Is Product Recommendation Software Right for You?
Forbes reports that 57% of sales reps missed their quota last year. While that statistic is alarming, the critical question that managers need to ask is why. Why aren’t reps knocking every single sale out of the park? Sales can be an area of high turnover, so maybe they’re not all up to speed, they’re struggling with product positioning, or they aren’t strong at interpreting and identifying the needs of a customer. Sales managers want their reps to hit more home runs – and product recommendation software is a big bat.
If you don’t have great selling aids, it’s time to consider what benefits come with the use of a guided selling tool. It enables new sales reps to get up to speed more quickly, helps reps keep their messaging consistent, and ultimately leads to the right recommendation for your customers. Think of your best salesperson. A guided selling tool basically lets you clone that person and have them in the sales conversation with all of your reps.
Product Recommendation Software, like all tools, is designed to help you achieve what would otherwise be much harder without the assistance - so much so that we’ve seen close rates increase by 40% when product recommendation software has been used.
So, What is Product Recommendation Software?
Before considering what to look for, it’s important that you understand exactly what product recommendation software is. In short, it’s a software application that enables reps to deliver excellent sales experiences and recommendations through a conditional, needs-based assessment. With this software’s help, reps are better able to guide customers and generate trust and confidence.
Benefits of guided selling:
- Onboards reps faster
- Increases sales productivity
- Engages buyers with an interactive buying experience
- Delivers an accurate and highly-personalized buyer experience with real-time leave behinds
- Replicates and automates what works for top performers
Product recommendation is an art that enables the asking of intelligent questions and then uses customer response to drive recommendations and guided up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. Isn’t that what any customer and sales rep would want?
9 Essential Considerations
Now that you see the problem and understand a potential solution, you’re on to something. Here are some considerations for you before adding product recommendation to your toolbox:
WHY YOU MIGHT WANT IT WHY YOU MIGHT NOT
SHORTEN TRAINING TIME
Product Recommendation Software allows your reps to get up to speed more quickly because they have a tool to help them and because that tool doubles as a training aid.
INCONSISTENT MESSAGING
If you have a brand-new team still looking to establish itself and figure out what works, you’re messaging might not be consistent enough, yet.
ACCURATE PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
If your reps are using a tool that has the correct information, they’re far less likely to make a wrong recommendation.
DON’T KNOW WHAT WORKS
If you haven’t figured out your “special sauce” yet, it’s difficult to scale what works. It helps to figure out sells within your organization as a foundation before incorporating this software.
BUYER-LED JOURNEY
Potential buyers can interact with the tool and feel ownership of the process – leading them to feel less “sold to” and reducing the chances of an incorrect recommendation.
LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE
Perhaps you don’t have the infrastructure to capitalize on the rich data insights Product Recommendation Software can provide. If you can’t harness the full functionality of the tool, it might not be worth it for your organization.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Product Recommendation Software has the ability to delight customers by providing an interactive experience and better recommendations.
REDUCE FOLLOW-UP TIME
You can send follow-up communications immediately either during or after a meeting to keep the pipeline moving and keep your reps selling.
ENGAGE MORE PROSPECTS
With shorter, more precise sales meetings, your reps are more available.
Does This Sound Like Something That’s Right for You
We’re not talking about a CRM or refresher training. We’re talking about focusing on your customers, their experience, their trust, and ultimately – their purchase.
If you’re looking for a sales aid that’s consistent, up-to-date, personalized, digital, mobile, and has shown consistent results like 60% increase in YOY sales and 40% increase in rep productivity, then using product recommendation software could be a solution for your company.
Give your customers exactly what they want at the right price—without second-guessing your product recommendations or quotes.
