Proactive Selling

Proactive selling is a sales technique that involves a salesperson identifying prospective customers’ problems, questions, and needs before they ask first and trying to sell a solution. It helps companies take care of the sales process.

In this article, we’ll compare proactive and reactive selling and review 7 proactive sales strategies.

Proactive vs Reactive Selling

Businesses can approach prospects in different ways. Some of them prefer a proactive approach, while others choose reactive selling. To understand which one is right for you, let's look at each in detail. Afterward, you’ll be able to make well-informed decisions and establish connections with potential customers.

Proactive selling is an approach that empowers salespeople to control the sales process and inform prospects about a product before they have any questions or problems. The technique focuses on winning as many sales as possible by uncovering the benefits of a product. Sales representatives talk with leads about a product as a solution to potential customers’ problems. Currently, prospects might not even know about these pain points.

Reactive selling is an approach that allows brand reps to react to prospects’ inquiries, answer questions, and solve existing problems. Customer support agents focus on helping people to sort something out rather than initiating a sale. Company representatives respond to potential customers’ questions without having a plan to reach a specific goal or outcome.

The reactive approach relies heavily on the decisions of potential clients. Agents assist leads when they have problems and questions and wait for them to make affirmative decisions. They help all prospects without focusing on specific segments, sometimes leading to inefficient use of time and resources.

If you choose a proactive selling strategy, we advise you to use the following strategies. These effective techniques will help you have full control over the sales process.

7 Proactive Sales Strategies

In this section, we’ll reveal the most effective proactive sales strategies that will help you gain more customers and boost sales. If you want to improve the work of your salespeople, let’s dive in.

1. Develop a plan before sales conversations. Conduct research to have proper communication with clients. You should know your prospects and understand their needs to have a beneficial conversation. You need to plan your steps and strategize a path to the sale. Consider factors that can influence the sale and help you win customers.
2. Start conversations with prospects. Initiate conversations with people who might need your product. Speak up on your product’s benefits and how it can help solve problems. However, there’s no need to spam consumers with content that can’t help them overcome specific challenges. Speak persuasively and to the point. If you have a conversation with someone who faces some difficulties and your solution is a perfect fit — convey its main perks.
3. Add value to establish trust. Do everything possible to gain trust. You can do it by adding value. Prospects will trust you if you succeed in providing relevant and useful content and ensuring leads that you are an expert in this field. If you manage to show your expertise, they will perceive you as a credible source of information and a person who knows how to act. Your positive image among consumers will influence purchasing decisions of potential customers.
4. Use CRM to choose a relevant approach. Reviewing sales information empowers you to make data-driven decisions. Materials from your CRM allow your team to develop effective sales approaches. CRM guides sellers on how to act and what to say to encourage consumers to choose your company. You can use reports on web pages users have already explored within your website to resonate with their pain points. After checking the pages potential customers have already visited, you can start relevant communication. You can use the SendPulse CRM for free for 5 users in your account. You can store data about consumers and deals in one place and use it during the sales process.
5. Ask questions to understand problems. You should be able not only to start a conversation with prospective clients but also lead it towards a closed deal. You need to ask open-ended questions to identify customers' pain points. This way, consumers can provide you with full-length answers, opinions, and concerns. The data gives you an insight into consumers’ needs. As a result, you can find out whether a lead is a good fit.
6. Foresee objections and prevent them. Being proactive means being able to influence decisions and get the necessary outcome. If you feel that customers can share their objections, be ready to anticipate them. Share relevant information, benefits, and case studies to ensure that your product is a perfect solution for their problems. You should be able to adapt to the situation and find the right words for people who face challenges. For instance, if your potential customer isn’t sure whether your software can integrate with specific platforms, you should provide detailed information about the available integrations and how they connect to your service.
7. Ask for customer feedback. Positive and constructive assessment can do wonders for your sales team. Proactive salespeople ask prospects and customers for comments to find out what was done right and wrong. After asking for customer evaluation, your team can figure out what aspects influence customer decisions and why they purchase or don’t purchase your product. Once you gain these valuable insights from potential customers, you can adjust your strategy and make some improvements. As a result, more people will be willing to buy your product.

Congrats, now you know what proactive selling is and why it’s essential. Hope that our strategies will help you reach your main business goals.

Last Updated: 04.12.2023