and the LinkedIn Sales Navigator uses a powerful algorithm to find the prospects best aligned with what you have to offer.
There is a 30-day free trial but after that prices start at $780.00 a year.
Action points:
- If you’re doing B2B sales, try Lusha and the LinkedIn Sales Navigator for free.
- Once you understand the system, study your real needs and decide if upgrading to the Lusha paid version or the Sales Navigator are worthwhile.
#5 Soapbox
Video content is becoming increasingly powerful every day.
Tiktok is now the most downloaded app in the Apple Store in 2020, and with 800 million active users worldwide, it has surpassed LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat!
The trend is here to stay, as gen-Z is showing us that you can be yourself and show who you are online; and that creates trust – something that every client is looking for.
If you want to create some video content to share online or with a lead, here’s where Soapbox kicks in.
Soapbox is a super simple to use Chrome Extension that will record you, and your screen at the same time. Once you have completed filming, you can edit your video and either share, or embed your clip in an email.
Action points:
- Download the Soapbox Chrome extension and watch the welcome video.
- For your next email campaign, include a video.
According to Wistia, using video leads to a 300% increase in email click-through rates, compared to emails without video.
The open rates increase by 19% if you use the word “video” in the subject line, and reduce unsubscribes by 25%.
#6 Gmail & Google Suite
It can’t be overlooked. A Gmail account and Google Suite provides you real-time cloud-based access to a variety of integrated tools that help with your sales processes and sales data.
The advantage over other Suites like Microsoft’s Office, is that the entirety of the Google Workspace has been designed to be fully remote and accessible via your email account.
I personally use Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Drive but there are other tools like Google Data Studio or Google Currents.
With a Gmail account, you get access to features such as email tracking, email marketing automation, templates, and integration with CRM – do I hear Hubspot?
Action points:
Top 10 Sales Tools for 2021 : Empower Your Sales Team, Boost Results and Efficiency | @ soundtrap
#7 Proposify
If you work with proposals, Proposify is your tool.
It creates great-looking sales documents with easy to customize templates. The templates can also be altered by the client or downloaded to a pdf for a more classic approach.
One of the best features of Proposify is the software informing you which part of the proposal has been looked at, or which part has not been opened at all.
It is like having a crystal ball. Proposify includes an e-signature tool, and a cohesive branded experience.
#8 Mailchimp
In their own words, Mailchimp is the all-in-one integrated marketing platform for small businesses.
This tool is very much loved in the sales industry, it did democratize email campaigns, and now offers a wide range of solutions for small and not so small businesses.
Mailchimp is on this list owing to the automated campaign creation. This allows you to collect leads from your website, create a campaign, and send emails to a list of contacts.
Action points:
- Create a free account here.
- Learn how to use Mailchimp to increase your sales here.
- Create your first campaign.
#9 Calendly
Calendy doesn’t need much explanation. With Calendly, you feel like you have an assistant scheduling your meetings. You just need to give Calendy access to your availability and forget about back-and-forth emails to schedule a call.
I’m not even giving you action points here, take a deep breath, and enjoy the peace and simplicity.
#10 Cardify
The last is Cardify, a digital salesperson tool par excellence. Cardify replaced your beloved piece of cardboard with your contact details on it, with contactless business cards.
This has a multitude of uses such as conversation starter, ice breaker, or book point. Like Dr. Who’s screwdriver, Cardify can be anything you need it to be!
Cardify creates a digital process whereby a lead taps your ‘card’, it will then show your contact details in their phone. Isn’t that cool?
There is a free version but the paid version includes CRM integration and branding options.
Action point:
- There’s a promotion running until the end of the year, create your own Cardify free account and ask for a free tappable card here.
I hope this list of the Top 10 Sales Tools for 2021 was useful and that your sales numbers start to skyrocket! 🚀
Interested in improving your sales process?
Check out our online business course or contact Gurvi Movement to book an hour with me, Ivana, Sales Specialist.
Have you enjoyed this post? I’d love to hear from you, please leave a comment below! You can also follow me on Instagram @tips_ventas. See you there! 🙌
Hi! I’m Ivana, an award-winning Sales & Relationships Manager with +10 years of experience. During all this time I’ve been learning Consultative Sales techniques and Management systems in London and Barcelona. Now I enjoy training teams and coaching anyone who needs help with sales. Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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