15 Software Sales Tips

Congrats on your company having an amazing app or service. Yet, success isn’t guaranteed. You and your staff must now become software sales masters. Otherwise, your inferior competition may eat your company alive.

Here’s some good news. If you’re a software salesperson, your line of work is hot. Software/cloud-based business apps generate well over 30 billion dollars every year. It’s time for your company to get a bigger piece of that pie. Follow these 15 sales tips so your software company can maximize its profit and revenue:

1) Use a top-rated cloud hosting service.

It’s recommended that you do this instead of attempting to take care of things in-house. Utilizing a cloud to host means you don’t have to spend as much money and time on creation-duties. You also don’t have to watch over your infrastructure as much. All you need to do is set a few hours aside. Because that’s how long it takes for a hosting provider to set up their cloud servers. Next thing you know, everything will be up and running at a low monthly cost. Not to mention, you can use a service’s data center to conduct testing and development. When it comes to cloud hosting, don’t despair when it comes to any issues with your infrastructure. You’ll have the ability to scale it right away without having to deal with maintaining the server.

2) Conduct plenty of beta testing.

When it comes to selling software online, you’ve got to know what’s working well and what needs to get fixed. Receiving feedback is crucial. Especially before you dedicate more resources to developing your product, app, or site. Here’s a simple three-step process for beta testing:

-Create a simple version of what you’re offering and mock it up.

-Get it out to the public.

-Ensure that you receive honest feedback and then relay the feedback to your team.

This ensures that your company improves the software before the release date. As a result, you’ll save thousands of dollars.

3) Provide free trials.

This is particularly important if your company is small or not well-known. Prospective customers need to know that your product isn’t a scam and runs well. Various studies have concluded something very important. About half of software companies’ sales generate from using trial software. Also, don’t discount the power of providing software safety badges and testimonials. Though nothing benefits a company as much as providing free trials.

4) You might want to offer freemium content.

“Freemium” means free access to the basic features. An option is always provided to buy the premium features. This model is especially effective when it comes to smartphone apps and games. It’s a great way to up-sell. Software companies are often astonished by their sales increases once they go freemium.

5) Offer a free tutorial of how to use the software.

Don’t overthink this one. Offer a one or two minute video that goes over how to use the software. Place it somewhere on your website that’s easy for people to find. If you have the capability, make the video animated. People tend to enjoy seeing animated demonstrations. But, instead, you could feature a video of your workers. This will provide a human touch to your company. Either way, your organization will benefit by encouraging engagement.

6) Exemplify to consumers that you’re aware of their pain points.

There are many ways to go about this. You could offer stories that show how your products make life easier for people. It’s human nature for people to want their fears alleviated before buying. Tap into this by offering useful information. Establishing human interactions is an ideal way to separate your company from competition. Remember- try not to sell features. Always sell value. That’s what potential consumers desire more than anything else.

7) Feature product comparison charts.

Showing off the benefits of your software is crucial. It proves that what you’re selling is way better than the competition. Put the information in an easy-to-read chart or table. This is so prospective customers are aware of what they should be considering. As long as you’re confident in what your product offers, you have every right to show it off. Doing so will make people realize that other brands can’t give them what your company can.

8) Gather third-party reviews from independent sources.

Of course you’re going to say your product’s the best. But imagine how many potential customers will realize it. When? When they see that an independent source says it. This is why you must encourage people who buy your products to give you their stories. Have them tell you why they ended up buying the product and how it helps them. This is a vital way to get your message out to many people and increase your sales numbers. There are many formats for featuring these positive stories. Consider using blog posts, an online forum, or a testimonials page on your company website. But don’t forget to reach out to as many publications as possible. You want those publications testing out what you’ve got so they can offer solutions or praise. Both of which will benefit your organization. It’s also a great way to boost traffic to your site without any costs.

9) Provide money-back guarantees.

