Signals gives sales teams real-time notifications about which emails were opened, who opened those emails, what web pages your customers are looking at and even the ability to integrate with social media like LinkedIn, to tell you when your top customers change jobs.

Cell phones, Internet, and email, have all had a huge impact on the American sales force and the way sales teams nurture leads. But for some companies, their sales team has struggled to take advantage of new technology and the ways customers use it when making purchases. Outdated methods take up more time, and clients don’t always respond well to them, putting your company at a disadvantage.

The good news is your sales teams doesn’t have felt like it’s stuck in the era of Glengarry Glen Ross anymore. The past few years have seen a burst of innovation in social media, email and web tools that can help companies reach interested customers and better target their messages to those new leads. Five years ago, these devices may have been too complicated or costly for your firm, but thanks to some new products on the market, even small-town businesses can take advantage of big time technology.

HubSpot, specializes in advanced web tools for medium-sized businesses. Means-of-Production has clients who use HubSpot, so we were excited to hear about the launch of a new tool for salespeople.

Signals is a notification tool that helps business owners and sales teams engage with potential customers by better understanding what information these prospects are seeking. Signals gives sales teams real-time notifications about which emails get opened, who opened those emails, and what web pages they view. It will also integrate with social media like LinkedIn, to tell you when your top customers change jobs.

HubSpot wants people to try their products, so they’re offering a free introductory level of Signals which has limited features, such as open email notification. This valuable tool tells you not only how many promotional emails are opened, but which leads opened them. You will have better insights into who is interested in your firm and lets you see what kind of services these shoppers want to buy.

There is also a fully paid service for sales teams looking to amp up their inbound marketing efforts. It includes social media integration and sales tools to speed up the time between a lead’s first contact and when it is assigned to a salesperson.

One of the more impressive aspects of Signals is it's ability to help you in tune the tools are with the way consumers research and buy services today. Whether it’s an architect, a new kitchen remodels, an appliance or a new deck, most consumers today like to shop around online before talking to a company representative. They read reviews, research quality and ask friends questions about their options through Houzz, Facebook, and Twitter.  

In the full-feature paid version of Signals, users can access Lead Revisit Notifications, which provides updates right on your desktop when a lead returns to the company website. Understanding that a prospect will continue to shop around and do research online during the sales process, HubSpot gives small business owners and sales teams the tools needed to keep up with their leads as they search and see specifically what products they are interested in.

Nurturing a lead can be a delicate process. Too pushy and the customer may turn elsewhere, but too laid back and the customer may feel abandoned. Signals take a lot of that guess work out of the lead nurturing process. Business owners and salespeople can see what kind of services and products their leads want to buy, which promotions grab their attention and when they’ve started losing interest. It also allows your team to target better customers and spend more time with those about to buy, which in the end means more sales for everyone.