7 Sales Strategies for Tech Startups for 2022

Sales strategy isn’t a one size fits all approach. Especially when we’re talking about tech startups, the strategy that one employs for their sales’ strategic direction is not only different but looks slightly more complex than a generic sales strategy. After all, if you compare the sales strategy of an already established tech business vs. the effort that you must put in to drive sales for a tech startup, they are of course differing on the basis of dimension and intensity.

This difference, of course, can be attributed to several factors including the nature of the tech product, the segment it is targeting, and the obvious that is the lifecycle stage. This means that the current tech business is in comparison to a tech startup that is just starting. All these factors combined with internal strengths and external threats help form your sales strategy for tech startups.

Top Sales Strategies for Technology Companies for 2022

Let us now look at some of the top sales execution strategies for technology companies for the year 2022. Here we will not only talk about the best sales strategies but will also relate as to why they are the most appropriate ones for technology companies especially tech startups to adopt.

Don’t Offer Your Product for Free

In the years 2020 and 2021, we have seen technology-based companies, especially tech startups offering their products and services for free. Of course, by free we do not mean providing your brainchild to a company or customer free of cost, what we mean is a plethora of free trials. Tech startups especially in the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic have been notorious for providing free trials to their customers with an extensive list of options/features as well as for a long duration. We do understand that this was done with goodwill and initiative in mind. Marketers adopted this strategy to give a feel of their service or product to the segment hoping to catch a sale. But why would a customer or potential client purchase your product or service if their needs are being fulfilled with the free trial? This is exactly the mindset that needs to be changed for 2022. For 2022, as the world is slowly adjusting to the impact of the pandemic, we recommend tech startups steer clear of providing their product under a free trial.

When you push out your product or service for free, especially when it’s an innovation as a tech startup, you give off a very anxious impression. You somehow diminish the importance and specialty of your product in the eyes of the customer segment. Therefore, by not providing the product or service for free, you will automatically generate a want and buzz around your product. This want or need will then be taken up further by your marketing team and then down to the sales strategy.

Make Sure You Understand the User Behavior Inside Out

A major mistake that we have seen tech startups committing when it comes to sales strategy is not knowing their customer. For 2022 make not only a conscious effort but a directed one to know your user’s behavior. Revisit your customer and buyer personas again and again especially when it comes to their psychographics. As a tech startup, you need to appeal to their innate needs. To achieve this as a part of your sales strategy, especially for technology companies, you need to have a 360 degree understanding of the segment’s demographics and psychographics alike. This understanding can only be achieved because of thorough market research. Without having an understanding that too in a complete sense of your customer segment how can you appeal to them and their needs with your value proposition?

Measure the Sales Execution Strategy Results Using Real Metrics

The impact and success of a sales execution strategy can only be truly measured using real quantifiable metrics developed for sales effectiveness. Just because as a tech startup you have achieved an enormous number of sales does not mean that your sales strategy for your tech-based startup was successful. There are several metrics that you can use to evaluate the real result of the sales strategy. These metrics include customer lifecycle length, user churn, cost per acquisition, the average cost of closed-won vs. closed lost sales, etc.

Use Product Analytics Tool Such as Mixpanel

One of the top Sales strategies for technology companies in 2022, is the use of different product analytics tools such as Mixpanel or Google Analytics. The use of such tools does not only help you in understanding how your customers interact with your product or service on an online platform but also helps you in bifurcating the impressions based on medium. You can use this useful information to develop customized communication with your target segment thus producing better sales and increasing the effectiveness of customer relationship management. The data that is analyzed using different product analytics tools help you in measuring customer retention and interest as well. Which of course in itself is a very important metric when looking at the effectiveness of the sales strategy for your tech startup.

Nurture Existing Accounts

This sales strategy for tech-based companies to use in 2022 might seem like a no-brainer but once opted and executed it is one of the most effective sales execution strategies that you can deploy. Companies sometimes in the race for getting new customers or penetrating new segments forget their current clients. With techniques and tools like upselling that can be used to drive a higher sales number, the qualitative end of the customer-client relationship is also important. Therefore, we recommend that for 2022 you should not only focus on nurturing your current and existing client accounts but also develop a better understanding of their needs to service them effectively. This nurturing and development of a strong relationship will go a long way especially when it comes to creating brand awareness and generating good market reviews.

Leverage Social Media

Social media and its power cannot be underestimated in 2022 or the years ahead. Research suggests that the true potential of social media for driving sales and different sales strategies has still not been truly realized. Use the power of social media through content-based digital marketing, as a part of your sales strategy. This step will not only help you in the upper portion of the buyer sales funnel but the lower end of it as well. Not only that but the use of social media also provides a human end for your sales team and helps marketing efforts in delivering better results. But do remember that do not jump on the bandwagon and start focusing on what your competitors are doing. Always utilize only those social media platforms and relevant sales strategies that are an appropriate fit with your tech startup business.

