Sales Intelligence can be defined as the process of collecting data for the purpose of lead generation and/or building an Ideal Customer Profile.
Ideally, Sales Intelligence data should include contextual information including organizational reporting structure, budgets, company initiatives, financials, personnel moves and predictive actions. This contextual data will help you determine which leads to prioritize.
Sales Intelligence data provides insight into buying decisions. You can use it to find out who makes purchasing decisions, how they go about researching vendors, and why they ultimately decide to purchase a product. This insight into the buyer journey can help you refine your sales techniques. The more you know about your prospective customer-base, the easier it will be to sell to them.
In addition to contextual data, Sales Intelligence also picks up on buying signals. These signals indicate a buyer’s intent to make a purchase. In other words, when a business exhibits buying signals, it’s a good time to get in touch with them. Sales Intelligence connects you with the right leads at the right time.
How can you use Sales Intelligence?
To build an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
An Ideal Customer Profile is a set of characteristics that defines your best customers. To define your ideal prospective businesses, consider:
- Industry
- Location
- Size
To find your ideal contact at these businesses, consider:
- Level
- Department
- Function
Sales Intelligence can help you further develop your ICP. It uncovers information about:
- Ownership
- Business models
- Technologies
Sales Intelligence data will help you build an ICP without relying on anecdotal evidence. This data-driven approach to designing an ICP will generate more accurate results. The best part is you can use them to quantify your Total Addressable Market.
Many businesses have a hazy idea of their target market. Sales Intelligence can help you fill in the gaps. Learning more about your buyers and your position in the market will help you refine your marketing and sales strategies.
To generate leads
Lead generation through SEO, content marketing, cold calling, and email campaigns can be effective. However, these marketing strategies take time to have an effect. Sales Intelligence Is the fastest way to generate high-quality leads. This is particularly useful if you are trying to maintain a steady pipeline of leads.
Sales Intelligence tools can also help you measure the strength of a lead. This is achieved with intent data. Intent data indicates which businesses are actively searching for products like yours online. To collect intent data, your Sales Intelligence software detects buying, or intent, signals. These signals indicate that a lead is read to buy.
Buyers that are exhibiting intent signals should be top priority.
How does AI affect Sales Intelligence?
A machine programed to perform specific cognitive tasks is known as Artificial Intelligence or AI. Believe it or not, AI plays a big role in Sales Intelligence. Specifically, AI can help with the following tasks:
- Lead scoring
- Building a pipeline
- Predictive forecasting
- Automating tasks
Utilizing AI can help you increase your prospect list and boost your conversion rate. Plus, it performs repetitive tasks -like analyzing data and scoring leads- for you.
Evaluating Sales Intelligence Providers
To help you decide which Sales Intelligence provider is right for you, we’ve compiled a list of must-haves below.
- Intent data. Sales Intelligence should include intent data. Not only does it help you identify high-quality leads. It also helps you contact them at the right time.
- Prospect intelligence. The bare minimum for any Sales Intelligence provider should be accurate prospect intelligence. This should include information about the company as well as contact data for their employees.
- Real-time alerts. To make the most of your Sales Intelligence data, you should be acting quickly. Unfortunately, you can’t do that without real-time alerts.
Conclusion
Sales Intelligence data can revolutionize your approach to sales. It can improve both the quantity and quality of your leads. Plus, it can tell you when it’s the right time to strike.
B2B sales runs on data. To succeed in this industry, you need detailed, up-to-date information about your buyers.
Luckily, Visual Visitor is here to help! Our data is updated regularly to ensure you’re receiving the most accurate information possible.
Our Sales Intelligence Platform is equipped with contact data, intent data, and firmographic data. We can tell you:
- Who’s researching your products online
- Who’s opening your proposals
- Who’s visiting your website
- Who to contact and how
While Sales Intelligence may not make you smarter, it will certainly help you shorten your B2B sales cycle – you’ll close more deals in less time.
Interested in Sales Intelligence data? Sign up for a few demo today.