To begin with, what is online sales? Online sales refer to the process of buying and selling goods and services through the Internet. While e-commerce refers to everything related to running a business online. E-commerce provides a digital marketplace that somehow makes the need for a physical store irrelevant, even though many businesses with an e-commerce platform still possess a physical store. 

Without a doubt, the revolution of e-commerce has changed the narrative of buying and selling goods and services because it helps businesses reach a wider audience globally in contrast to the traditional retail market. And with over 5.3 billion estimated users worldwide as of 2022, the internet has indeed turned the universe into a "global village," so the online space is bustling with activity 24/7. 

As evidence, retail e-commerce sales were projected to reach $5.7 trillion worldwide in 2022. That's not all; there are high hopes that the number will rise even further in the years to come. Looking through the statistics above, there is every reason for startups to have not only an online presence but one that is robust and equipped with the necessary tools to boost sales. Why? Because this is the only way to guarantee visibility to the target audience, long-term scalability, a large market share, and global reach.

This is to say, with more people embracing the convenience that comes with online shopping, there is a limitless opportunity for startups to thrive.This article explains one after another the relevant tools that have all it takes to breathe new life into your startup's online sales and help you share a large portion of the ever-expanding online sales space.

What are sales tools?

When we talk of sales tools, we are referring to all computer software designed for a sales force's use in managing all sales campaigns like advertising, inventory booking, campaign performance, and campaign analytics, for instance, customer view and position analysis. Sales tools are very important to companies of all sizes because sales teams are able to improve their working conditions by using them as resources to automate processes. They also help improve customer relationships and, most importantly, boost productivity and growth. Teams can also learn more about prospects, strategies, and the best ways to close deals with insight from sales tools. The importance and benefits of sales tools for startups are enormous. Which is what we'll be looking at in the next session.

Benefits of sales tools for startups

As we said earlier, the benefits of sales tools for startups are enormous. We tried analyzing it a little previously. Now let's look at others:

1. Connect with better-qualified customers

The sales team of any company spends a lot of time on tasks like creating sales pitches, making cold calls, and meeting customers. And these activities take up a lot of time and resources, especially if the intended customers reject the offer. With sales tools now in place to help your team target the right audience, your team can identify potential customers to engage with. Instead of sending out messages blindly, they can interact with prospects who are ready for a sales discussion. In essence, sales tools make it easier to close deals and meet sales goals.

2. Sales tools lighten the workload

In the past, startups hired sales personnel to search for leads online and engage with them to maintain interest. These same salespeople had to handle customer support and marketing tasks to reach new customers and again meet the company's monthly goals. Which used to be a tedious and overwhelming process for the sales team. Now, using effective sales tools automates many manual tasks in the sales process. For one, it removes repetitive activities like countless phone calls, back-and-forth emails, and crafting pitches. So now, the startup's sales team can focus on more important tasks. 

3. Attract more customers

The goal of any startup is to be able to target potential customers and get them to buy. This goal becomes easily achievable with the aid of efficient sales tools. Because, typically, startups lose customers for many reasons, in order to retain a strong customer base and increase revenue, your startup must draw in some leads and eventually convert them into customers. 

Using sales tools, startups can expand their customer base and keep their sales force busy with both current and potential customers. Knowing that startups lose customers for many reasons, you may lower your chances of missing out on Sales by managing the leads you turn into new customers. Hence, one great benefit of sales tools is that they protect you from any potential problem that might occur if you lose a sizable portion of your customer base. Sales tools will keep attracting customers to your sales channels.

4. Increased revenue

Recall that sales tools reduce manual tasks, automate processes, target potential customers, and give insightful analysis of sales channels to guide the team's decisions. Firstly, getting rid of repetitive tasks means the sales team has more time to focus on delivering more satisfying products or services, enhancing the customer’s experience, and coming up with new ideas. Eventually, this results in a happier customer base, which can further increase the net promoter score. In the end, your startup doesn't only enjoy repeated sales from your customer base; you also enjoy referrals, which eventually increase revenue generation.

Categories/types of sales tools

Breaking sales tools into categories is specifically necessary because sales tools are vast and some are developed to do many things at the same time. Here, we'll be breaking tools into categories based on their functionalities.

1. Content management tools

Lee Odden quoting Kevin Cain in his publication: What is Content? Learn from 40+ Content Definitions says:

Content is a compilation of information, ideas, and messages that are translated into some kind of written, visual, or audible format for others to consume.

And there's a popular saying that "content is king". This is as factual as it sounds. Because without the content, there wouldn't be any marketing, nor would there be sales.  This defines why we have the first category of sales tools as content management tools. 

