The Driving Forces Transforming the Sales Tech Landscape in 2022

It’s no secret that we’ve seen rapid technology changes across every line of work over the last few years. Automations, working environments, and emerging technologies have encouraged us to work smarter, not harder. Sales tech is no exception. 

The sales tech landscape is in a place of rapid evolution. Headlining acquisitions and tool sophistication are the landmarks of today’s sales tech environment. The demand for outbound efficiency, cycle visibility, and process automation, are quickly increasing the number of tools available. 

From prospecting to proposal signing, new trends are accelerating the market for tools at every touchpoint in customer interaction. Three of the most prominent developments influencing the changes in sales tech include:

• Platform consolidation is rapidly changing the sales tech ecosystem
• Outbound prospecting is being infused with data-backed tools and strategies
• High growth in the market for Sales Enablement and Mutual Action Planning (MAP) 

As sales teams rummage through the growing list of tools, they’re also navigating the implications of the trends above. The bursting innovation in today’s sales tech industry presents as much opportunity as it does challenge. In this article, we’re going to offer insight into these trends and explain the nuances transforming the sales tech landscape.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Filling the PR Pipeline

2021 may have been one of the most active years for M&A in the sales tech field. As startups found their ground and industry Goliaths settled into virtual selling, M&A kicked off like never before. 

Alpha platforms weren’t only going after direct competitors; they were targeting platforms in adjacent categories. A trend that manifested itself across PR wires and news hubs. Some of the more notable moves within the torrent of M&A activity include:

• 6Sense acquired Fortella (third-party analytics) and Slintel (technographic data)
• ZoomInfo acquired RingLead (data workflow)
• Outreach acquired Canopy (intelligence) and Sameplan (mutual action plans)
• Clari acquired DealPoint (mutual action plans)

Today, in the wake of both M&A and prominent industry growth — the sales technology market grew by ~11% in 2021 — hyper-aggressive vendors are cashing in on those purchases. Feature augmentation and expansion of platform capabilities are sending those industry powerhouses into new arenas of competition. As a result, their total addressable market (TAM) is blowing up.

Concerning M&A, 2022 doesn’t seem like it will be much different. We already witnessed Mediafly’s acquisition of InsightSquared (sales forecasting & analytics), and more are on the way. With the number of unicorn companies (startups that reach a valuation of $1 billion) at an all-time high, the consolidation of sales tech sub-sectors is quickly increasing. Alpha platforms see these kinds of startups as game-changers in the space and are acting on them quickly to garner the competitive edge of TAM expansion.

Related Content: Modern Outbound Playbook & The Modern Outbound Tech Stack

Data-Driven Outbound for the Closed-Won

Prospecting today doesn’t look remotely close to prospecting five years ago, let alone pre-pandemic. Times are changing, as are the ways to meet and engage potential buyers.

Aside from changes in outbound activities — video prospecting, social selling, multithreading, etc. — prospecting is evolving into a data-oriented fixture of B2B sales. The M&A activity noted above serves as direct proof for that.

Outreach, the long-standing market leader in sales engagement, is expanding into revenue intelligence and forecasting data. 6sense, one of the original lead-prediction platforms and precursors to intent data, is stacking data on data. The emphasis on integrating data-driven decision-making into the day-to-day sales role is exactly why valuations for both companies sit in the range of $4+B (Outreach) and $5+B (6Sense).

The caliber of modern data intelligence, in tandem with automation, is giving new life to the entire prospecting process. Outbound efficiency, message resonance, and sales rep coaching are being consumed by data-backed strategies. And sales teams are here for it. According to Gartner, sales leaders and CSOs are increasing the sales tech budget by 5% annually. What are they buying? Technology to enable virtual selling. Specifically, tools that support data analytics, Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

If You’re Not Using a Sales Enablement Tool Now, You Will Soon 

The market for sales enablement platforms is almost unparalleled in the sales tech category. s projected to reach $7.3 billion by 2028, fueled by the need for resource consistency, collateral access, and symbiosis between sales and marketing. The transition to virtual selling is an obvious driver behind it.

Pre-pandemic, market research in 2019 pinned sales enablement as a “nice-to-have,” predicting the market to be at $2.6B by 2024. In 2020 alone, the global market grew to $1.3B.

The market is telling a narrative of how important sales enablement materials have become. Buyers in virtual mediums are hungry for resources that can show them value, and sellers are just as hungry to give it to them. Streamlining the process of sharing sales and marketing content and tracking the results is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s a necessity.

Similarly, MAP software is quickly weaving its way into the sales tech stack to provide better alignment between buyer and seller. While the intent behind MAP — also known as a go-live plan, mutual success planning, etc. — isn’t new, the sophistication, automation, and synchronized abilities of modern MAP software are relatively new. 

Virtual MAP streamlines the documentation of the buyer-seller experience with accountability and ownership for each step. While the deal moves through the sales cycle, MAP platforms like Accord and Recapped, ensure alignment and visibility between the selling team and buying committee. Typically manual, more sales tech tools on the market are automating these plans for seamless execution. 

The market for MAP software is far less mature than that of other markets we’re seeing high valuation and M&A activity in. In the list we covered above, Dealpoint only had 5 years on the market when it was acquired by Clari, and Sameplan was incorporated less than 3 years before it was acquired by Outreach.

Demand for sales enablement and MAP solutions is going to continue to grow in 2022. Whether the demand is coming from sales teams or alpha platforms, it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Related Content: How to Level Up Your Sales Game to Increase Win Rate

Being Flexible is Key in Today’s Sales Tech Landscape

The sales landscape is changing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change with it. And the reality is that you should change with it, amassing a flexibility toward sales tech akin to that of the industry itself.

The most successful sales teams are the ones who adapt to new trends and technologies, and it’s reflected in their sales processes. With a few simple tweaks to your approach, sales tech stack, and mindset, you’ll position your team for success in the turbulent sales tech landscape.