4 Steps to Transform your Sales Strategy in 2021

COVID-19 has had a seismic effect on the economy, with several B2B companies permanently changing the way they operate. Salespeople have been particularly impacted, with many struggling to close new deals and meet their sales goals during the pandemic. If, like them, your business development has stalled during COVID-19, then it could be your sales strategy that’s holding you back.

So what steps can you take to be sure that your business hits the ground running in the new year? Here at Beauhurst, we know what it takes to implement a successful sales strategy, so we’ve put together a helpful guide on how to make yours more effective in 2021. 

Building an effective sales strategy is about more than just generating leads—you need to find the right opportunities for your business, and approach them at the right time. With access to the Beauhurst platform, transforming your business development strategy becomes a whole lot easier. The quality and depth of our dataset will help you to create a more informed sales plan, and everything you need is in one place, so that you can maximise your time and efforts. 

For sales teams looking to boost conversion rates and hit their targets, these four steps will help you lay the groundwork for next year’s success.

1.   Find and target the people you can help the most

2020 has been a difficult year, and while 2021 should see a big improvement, people will still need help—finding out who your product helps the most is key. Having built a picture of your ideal customer and buyer personas through internal analysis on your CRM, you then need to identify new leads quickly, only targeting the businesses that are most likely to convert. 

Beauhurst’s dataset allows you to quickly zero in on your target market, helping you skip the arduous lead generation process, and giving you more time to negotiate and close deals. For instance, if your target market is energy companies with obvious gaps in their C-suite, Beauhurst’s advanced search tool can find the businesses that align with your customer profile, cutting down the time you spend on prospecting from days to minutes.

Perhaps you’re a marketing agency looking specifically for seed-stage tech companies that have strong growth potential but have been hit hard by the pandemic. Advanced search can help with that too…

2. Understand the full picture

Whilst company financials might give you a good sense of a business’ long-term growth trajectory, this information is usually 12-18 months old, and there’s often much more to the story. Knowing how companies have been affected by COVID-19, for instance, or perhaps the date that they last secured funding, can be of immense value. Having this type of knowledge and understanding means that you can better prioritise your outreach.

Ensuring that you have these insights at the start of the sales process will save you from making a poorly-timed approach, and should lead to higher conversion rates as a result. The Beauhurst platform can give you up-to-date information on all innovative UK companies, from agile startups and small businesses, to scaleups. You can see fundraising figures, or news mentions, or even find out if a business is hiring right now—we cover it all on company profiles, so you can be fully informed in your decision-making.

3.   Be personalised in your approach

Once you’ve identified and qualified your leads, it’s important that you then take the time to craft a well-researched email or prepared points of conversation for your sales calls. Your prospects will only spend time on you if you’ve spent time on them, so be highly personalised in your approach—make sure that you understand their pain points, and figure out exactly how your product can help them. And take pride in the fact that the product you’re selling is genuinely valued and adds to the world.

Using the Beauhurst platform is a quick and easy way for you to deliver a more effective, tailored sales pitch to potential customers. Let’s say the eHealth company that you want to target has just received a new fundraising from Index Ventures…  With Beauhurst’s people tab, you can find the most relevant decision maker at the company, as well as verified emails and linkedin profiles. Then, rather than relying on your usual email template, you could reach out with something more tailored: “Congratulations on your recent raise! We’ve actually worked with a number of Index Ventures’ portfolio companies before…” This is a sure-fire way to set yourself apart from the rest, which should mean better conversions, quicker! 

4.   Get stuck in

The UK could see massive amounts of growth in 2021, as the economy begins to open up again. Companies are likely to reassess their business strategies, reignite expansion plans and start to take more risks, looking to get ahead of their competition. Meanwhile, any investors that have held back during the volatility of this year will be keen to get back in the game. Equipping yourself to best go after these opportunities, and simply getting stuck in, is the best thing to be doing right now, rather than waiting for inbound interest.

For each of the businesses that we track, we build a detailed and up-to-date profile with over 450 searchable data points, including their transactions, financials, and key people. You can even receive automatic updates about prospects, straight into your inbox. Each of our users has access to a dedicated account manager, so that you can get the most out of the platform from the very start of your subscription. Put simply, we make it quick and easy for you to discover new leads, before your competitors do.

Beauhurst can help

Hit the ground running next year with a great sales strategy in place. Join hundreds of leading organisations, across dozens of industries, already using our data to find and connect with qualified leads at the fastest-growing companies in the UK. Watch the video below to see the platform in action, or book a demo for a tailored walkthrough with one of our associates.