5 Free Sales Tools: A Guide for Serious B2B Professionals

Many people don't understand what we, as sales reps do every day. They think it's all about buddying up with leads. It's delivering that final “can't say no” pitch. And it's about popping champagne corks after a successful close. But what most don't see is all the work that sales and marketing teams put in, leading up to the deal. The prospecting. The qualifying. The endless emails, phone calls, and messages—most of which go unanswered. Making it in this industry takes salesmanship, of course. But being a sales rep requires a lot of admin work, too. And these days, if you're handling all that admin work on your own, you're wasting valuable time you could spend selling. Enter sales tools. These tools let you automate that arduous legwork rather than tackling it all yourself. From gathering info on leads to taking the guesswork out of when to ask for a sales presentation, these tools help streamline your process and ultimately make you a more successful salesperson. This guide takes a look at 5 of the best free sales tools you need to start using today. Do You Need Sales Tools? (Hint… Yes!) While the old pen n' paper and Rolodex way of managing your sales process may have worked at the start of your career, things have changed. And fast. Both sales productivity tools and sales automation tools are now critical if you want to scale your sales outreach and generate a solid sales pipeline. These days, a sales rep needs to be quicker, smarter, and more organized than ever to meet competitive quotas. And implementing sales tools into your processes is one of the best ways to achieve all three. But let's look at the numbers here to give you a bit of perspective. * Salespeople spend 17% of their day prospecting and researching leads. (HubSpot) * More than 30% of sales-related activities can be automated. (McKinsey) * High-performing sales teams are 2.3 times more likely than underperforming teams to use guided selling. (Salesforce) * 44% of sales leaders who will exceed revenue in 2021 use competitive intelligence and market data. (HubSpot) * Companies that incorporate high-level automation into their sales process generate around 16% more leads compared to those that incorporate low-level or no automation. (Hinge Research) How Can Sales Tools Help? Here's how having the right sales tools on hand can make you a more effective salesperson. * Find the Right Leads – You know it takes a double-digit number of leads (sometimes more) to produce a single conversion. Lead generation can be tough! But what if you could cut those leads in half? Many sales tools give you the info you need to spend more time on the right leads—the ones most likely to convert. And less time on the duds. * Streamline Your Processes – Sales reps spend an excessive amount of time on admin tasks. Anywhere from 21% according to Harvard Business Review ...