If you want to develop apps for businesses, you may be tempted to sit back and let your advertisements bring in the prospects. But sadly, things don’t work that way – not even with a very strong ad campaign running. It’s important to continue actively pursuing customers to ensure that the time and effort invested in your app development enterprise pays off.
For many developers, this may require that you build your very first sales team. Don’t be scared – it isn’t as hard as it sounds. You don’t have to hire an army of salespeople. You just need to start with a few dedicated reps that are ready to roll up their sleeves and help make your business a success.
You might be tempted to go forward without a sales team due to the cost or headache associated with bringing new team members on board. But make no mistake: a sales team is the engine of your business’s revenue and growth. What you invest now can generate significant returns later on as your company gains momentum.
The following tips will help you build a team that creates sales and also cultivates long-term benefits for your company.
1. You don’t need programmers
Don’t be overly concerned with hiring technically oriented folks for your sales team. As long as your team members are familiar with apps and computers, you can teach them everything they need to know in order to sell app development. Some companies get hung up trying to find people that are extremely tech-savvy for their sales team, but it is more important that your sales team members have interpersonal skills.
Of course, if you can find people with both technical and sales skills – that’s even better!
2. Have them use the products
It isn’t enough to just read about your service as sales training – your team members should download and actually use some of the apps your company has created for clients. This will give them familiarity with your product that will be extremely helpful in selling it.
A big part of the sales process can be answering questions about how apps work and the possibilities for development that your company offers. If responses from your sales team are genuine and specific, it can give sales efforts a real boost. If they’re canned and ambiguous, you’re headed for trouble.
3. Focus on long-term success, not just raw numbers
Only looking at sales and subscriptions is a straightforward way to measure success, but it’s important to also keep an eye on retention and satisfaction. Sales teams can sometimes makes promises just to “Get to yes,” and this can hurt your business down the road. Make sure that your team members are interacting with customers in a way that is good for sales, but also your business as a whole.
4. Back them up with excellent support
This is key to ensuring sales success: support your ongoing customers and deliver on your selling points. If reviews are bad and referrals are non-existent, your sales team will struggle to meet its goals. If, on the other hand, customers are happy, your sales team will have a very strong leg to stand on when it comes time to speak to prospects.
A well-rounded approach like this will make your company a success not just today, but also well into the future.