Offer Product Demonstration

We know that as one of the top sales strategies for 2022 for tech companies we have suggested that you stop offering your product for free. But this does not mean that you cannot offer demos to companies and clients to help them see and realize the true potential of your product in real-time. For 2022, set aside a certain budget to help you in reaching out to your customers and clients with the help of on-site or off-site demos. Once the client sees your product in action and understands its true value proposition, we will see a long-term sales relationship with them. Better yet when demonstrating the product to your target audience, we suggest using their real-time data to further appeal to their pain points.

Key Questions to Ask While Developing a Sales Strategy

When developing a sales strategy, just having a revenue objective is not the answer. Generally, we see certain marketers pushing tech-based companies towards sales targets as a part of their sales strategy. But in the real world to develop an effective sales strategy and execute it with appropriateness, just a revenue target is not enough. We will now look at some key questions that you must reflect upon not only as a tech startup business owner but as a sales team as well. These questions are not only critical when developing your sales strategy but also while executing it.

1. What is the bigger picture?
2. What perfect buyer persona can we use to prioritize our efforts?
3. Which are the top-rated companies or clients that we want to reach out to, in order to sell?
4. What is our positioning in the target segment?
5. What value proposition is suitable for each customer segment?
6. What assistance or help the sales team can expect from other departments in the company?

When developing a sales strategy, you must ask these six key questions to achieve success with it. Usually, we have seen that the sales team is only focused on reaching a certain sales target. But what they fail to realize is the true vision of the company and where the company wants to grow in the future. Therefore, all the members of the team should be aware of the bigger scheme of things when developing and executing the sales strategy. Secondly, when developing the sales strategy, it must be made mandatory to prioritize focusing on those customers and prospective clients that fit in with the perfect buyer persona that you have developed. This is because they are most likely to make a purchase and be interested in your product’s value proposition. Therefore, the efforts being directed towards them will also prove to be most fruitful.

Another important question that you must define, and the answer is identifying the top-rated clients that you want to reach out to bring them on board. Sometimes it is not about ensuring that a target customer or client fulfills the ideal buyer persona. You need such individuals on board as well who enjoy a good market reputation and if you can convert them into a customer by your efforts, then they are marketing assets. Not only will they provide great brand awareness, but they will also add to your positive market repute.

Lastly, as a tech-based company, you should also be aware of your current positioning in the target segment followed by how you will customize the value proposition for different customer groups. Once you have been able to answer and incorporate all external and industry-driven questions, in conclusion, you should also reflect on your internal capabilities. As a part of your sales strategy, you should also align the kind of support and help that your sales team can expect and will receive from different departments in the company.

Sales Strategy Executed Right – Examples of Sales Strategy

We have looked at the top sales strategies for 2022, as well as the key questions that you need to keep in focus when developing the sales strategy for your tech-based company. Now let us look at the examples of real-life technology-based businesses that not only developed the right sales strategy but also executed it perfectly to drive success and growth.

Shopify

Shopify is a multinational e-commerce company that is based out of Canada. It is known for providing a point of sale systems and online shopping stores with the same name. With a valuation of over $ 20 billion and hitting $1 billion in revenues faster than any other SaaS ( Software as a Service) company in the world, Shopify attributes the success to its sales strategy. The focus of their sales strategy is the use of quantifiable metrics to measure effectiveness and deploying an in-house CRM tool that not only saves time but also drives result-focused lead generation.

HubSpot

Based out of the USA, HubSpot is a developer and marketer of software offering different options in relevance to customer services, inbound marketing, and sales. With over 58,000 customers in 102 countries across the world, HubSpot is now valued at over $24 billion. It went public in 2014 with its first IPO and since then the success has just kept on growing. Its sales strategy is one of the key drivers of its growth. HubSpot’s sales strategy revolves around understanding the customer and their pain points. They also focus on using this understanding of the customer to train their sales team in order to appeal to the psyche of their customer segment. The result of this smart and well-executed sales strategy is in front of the world to see.

Conclusion

A true sales strategy does not begin with a revenue target, rather it incorporates all the major and important drivers of the sales ecosystem. As a tech-based business owner, we recommend to you that for the year 2022 and ahead you put in specified and determined efforts for developing your sales strategy. Not only that, it is important to note that an execution plan should also be developed and during the process, you must involve all relevant stakeholders. All of this must be done in alignment with your sales force and keeping in mind the critical questions that must be answered as a part of your sales strategy. As highlighted before there is no one perfect strategy when it comes to sales. It all depends on your business, customers, industry segment, etc. But with the right tools, right people, and right strategic direction not only will you be able to develop an effective sales strategy for your tech-based company but will also drive it to completion to ensure success and growth. This in alignment with a strategic vision for 2022, will also deliver fruitful outcomes for any tech-focused startup.