Pre-sales is a methodology that allows a greater integration between sales and marketing. It adopts strategies that guide the consumer to be ready to buy your product and/or service.
This process is new and has been changing the focus of companies: from consumers who are already decided to those who are not yet decided. The goal is to prepare them and make them ready to buy, so that the company has access to a new audience that previously went unnoticed.
Therefore, pre-sales strategies are not focused on offering products and services, but on attracting customers who, in the future, will be approached by the sales team.
But how do you go about this customer acquisition? Read on and we will tell you what is essential for you to be ready to adopt this strategy in your company.
What is the sales funnel?
To understand the differences that separate pre-sales, sales and post-sales, it is necessary to understand a concept widely used in the commercial field: the sales funnel.
The sales funnel is a strategic model that shows in a practical and didactic way the buying process of your customer, from the first contact with the company to the sale, and in many cases after it as well.
The funnel is a visual representation of the steps that the consumer follows until the act of purchase.
There are three stages of the total, divided into top, middle and bottom.
The top of the funnel:
This is the awareness stage. Until then, the customer was not aware of the need to buy a certain product or service.
However, when he contacted your company, he became aware of this demand and began to consider possible solutions.
The middle of the funnel:
The moment the consumer identifies a problem and starts looking for solutions, he moves to the next stage of the funnel, the middle.
The consumer has done a lot of research on the topic and is aware that he has a need that needs to be remedied, but doesn’t yet know how. Therefore, he is considering your options before making a decision.
At this stage, we usually deal with leads or potential customers, people who have already interacted in some way with your brand and have provided you with information in exchange for access to some content.
The Bottom of the Funnel:
The individual at the bottom of the funnel already knows the problem and understands that the solution lies in the purchase of some product or service contract. Therefore, he or she is ready to be approached by a salesperson.
What is the difference between pre-sales and sales?
Now that you know the sales funnel and have understood all the stages that lead a person to purchase a product or service, it is easy to separate pre-sales from sales.
Sales strategies cover only the leads that are already at the bottom of the funnel, while pre-sales strategies include those at the top and in the middle.
For a salesperson to effectively contact an individual, it is important that they have already taken some steps, such as recognizing their demand and interacting with your company. Otherwise, the salesperson would have to work much harder and still not get the best possible results.
In practice, a person who recognizes that he has a demand, and has already considered the solution you will present to him, will be much more receptive than one who doesn’t even believe he has a problem.
Therefore, the pre-sales phase is extremely important to making the sale. It brings qualified people to the bottom of the funnel, providing them with a maximization of effort and time.
Pre-sales in practice
Now that we’ve made it clear what presales is, it’s time to get hands-on and start using it in practice!
So let’s list some essential factors that must be developed in a successful pre-sales strategy.
Customer prospecting
A priority task of a pre-sales team, customer prospecting must be done with great care and attention to ensure that the right people are contacted with the most appropriate and effective strategies.
Therefore, it is important that, based on sales experiences, criteria for lead qualification are created. For, these should only be those in which the company sees a certain immature potential, which can be further developed.
Good prospecting will be reflected in an increase in sales, as the focus of the salespeople will be on the right people.
Good customer service
Customer service is one of the most important pillars of pre-sales. During this process, you will deal with people who have the potential to become customers, but are still researching and thinking about the best solution.
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