The sales landscape has shifted radically over the past decade or so. While phone calls, meetings, and other familiar sales staples still have a place in the field, digital sales tactics — techniques conducted through virtual channels — have emerged and started taking up some serious space.

What is digital sales?

Digital sales is essentially a catch-all term that covers any aspects of a sales process conducted digitally. That can include elements like cold outreach, sales enablement, or any other key sales activities that are supported by digital mediums like email, social media, and online reviews and testimonials.

Let's take a closer look at those three channels, how popular they are, and why they're important.

Email

Email might be the most prominent digital sales resource employed by sales professionals. It has a strong presence in multiple stages of the typical sales org's process. Email is one of the older, more established digital sales resources available — and given its utility, accessibility, and ubiquity, it will likely continue to be a mainstay for most sales reps looking to register with prospects and customers.

Social Media

Social media can have tremendous value as a digital sales resource. Social media is borderline omnipresent in modern life, and that trend isn't stalling anytime soon — making the medium an increasingly essential resource for any salesperson looking for a way to connect with prospects or find effective content to support their sales efforts.

Online Reviews and Testimonials

Online reviews and testimonials offer some of the most effective sales enablement content reps can reference to support their sales efforts. People are more inclined to trust their industry peers and fellow consumers than businesses trying to push their products or services on them. That's why positive online reviews and testimonials can help your business project legitimacy, put prospects at ease, and ultimately support more effective sales efforts.

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Digital Sales Strategies
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1. Be active in social media groups.

Social media is one of the most prominent, effective digital sales channels at any salesperson's disposal. The medium allows you to better understand and touch base with your prospects. You can identify users who are particularly interested in your industry or offerings similar to yours through forums like LinkedIn groups and message boards. By joining and contributing to those groups, you can find interested prospects and establish yourself as an industry authority through your insight.  

2. Empower evangelists.

A customer referral is one of the most compelling assets you can count on to generate new business. Consumers tend to trust other consumers. That's why company evangelists are extremely valuable. If you have a customer enthusiastic enough about your business to want the world to know how great you are, it's in your best interest to give them a platform. That's where digital sales techniques come into play. You need to let the world know about those evangelists, their stories, and how much they love your business. Post testimonials of satisfied customers on your social media channels and website. Reach out to users who have spoken highly of your business in online reviews to see if you can tease out some more thorough information on why they enjoy your product or service.

3. Conduct webinars or other web-based events.

When done properly, an event like a webinar is one of the most effective digital sales techniques you can leverage. If you can put a thoughtful, educational presentation on a topic of interest, you'll bring in parties with an immediate interest in what you have to offer. The premise behind these events captures the essence of digital sales I mentioned earlier — using virtual avenues to make meaningful contact with prospects. If you have the resources, know-how, and potential audience to make a webinar worthwhile, conducting one can be a big help to your digital sales efforts as a whole.

Conclusion

To say that digital sales is the future is selling the concept short — because it's also the present. No matter what your company sells, you still stand to gain something from leveraging some sort of digital sales tactics.

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