Your sales and marketing teams will definitely need to collaborate to generate content for your website, social media, and emails, among others, because you need to draw in an audience when you are making sales. And there is no way any audience can hear about your sales without content. You would need to manage campaigns, produce videos, write blog posts, social media posts, etc. Marketing teams automate content strategies by using these technologies as aids.

2. Customer relationship management (CRM)

As the name suggests, CRM tools enable your sales team to more effectively manage their interactions with customers. Everything from managing sales and marketing communications to enhancing current customers' connections is possible with sales tools in this category. Among their many other functions, these tools are also developed to automate processes, offer insights, and assist with lead tracking. 

3. Email management

Email campaigns are one of the easiest and most productive marketing strategies. This has resulted in almost every company running a newsletter. When your campaign is successful, it might take a lot of time to respond to potential customers' inquiries. With the use of email management tools, you can streamline the procedure and consolidate all of the answers into a single platform. With email management tools, you can also adopt templates, personalize the response, and send automated emails. Additionally, you can see email marketing engagement metrics like the number of users who saw your emails.

4. Sales management tools

Here is another category of sales tools we cannot omit. As the name implies, the tools in this category are for anything that has to do with sales. With the use of this software, you can streamline company operations and attract potential customers. These tools can also be used for data analysis and customer engagement.

5. Sales automation tools 

Online sales might not be as productive as you desire for your startup without automation tools. And these tools are AI-powered tools that help breathe new life into your sales campaign, bringing your startup results for ROI. With automation tools, many processes can be automated. Personalized customer communications, scheduling, data entry, and sending email follow-ups are a few examples of common sales automation techniques. 

6. Sales analytics

Sales analytics have a major function: analyzing sales performance. Your startup's sales team can monitor and control the effectiveness of all sales processes with sales analytics solutions. They can also be used to forecast trends and gather information for upcoming marketing plans. Using sales analytics tools, your marketing team can examine specific steps in your sales processes to identify what's working and where room for improvement exists.

Application of sales tools to boost online sales

In this session, we'll be discussing how sales tools are applied in sales based on the categories above.

ClearSlide – content management

This is a content management tool that sales and marketing teams use to organize content, communicate it either physically or virtually to customers. They also use it to get insights into how customers engage with the content. 

‍Application:

• For creating shareable presentations

presentations for customers or marketing campaigns

• For tracking clicks and views of presentations

Copper – customer relationship management (CRM)

Copper is a CRM tool developed by Google. So it functions alongside Google Workspace, and users can integrate it with other Google products like Gmail, Calendar, Slides, Docs, etc. to enhance productivity. Sales teams can apply Copper to growing contact lists, creating multiple pipelines, and generating legacy reports, among others.

Outreach – email management

Outreach is an AI-powered sales tool with different functions, but we are more concerned about its email campaign functionality. These email features help sales teams automate and manage email campaigns and follow-ups. With outreach email features, Sales teams can:

• Automate personalization
• Schedule email
• Automate follow-up
• Track email performance and 
• Access tons of email templates for campaigns

Bitrix24 – sales management tool 

Bitrix24 is a suitable sales management tool for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides features like quotes, email marketing, telemarketing, sales automation, project management, and document management that are all free. Sales teams can manage sales pipelines, generate leads, web forms, use triggers to move potential customers along the pipeline, etc. Also, online ads, social media accounts, live chat, and telephone calls can be managed from a single interface.

Drip– Sales automation tool

This is a sales automation platform that was created with small businesses in mind. The unique sales automation features that Drip provides can be very useful for e-commerce startups. Drip allows you to build multi-channel sales campaigns. Using these automation tools, you can advertise your goods and services via email, SMS, social media, and interactive website content. You can also make the most of consumer data through integration with platforms like Shopify.

Hubspot Sales Hub – Sales analytics tool

Hubspot is a popular sales analytics tool that companies the world over utilize to monitor each stage of their sales funnel. It allows the sales team to keep track of consumer behavior as it moves through the sales funnel and adjusts the company's marketing strategy as necessary. With Hubspot Sales Hub, you receive a full sales management solution that includes process automation, marketing emails, and ads.

Hubspot Analytics lets sales teams of any company:

• Track sales performance 
• Manage sales
• Offer sales analytics and
• Offers predictive lead tracking

Final thoughts

In the world today, e-commerce has transformed how businesses of all sizes sell their products and services, giving them access to a global audience of 5.3 billion people. To this end, harnessing sales tools like CRM, automation, and content management facilitates visibility to the right audience, speeds up work, and increases revenue. These technologies enable companies to successfully traverse the internet market, whether it is through managing content, automating emails, or analyzing sales data. With the appropriate tools, startups can take advantage of the numerous opportunities presented by online sales to boost growth, visibility, and success in a business environment that is continually evolving.

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