Sales is a tough game and it's easy to get discouraged. If you aren't getting the results that you want, don't give up! There are plenty of ways to hack your way into success in sales. Here are 9 growth hacking strategies to triple your sales.
The sales hacker is a mythological figure, the go-to guy for sales problems. The hacker has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve to close each deal and find new prospects, but they’re not easy to spot.
They are masters at turning objections into opportunities. They have an uncanny ability to identify the pain points in any given situation and come up with creative solutions that help both parties gain more value from their interaction.
They might not have a sales process or playbook, but they do know how to read prospects and turn their needs into sales. Hackers believe in the power of relationships over anything else—and that’s why they always win in the end.
The sales hacker is an expert at uncovering hidden opportunities by uncovering information from sales prospects and sales leads.
They know they’re not the most experienced salespeople out there, but their unique approach to sales enables them to close more deals than anyone else. They never stop learning about themselves or their industry, and they always keep moving forward—because that's what hackers do best: hacking into new opportunities.
Hacking sales
So, what exactly is sales hacking?
It entails being extremely resourceful and inventive with the tools at your disposal in order to move your pipeline along more quickly, close transactions faster, close bigger agreements, and earn more income.
Startups inspired and were inspired by sales hacking. When you're a startup up against multibillion-dollar competition, your only option is to hack the system.
Altschuler engaged virtual assistants as SDRs for Udemy and paid them $800 per month. Other businesses in San Francisco were paying $5,000 per month in SDRs.
"No one has time for you," Altschuler says. "Big corporations have no time for you." You must either arrange what you do in such a way that they will make time for it, or simply hustle your way into it.
I despise the term hustle because it's so wide and ambiguous, yet that's exactly what it is.
According to Altschuler, the CEO of Under Armour had two sets of business cards.
"He gave out a sales rep card when he wanted to make his company look bigger," explains Altschuler.
"He gave out his CEO card when he wanted to be the CEO and negotiate deals." That's the psychological aspect of sales hacking," says the author.
The most effective sales tools
Using the greatest and most efficient sales tools is also part of sales hacking. "There's no reason why you shouldn't be utilizing anything to track those emails and template your emails if you're using a CRM in email," adds Altschuler.
"There's no reason why you shouldn't use a sophisticated dialer if you're phoning people."
CrystalKnows is a new favourite tool that evaluates your prospects' personalities and delivers recommendations on how to engage with them appropriately, whether you're speaking with them online or in person.
It's just as addicting as a horoscope, but far more accurate.
For its conferences, SalesHacker intends to use Metadata.io, a different tool.
The solution integrates with your marketing automation system, detects prospects who are similar to you, and then targets them with adverts in order to convert them into inbound leads.
"Instead of having your sales development professionals contact out, you're virtually warming up leads," explains Altschuler.
SalesHacker believes sales metrics are critical. "You should be eating sales metrics for breakfast," he says. Salespeople need to understand their numbers and what they mean, because it's how your organization makes money."
I could go on with a list of sales hacking strategies all day long, but I'll end this piece by leaving you with sales hacking's number one rule:
In sales, you have to be able to look at a situation and see everything that can go wrong or right with it. You need the ability to do this in every sales scenario—and then learn from your mistakes when things don't work out as planned."
You've probably seen a few salespeople who despise dealing with data. They probably don't spend much time at the end of the quarter reflecting on their data (beyond putting together a mandated sales report), and they never look for a chance to analyze the reports of their team members.
This may not have an immediate influence on their ability to make sales, but it does put them at a disadvantage when it comes to becoming a hacker.
That's because a hacker isn't afraid of numbers. In fact, they worry over how existing data may be leveraged to improve their results, going beyond measuring and tracking.
Top hackers understand that metrics are what demonstrate their success, drive them to work harder, and provide critical insight into any issues that the team may face.
Anyone who wants to improve their sales process should spend some time analyzing data - not just their own sales, but the numbers from the entire team.
This enables you to address critical obstacles that may be stifling or inhibiting your company's expansion. Identifying roadblocks in your sales process helps you flourish as an individual, improves productivity, and benefits your company.
2. Refine Your Ideal Customer Profile
Because they need to know their target market inside and out, they invest time into understanding the ideal customer profile.
"It's not just about what your mission is; it's also who you're looking for," explains Altschuler. "If you don't have a clear idea of who those people are - like if the person is not someone who you can get through to - then it's going to be very hard for salespeople.
A hacker would never just create a profile based on gut instinct. Instead, they'd do their homework by looking at the target market and studying the existing data about them, which may include information from social media or industry reports.