Believe it or not, business studies have proven that money-back guarantees work. They have the ability to boost sales by up to 40%! Make the guarantee long—but not too long. Most big-time software companies go with either 90 or 120 days. Guarantees reassure customers that they’re not taking too big of a risk. A 120 day guarantee assures people that they have plenty of time. They’ll use that time to assess whether the product’s worth seeing or not. But stay positive about the timeframe. The more time a buyer spends with your product, the more likely he or she is to fall in love with it. Then they won’t even consider getting a refund.

10) Always feature a phone number and email address on your site.

Think this’ll do nothing beyond increasing the number of calls your company receives? Think again. Sure, you may get a few more calls than you used to. But do you know what will, as a result, increase more than anything? Sales numbers! Seeing a phone number on your web page will reassure customers. They’ll realize that you are, indeed, a REAL company and not some sort of scam service.

11) Provide customer support.

That support can’t last from 9 am – 5 pm. It needs to be 24/7. A great way to establish trust with a customers is to make them aware that you’re there for them at any moment. Don’t feel bad if you don’t have the resources to offer 24/7 support. There are plenty of outside firms willing to do it at an affordable price.

12) Use various outlets for marketing.

Multi-channel marketing is great for speeding up the process of adopting digital services. Let’s use Netflix as an example. Part of their success stems from their ability to incorporate various marketing strategies. They use different forms of advertising. (Online, print, affiliate, etc.). They also use co-op programs with content developers. Not to mention, they also hold partnerships with various brands. And get this- they use freemium promotions. This all has led to them having a huge customer base. Their marketing efforts have grown their subscriber base. It’s gone from 850,000 subscribers a decade ago to well over 30 million. At the same time, they’ve been able to reduce the customer acquisition cost.

13) Find prospective buyers online.

There are tons of specific industry-related forums on the internet. Your sales team must use those forums to their advantage. All one needs to do is make a simple Google search. Search for: “[your specific industry] forums” and tons of results will come up. Next, have your sales team sign up for the forums with the most traffic. Membership is almost always without charge.

Why spend time on online forums? They’re ideal because people looking for products depend on them to find information. Use the search bar to find potential customers. They’ll have asked questions relating to what you’re selling. Get active and respond to as many people as possible. Offer advice and a link to your product or service. This works for two reasons:

1. You’re going to find individuals that want to buy a product that’s like yours. This cuts out out a lot of wasted time that goes into other marketing initiatives.
2. Your team will establish trust by providing honest, helpful, and personalized solutions.

14) Take advantage of metrics.

When you do, you’ll need to reframe your marketing strategies based on what you learn. You can’t assume your marketing campaign is going to solve your company’s problems. You’ve got to always be testing out everything that you can. This includes: Images. Links. Call-to-actions. Videos. And much more. It’s beneficial for teams to have weekly meetings. Staffs can test out metrics and analytics. This will give them a greater understanding of what’s working and what isn’t. You can then adjust your campaigns based on the findings.

15) Establish good relationships.

What’s the most important building block when it comes to sales relationships? Trust. It’s imperative that your sales process gets built around it. Relationship-building is key to selling any product—and software is no exception. Train your staff to think of themselves as trusted advisors. They have to have this mentality for both prospective customers and regular customers. This will lead to plenty of retention and referrals.

Bonus Software Sales Tip: Recognize the Ideal Customers

There’s an easy way to make your software sales abilities improve. All you need to do is identify who your ideal customers are. In fact, go ahead and ask yourself the following question right now. “Who are my ideal customers?” This is one of the most important questions a software salesperson should contemplate. The answer to the question is a gateway toward having better business development. But that development won’t happen unless you take the time to investigate the answer. Your ideal customers could represent certain industries. They could work for companies of similar sizes. And they could have a lot of demographic data in common. But you’ll never know until you make the effort to learn. That’s why you should focus on examining who your ideal customers are every single day. Keep an eye out for common characteristics. Next, you and your team can create ideal customer profiles. Those profiles should correspond to your company’s software once you have enough evidence. Recognizing customer preferences can take your software sales abilities to the next level.

In Conclusion

Selling software can seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be. If you follow these 15 steps, you and your company will be on the fast track to success. You’ll position yourselves to gain more profit and revenue than ever before.