In our increasingly interconnected, online world, a natural and gradual shift in the sales space from traditional methods to digital selling had already been occurring. However, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift and made it inevitable for businesses to adopt these practices sooner rather than later.

If you or your sales team previously practiced more traditional, in-person sales methods, the shift to digital selling may have happened haphazardly in a reaction to current events. As the world continues to settle into the new normal and the sales methods of the past fall to the wayside, it is important to fully understand the potential of digital selling and why to leverage it in your business.

When people hear digital selling, they often think of social selling. Social selling is the process of developing relationships with potential buyers via social channels, predominantly social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. While social selling is one of the main components, digital selling is actually much broader.

According to sales expert, trainer, and speaker Andy Preston, digital selling is “the process of engaging more online with business and social networks, plus using the ‘digital sales tools’ available to drive more sales opportunities.” In other words, social selling is mainly focused on online relationship building, or the social aspect of sales, while digital selling is focused on the entire process, including the tools and resources utilized.

The digital selling process and tools include things like conducting digital research, launching or streamlining your CRM (customer relationship management) software, creating and strategically disseminating digital content, identifying KPIs to measure engagement, and ensuring your online/digital strategy is coordinated and cohesive for maximum impact.

It is predicted that remote selling will continue to replace face-to-face selling even after the pandemic is in our rearview. Despite being a necessity now, digital selling should permanently be at the center of your sales strategy for many reasons.

• Reach More Potential Leads – As the core of digital selling is online, this allows you to meet potential leads where they already are so you can reach far more than what is possible with traditional methods. Nearly 60% of the world’s population, or roughly 6.5 billion people, use the internet regularly.

• Increase Lead to Close Ratio – According to Sales Benchmark Index, social selling has the highest lead-to-close ratio of all prospecting methods. Not only will digital selling open up your lead potential, but it’ll also help you convert more of those leads to final sales.

• Track Progress to Adjust Efforts Quicker – Unlike traditional methods of selling, digital selling produces robust data points that can be used to evaluate the success of different tactics and content so you can quickly adjust to consumer preferences. When managed well, this ensures that the money and time you invest into your sales and marketing are being directed in the most efficient ways possible.

Determining and maximizing the best sales and marketing strategies for your business, especially in an increasingly remote world and challenging economy, may feel like a tall task. This is especially true if you or your sales team are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with social and digital sales tools. Joorney’s experts can create comprehensive marketing and sales plans to help you adjust and improve your current efforts. Contact us to start working with one of our consultants and increasing your bottom line today!