Updated on November 23, 2021
The end of 2019 quickly approaches and we can hardly even remember the grand changes that occurred at the beginning of the year.
The sales market has significantly reshaped in the past months. It suffices to say – this year has treated the sales industry quite well.
But now that we’re almost there, it is time to check in.
What have the prognosticators for sales discovered for the future?
Were they accurate in anticipating the changes in the sales market in 2019?
But most importantly, what should we be expecting in terms of sales trends 2020?
Without further ado, we’re introducing you to the four biggest sales trends you should expect in 2020.
1. A Rise in Omnichannel Sales
One of the most surprising predictions for 2019 was Saleshacker’s forecast regarding the rise of omnichannel sales.
According to this prediction, the variety of newly developed tech tools and apps makes it easier than ever to reach out via social media, direct mail, or email.
A few years ago, the approach was much simpler. All you needed was a couple of well-written, SEO optimized articles and sharing them was considered the best and only wise marketing strategy.
Now that you have more tools at your disposal, you quite literally have an arsenal for a better marketing strategy and wider reach. This trend is only expected to grow. Thanks to tools and apps like Sales.Rocks that you can use to target a specific market and boost the sales percentage, sales outreach is no longer distant to businesses.
2.Increased Need and Demand of CRM
CRM products currently cater primarily to enterprise companies. This is bound to change in the near future.
Nowadays, even the smallest businesses need CRM to handle prospects and customers. Rather than using spreadsheets and spending hours on organization, businesses are quickly switching to CRM data solutions to boost their sales processes.
In terms of CRM, growing companies are in a much better situation than big businesses, financially speaking. They don’t need to shell out the big bucks to purchase a CRM. Affordable technologies like Hubspot CRM provide businesses with all the functions they need for a data-driven sales approach, all achieved with minimal setup required.
3.Data-Driven Sales Approach
Speaking of a data driven sales approach, this is expected to turn into one of the best sources for a more competitive advantage. Seeing how companies are in the constant struggle to find a way that will give them a competitive advantage, this is most likely to become the biggest trend of them all.
In the near future, it’s expected that the data-driven approach will go beyond just one or two channels. The highest and most valuable success is achieved across channels.
For example, a marketer can use the findings from email marketing data to understand the value propositions that lead to the highest number of click-through-rates.
This data gives the marketer an idea of what approach to use next to improve their email marketing strategy or the cold calling outreach.
The same goes for using the data-driven approach to generate targeted leads. Without a systematic approach for handing them off to sales is next to pointless. This is the part where you should use demographic data relevant to your leads and customers.
4.The Use of AI on the Rise
This year, we’ve been witnessing the largest infiltration of AI in the world of business, the sales industry included. Businesses now use it to prevent cybercrimes and fight fraud, hire the best talent available, get access to accurate analytics in real time, as well as automate their sales processes.
But, the sales prospecting tools that are bound to boost an even more rapid interest in the year that comes are talking robots. The number of businesses that use chatbots to communicate with potential leads is growing by the minute and the results are already pretty impressive. Right now, you can implement chatbots as your frontline sales agents and give customers instant access to important information.
People don’t have the time or the patience to stick around and wait for you to respond to their queries. This is why one of the highest expected sales trends 2020 will be the rise of talking robots that deliver instant and consistent information that turns leads into actual customers.
The Bottom Line
As a marketer, your greatest task and obligation is to keep up with the trends that help your business grow.
That being said, it is time to find ways to leverage these predictions and get some competitive advantage for your business.
