Many small-business owners deploy sales teams, but aren't achieving the levels of success that they originally aspired to. By making investments in budgeting and forecasting software, as well as the resources to supplement big data mining, owners at small firms can begin to see the real potential of their sales groups. With 65 percent of companies that participated in a recent survey commissioned by Lattice Engines focusing on customer acquisition and 52 percent looking to increase their sales effectiveness, the use of information mined by big data streams might be just what the doctor ordered.

"Sales organizations have made it clear that they are not getting what they need to be successful in today's environment," said Shashi Upadhyay, CEO of Lattice. "Businesses embracing big data are achieving higher levels of success by empowering marketing to deliver a previously unattainable level of insight to sales, focusing them on the opportunities with the greatest revenue potential."

Big data helps sales teams remain efficient
Small businesses throughout the country are dealing with the same problem: The sales team is outpacing marketing professionals when it comes to generating and converting leads. Big data streams can supply both groups with the information to achieve higher sales numbers and give the firm a better chance to turn a revenue. 

"Big data has the potential to begin closing this gap by providing sales and marketing with buying signals they may not even know exist," said Barry Trailer, co-founder, CSO Insights.

The survey revealed roughly 66 percent of sales reps met quota in 2012, and fewer companies were about to meet their revenue targets. These results are simply not acceptable for small-business owners who have purchased the tools necessary to have successful big data deployments.

Create a high-performing sales team
Small businesses that don't have the capital to invest in big data can still make their mark in a given industry. By making a few of the changes suggested by Donal Daly, CEO of The TAS Group in Inc. magazine, companies will be able to increase their sales numbers and meet the goals that are set out in the firm's business planning software.

  • Identify which prospects may be most interested: Small-business owners can't afford to have their sales teams waste time on leads that are most likely not going to purchase the firm's products and/or services. To make their team more efficient, owners at smaller companies need to ask their sales professionals to do some legwork to find their target customers and pursue prospects that fit that profile.
  • Convert more leads into customers: It may be more easily said than done, but small-business owners must expect their sales teams to exceed their goals. This can be made possible by becoming advisors to customers, instead of trying to sell them products and/or services. During these conversations with leads, it's important to find the right time to strike and attempt to make the sale.
  • Suggest supplementary products and/or services: Small-business owners must train their sales team to keep going even when they are able to sell some of the the firm's offerings. They must continue to forge on with the deal and attempt to interest the customers in more of the company's products and/or services. Using this strategy can give sales teams a better chance to reach the company's goals.

Small-business owners don't always have to invest heavily in their sales teams to see better sales numbers and higher levels of revenue. It's all about the approach that the company decision-makers have in mind.

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