If there is one thing for sure, it’s that we’re living in strange times. You’ve probably seen more of Joe Exotic and Michael Jordan in the last few weeks than you have your team members. The lines have blurred between work life and home life and let’s face it, it’s a challenge. Coupled with the pressure of your business departments having to adapt and reinvent to survive. And none more so than sales and marketing. 

Both responsible for bringing in and retaining new business, yet all too often they are the first to bear significant cuts in budgets and resources. That said, how can you continue to attract and engage customers to the highest standard, and set them up for success beyond the pandemic, all the while streamlining your costs? 

The answer lies in getting creative with your resources and budgets and spending smarter, in order to future-proof your business. Customer success and trust will be paramount to weathering the storm, and that means ensuring that that you utilize the resources at your disposal to truly understand and cater to your customer’s position. 

It’s the survival of the fittest, and it’s time for sales and marketing to kick their training up a notch. Below are our top tips for sales & marketing team optimization during a pandemic.

Get Smarter With Systems 

Look at your tech stack as it pertains to sales and marketing as well as across the business. Oftentimes, significant cost savings can be made by assessing and iterating on the systems and processes you have in place. 

For FirstRain users, a great first step here is to activate Ignite Prime. Just like the way a Netflix subscription gives you access to unlimited shows, Prime does the same thing with software! Meaning you can leverage a whole range of capabilities to make your team more strategic. For example, utilize predictive lead scoring powered by Infer, to strategically approach your most valuable accounts that are more likely to convert, thus optimizing your time. 

Activating Prime opens up 17 game-changing capabilities, already available with your current FirstRain contract. This gives you the option to migrate select systems and cut down on current costs, or utilize the cutting-edge technology to boost your business. It’s really a no brainer.

Meaningful Conversation Is Key

According to the Boston Consulting Group, “As the shock (of the pandemic) settles in, sales must be prepped for the first five most likely conversations with existing customers. That entails developing a crisis battle card, which would typically include salespeople’s responses to frequently asked customer questions and even emerging best practices in the industry. Don’t forget that sales can provide great insights, especially for small and midsize businesses.” 

This is where FirstRain becomes your secret weapon, helping you to intercept these questions and provide valuable insights to your customers including how their industry and competitors are dealing with COVID-19. During any kind of crisis, a sales rep’s job gets exponentially more difficult. Establishing who to call, and what to say that strikes the right balance between sensitivity and trust is a challenge. FirstRain can support your team and help them overcome these challenges, by delivering conversation starters and unveiling strategic opportunities. 

According to one of our Fortune 500 customers, “FirstRain is enabling my team to uncover new business opportunities. Generic searches or costly research just can’t deliver as broad a scope of timely customer information as FirstRain can. FirstRain was easy for me to implement and is intuitive to use; we have deployed it to more than 80% of our sales and marketing professionals in less than three months.” Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the insights derived from FirstRain can really bolster conversations with prospects and customers and can make all the difference when it comes to winning and retaining business.

Adapt Your Positioning (Without Being Self-Serving)

It goes without saying that it can be difficult to position your brand in the midst of a global pandemic. The need to double down on marketing and sales efforts is more crucial than ever, but it’s also incredibly difficult to convey the need for a product or service with everything else going on. Your customer is entirely preoccupied with survival, and therefore it is absolutely necessary to overhaul your positioning and communicate the value of your product as it pertains to beating the impact of COVID-19. With many brands being slammed for their “tone deaf” approach to marketing during the crisis, the general guidelines are to re-assess and reframe your messaging in a way that makes it helpful, human, and supportive. 

Start by thinking of one particular thing you can offer, that goes above and beyond for your customers. Focus on building existing relationships and developing a better understanding of your customer’s challenges, many of them new, and how you can help to solve their problems. What about using Synoptos (a Prime solution) to curate high-value newsletters covering topics that matter most to them. Not only will it keep your brand top of mind, but it will show your customers that you really care.

Resource Reallocation for Agility

In strained times, agile teams are the ones that come out on top. Teams that re-allocate resources, both in terms of budgets and headcount to cover gaps and remain nimble. The world of sales and marketing is changing, but the right structure can make it easier to adapt. For example, if sales are quieter, how around training your teams to cover customer success initiatives in order to absolutely ensure your customers are receiving the best experience from you than ever before? 

Or what about looking for opportunities that would typically be out of budget? Globally, we are seeing a significant decrease in competition around advertising, both online and offline, which can be taken advantage of at a much-reduced rate. Brainstorming and finding creative solutions with your team is key here, and the uncovering of new opportunities will be sure to boost morale. 

These are just some examples of strategies to consider to stay ahead and beat the pandemic in more ways than one. Don’t forget, your Ignite Customer Success Manager is always available to walk you through the solutions you have at your disposal and ensure that you are using them to your advantage. With Prime already included in your contract, what are you waiting for? 

To learn more about boosting your success with Ignite Prime, contact us today.