Maven Sales Group Blog

2019 is coming to a close, and with it the dawning of new marketing automation trends. Throughout 2019, the marketing automation sector experienced an 8.55 percent growth that shows no signs of slowing down. Market capitalization is set to reach an impressive $6.4 billion

always-online consumer demands marketing automation, and in 2020 the following trends are ready to begin as soon as the bell rings in the new year.

Picture this scenario

Your sales team manually inputting leads and notes into Microsoft Excel or Outlook, keeping them off the phone. Microsoft Excel excels at everything related to spreadsheets, from calculations to graphing tools. Outlook not only serves as an email communications system, but also has built-in features that help users organize tasks, meetings, and notes. So it seems like it would make sense to use these as your sales tools of choice, right?

In 2016, the use of these systems for sales-oriented tasks were more common, as 40% of salespeople reported using these means to store leads and customer data. 

And now picture this scenario:

Having an automated system that tracks leads, stores customer data, creates detailed sales and marketing reports, and manages all email, phone, and meeting communications. That’s not even all of it. A system like this exists, and it’s an acronym you may have seen - CRM. CRM stands for customer relationship management and is commonly followed up with the word “system” after it. Between 2016 and now, CRM adoption by businesses has grown by 113%, with 64% of sales professionals reporting that they use CRM tools.

Thanks to social media, instant access to online communities is now easier than ever. Consumers can pull out their smartphone or computer, and engage in a live stream of worldwide events, participate in online group chats, and scroll through their newsfeed to see the must-know happenings. Businesses have a platform to deliver engaging content about their services and products, and with the right social media strategy, can make a post go from hundreds to millions of views within minutes. Even though social media didn’t take off until the early 2000s, it follows a principle that has been around much longer: sharing is caring.

Social media is a must-have for businesses of any size. However, the inherent challenge of social media is keeping up with world of ever-changing algorithms, growing demographics, and varying industry trends. With all of these challenges lurking, social media management can easily become the snowball that finds the bunny slope, and quickly becomes an out of control avalanche. In other words, don't let social media management in a fickle environment overwhelm you. Instead, the following post will help you to overcome the most common struggles of social media for businesses. 

In sales, first impressions often play a critical role in helping the prospect begin his or her buyer's journey. However, far too often businesses fail to remember that a Sales Development Representative (SDR) plays an entirely different role than an appointment setter. Failing to understand the key differences between these two roles can lead to fewer conversions, a limited number of prospects in the beginning portions of the sales funnel, and inevitably fewer sales. The good news is that understanding the following four differences can help businesses maximize their approach to contacting new prospects and warm leads. 

Sales coaching vs. sales training. These two terms are often tossed around by C-level executives without truly understanding a) what their teams need to succeed, and b) how they can best help managers support their teams to increase sales and meet established quarterly goals. The challenge of course with the latter statement, is that many C-level executives don't like being told that they are not only wrong, but that they are doing their team a disservice. After all, when you have risen to the highest levels of power within your company, you like to think that you understand every aspect and that you, as the leader, are best suited for making all decisions. Unfortunately, appointing managers the task of being the "sales coach," is like accelerating in a no wake zone; not only is it dangerous, but you are inevitably dooming the entire ship to a disastrous ending. 

What a week. In fact it was the kind week we needed a week to recover from! So many new product services being launched, so many amazing people we connected with and heard speak. David was even a featured Speaker this year…. Also amazing.