Four actions you can take to verify your sales data reliability

In times of turmoil, like the one the world is currently in, you may feel like there is nothing that you can do to improve your selling process. Things are getting crazy out there; your business might be on hold, no new deals are coming around the corner and basically – nothing is normal in this new reality. But this belief is far from the truth. You can wisely use the valuable time you have to check the crucial factor to your sales team’s success: your sales database’s reliability.

You may have already established a database that contains lead lists from different resources such as trade shows and events, website subscribers or lead generation resources. However, the glaring question is: how can you know that these lists are accurate and updated? More importantly, how can you be sure that these companies are interested in buying your product(s) or service(s)?

In other words, how can you verify that your database contains only high-quality prospects?

We all know that low-quality sales data translates to inefficiency and a low conversion rate. It could also damage a company’s reputation because the sales team might appear to be ineffective and uninformed. But, what are the actions that you can take to verify that your sales data is accurate, by including only updated and high-quality prospects?

Let’s take a look at four actions that you can take right away to verify that your sales data is accurate and reliable:

1. Scrutinize your data source(s) by asking yourself the following questions:

a. When did the data enter the company’s database?
b. Where did this data come from? Is this source established and reliable?
c. Did I previously realize success from any data received from this source?

If the data is too old or you haven’t seen success by using it, you may want to purge it from your database.

2. Compare the information with what you already know. Pick a few prospect lists and ask yourself if this information makes any sense when you combine it with your previous knowledge about the company.

For instance, if you know that the company is a medium-sized business based on your own knowledge, and the data shows that the number of employees is 1000 people, you may want to dismiss this source.

3. Leave judgments by the wayside. Don’t evaluate the data by your assumptions, but look at it with fresh eyes. For example, if you assume that a Sales Director in the manufacturing industry probably won’t be interested in sales automation, it may be time to rethink if the data shows that the company uses digital marketing and has an active website blog.

4. Know your ideal customer. This cannot be stressed enough. High-quality prospects should have the same characteristics as your ideal customer, or the same parameters, as we call it in big data terminology. This will assure that your database is aligned with the company’s sales strategy, and will empower your sales organization to achieve the highest possible conversion rate.

These four actions are critical to understanding your sales database’s reliability. Start taking action now! And you’ll be surprised how much you can improve your sales team’s performance just by the insights you’ll gain by taking the actions aforementioned. This is the perfect time to do it, so when you get to the other side of the tunnel you’ll know that your sales data is in the best shape it can be, and your sales team is ready to rock.