But hackers don't just stop at an ideal customer profile. They also explore how potential customers are purchasing products in the market today, whether they're doing it on their own or through a sales representative.
This isn't about selling to people who you think might become your clients; instead, they look for individuals that have already bought into your company's product or service, but are shopping around for the best deal.
People love games. And salespeople who use them in their sales strategies are often able to close more deals.
In fact, Gamification has been shown to increase productivity by as much as 27 percent and makes employees happier.
"You can make a game out of anything," says Altschuler. "It's about making it interesting and fun."
But hackers don't just take an existing game and slap it on to the sales process - they are able to focus their sales strategy around a single, crucial element.
For example, instead of using gamification for tasks that have nothing to do with sales tactics, you might try implementing it into your cold-calling or even sales strategy.
They are able to figure out what sales process elements are most effective, and which ones bore salespeople - then they use game mechanics to improve them.
You should never assume you know everything about your sales process. They are always looking for new data points, no matter how small they may be, to improve their sales strategy - and that includes feedback from customers.
"If there's any way you can get input on what the customer thinks of your salespeople or sales strategies," suggests Altschuler, "take it."
It's not enough to seek customer feedback during the sales process. Hackers also track their customers for months following a sale, gauging whether or not they're satisfied with the product and how likely they are to purchase again in the future.
This type of ongoing research will give you plenty of insight into how your sales team is performing, where you might be struggling with the sales process, and what areas need to be improved.
The best part about using customer feedback in sales hacking? It's free! So don't hesitate to ask for it.
When salespeople are sales hacking, they're often trying to sell their product or service by being as creative as possible.
But hackers know that there's no point in coming up with a wild sales strategy if the marketing department doesn't support it.
"Sales teams should work closely together," suggests Altschuler. "They need to know what sales people are doing and how they're crafting their sales strategy."
In other words, if your sales team is going after a certain type of customer or using a specific sales tactic - make sure the marketing department has all the information they need.
This will ensure that everyone plays nice with one another throughout the entire sales process.
Hackers aren't looking for sales processes that are "one size fits all." Instead, they want to create a sales process that is flexible enough to work in almost any industry.
The best way to do this? Altschuler suggests thinking of the sales process as an assembly line - where there's always room for improvement.
"The sales process is never perfect," says Altschuler. "There are always new strategies you can try, and there's always room for improvement."
This doesn't mean salespeople have to start from scratch every time they're about to sell - instead, hackers continuously refine their sales strategy throughout the months or even years that it takes them to perfect sales process.
If salespeople don't have a sales strategy that's constantly being improved, it won't take long for them to start plateauing -and they certainly won't be able to achieve the sort of success sales hackers are capable of achieving with their strategies.
Even though you want to build a consistent sales process with a high probability of success, you shouldn't rule out the possibility of learning new tactics or experimenting with new sales tools.
The finest hackers strike a mix between relying on tried-and-true tactics while also experimenting with new tools and approaches that can improve efficiency.
One of the most significant roadblocks to success is being caught in your old habits. Keep an open mind, seek out fresh knowledge, and be curious about the latest sales tools and platforms to avoid slipping into this trap.
When salespeople are sales hacking, they're often trying to sell a product or service that they don't truly believe in - which is a surefire way for failure.
"People can tell when you care about what you do," says Altschuler. "If [sales people] aren't passionate about their products and services, they aren't going to succeed at sales hacking."
If salespeople don't believe in their product or service, they'll have a difficult time convincing prospects that it's worth buying.
The best sales hackers always sell what they know and love, allowing them to go the extra mile for customers - which creates opportunities for success.
In other words, sales hackers know that success comes from being as enthusiastic as possible - which is why passion for a product or service is the most important trait of sales hacking.
A sales hacker understands the importance of keeping a CRM up to date. Rather than viewing sales data entry as a task to be avoided, they make it a habit to keep track of everything in real time.
You can apply this to your own experience by keeping track of client information as it comes in and keeping up-to-date contact logs with prospects.
The more data you provide into your CRM, the easier it will be to evaluate and enhance your sales process over time.
Accurate data allows you to stay organized, communicate properly with team members, and maximize your prospect engagement at every level of the pipeline.
You should use a modern tool that functions the way you do to get the most out of your CRM solution. For example, if your company relies on email campaigns to expand, a CRM like Propeller might be a wonderful fit.
Not only does Propeller keep track of your contacts, campaigns success, and email communication, but it also allows you to sell directly from Gmail.
