We may receive commissions for affiliate links included in this article. This is a sponsored post. Future Sharks makes no warranties about the statements, facts and/or claims made on this article. These are the opinions of the author. Read our advertising and contributor disclosure here.
When was the last time you had real peace of mind about your business?
Our world is constantly moving. Twenty years ago cell phones were just starting to hit the mainstream—now if you’re not constantly on your phone, you’re in a small and shrinking minority.
With email, phone calling, texting, social media, direct messages, FaceTime and all the other methods people use to get in contact with us, managing sales leads can be a frustrating experience.
Keeping track of who contacted you through what channel, who you’ve talked to recently, what their contact information is, how far down the sales funnel they are and all the rest of the work that goes into your business relationships—that can be a full-time job in itself on top of everything else.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Jet Saini, CEO of Drip Digital, thinks people should be able to live a better life. I spoke to him for this piece to ask him why automation was so important. His business revolves around helping entrepreneurs protect their sanity by automating their lead generation.
Stress-Free Sales
“Marketing and sales automation are huge keys to making a scalable, successful business that doesn’t consume your life. It helps you get more done with less resources, less people and less stress,” says Saini.
He knows. He’s been doing it for a while.
Jet’s business is based on a model that’s been helping businesses succeed in a variety of industries. Half of all businesses on average are already using automation to help with their marketing and sales, and for B2B companies it’s even higher. Ninety-one percent think it’s very important to their overall sales.
If you’re not using it, you’re losing out on opportunities you could have taken advantage of.
No matter how good at business you are, there are things that you’ll miss when you’re trying to do it all yourself. Even with a large, capable staff, you’ll miss opportunities. That’s where email drip campaigns and other staples of marketing automation can help.
“Companies like ours make sure you’re not overburdened, so you can do more work—and more effective work—with a smaller team and less personal strain,” Saini notes.
That’s key for productivity. Ninety-four percent of all workers in the US and UK report feeling stressed at their jobs. Chronic stress is horrible for your health, both physically and mentally. It makes you less happy and less productive.
Why not automate some of that away?
Lifting the Burden
Prioritizing tasks is one of the key ways to overcome stress—it allows you to manage what you do more effectively by focusing on what really matters.
“When you use automatic lead generation services and software, you’re setting a priority on things. You’re taking away the tasks that can be taken care of by someone or something else. That means things like A/B testing, subscriber development, email drip campaigns, chatbots and other time-saving methods,” says Saini.
Automating some of your customer communications doesn’t mean you care less about your customers. You’re reserving your energy for the things that really matter in the relationship.
You’re not running around trying to track down information to enter into the lead page in a CRM when an automation system can do that for you. Instead, you can be focused on actually doing the real, valuable communications work that matters. Less stress, more value.
Eighty-eight percent of marketers want to reduce the time spent in reports and analysis to spend more time with customers and focus on strategy …
You’re probably among them.
Bringing Sanity Back to Your Life
If you feel like you’re being crushed under the wheel of your customer interactions, you’re not the only one.
“I use my own company’s services myself,” says Saini. “It keeps me from getting too tied up in the day-to-day. When you automate the menial, tedious parts of the job, it holds benefits for you, your company, your family, and everyone you come in contact with.”
Improved accountability and better use of resources are benefits that come along with this too.
Internal communications and accountability in your business are something that can be a constant concern, but when the information is coming from a dispassionate algorithm instead of a personality, it can be easier to take. You’ll be able to show your marketing and sales teams real, concrete data and pivot based on those patterns.
The Solution to Your Stress
If you want to be a success as an entrepreneur, you have to prioritize your own mental health and the mental health of your team. You have to allocate your resources correctly. You have to have accurate data. And you have to be willing to invest effort in developing customers, not just sales.
Marketing automation helps with every one of these things.
If you’re not automating your sales and marketing yet, it’s a step that can help you live a better, more productive, happier life. That makes you a better coworker, a better boss, a better friend and a better entrepreneur.
Use the power of automation.
Live better.
- Image Credit: Featured Image, Unsplash