The workforce will be different after COVID-19.
Because of the coronavirus shutdowns, gyms and fitness studios are facing the same challenges as many other businesses around the country: forced to lay off employees and struggling to pay rent, insurance, and other bills.
When life returns to “normal” there is a good chance your employee base will be drastically different than it was pre-COVID.
What are you going to do without your previous employees?
Your employee count might be down, but you still need to keep your sales numbers up! Even though nothing can beat the personal touch of a dedicated sales rep, you can utilize CRM technology to continue making connections with your customers and hit your sales goals.
The number one goal is to plan ahead and focus on the future.
What can you do now to save time and resources down the road?
Automate all low-value activities. According to a recent study from HubSpot, salespeople spend just one-third of their day actually talking to prospects and spend the rest of their time writing emails, entering data, researching leads, attending meetings, and scheduling calls. You want whatever staff you have left to focus on closing deals, not manual entry! Utilize HubSpot sequences and workflows to automate tasks and emails.
Integrate AI tools to supplement your team. Tools like Conversica—an automated AI sales assistant that identifies hot leads through organic email conversation—can be a great method for prospecting with a small staff.
“Conversica was created to allow sales staff to do what they do best and that’s spending their time actually talking with leads and building relationships,” says Nate Peterson from Conversica Partner at Daxko. “Let your AI assistant do the mundane prospecting that is necessary to engage leads, and free up your staff to focus their time on the leads that are ready to have the sales conversation.”
Score your leads according to likelihood to purchase. HubSpot’s lead scoring tool uses data from every customer touchpoint to predict their likelihood to buy. It also allows you to automate activities based on specific scores for targeted content at the right moment.
Utilize the Meetings tool in HubSpot. Once your team creates their schedule in HubSpot, all they have to do is add the meeting link to their email signature and voilà—prospects can schedule meetings and phone calls without your team spending valuable time on the back and forth.
The workplace—let alone the world—is going to look different when we make it to the other side of the coronavirus. Use the time you have now to set new standards and systems for your sales team that will help you hit the ground running when you are back in business!
Article by: Lindsey Leemis, CEO & Founder of Twist
