B2B Sales Tech to Eliminate Constraints and Influence Growth
Ricky Cookson
Technology is the future of business and the future of sales.
Business technology is the animating force driving innovation and efficiency for the modern sales org. From CRMs and sales engagement to martech and internal operations, the right arrangement of technology is key to steering growth. In closing our webinar series on the Road from $0 to $20 Million, Jake Dunlap sat down with industry leaders to pinpoint the best sales technology for growing companies. After debating an optimal tech stack for sales, the next session explores how sales ops and rev ops are spearheading new trends in organizational structure and execution.
The Best Sales Technology for Growing Companies
Guests: Adam Louie (LeadGenius), Cassie Pless (Outreach), & Kalsang Tanzin (LinkedIn)
There are thousands of sales tools at the forefront of digital sales transformation. And, as companies grow, there are a few essentials every company should include in their tech stack.
During this session, Adam, Cassie, and Kalsang dove into the technologies turning the dials for sales teams and enabling them to sell better as they hit new stages of growth.
Here are the five best sales technologies every growing company needs:
#1 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
It’s no surprise that CRM software is a cornerstone for sales teams and growing companies in general. According to GetBase, 91% of companies with 11 employees or more use a CRM platform for managing customer information and sales lifecycle. Heading the pack with more than 150,000 customers worldwide is Salesforce.
#2 Sales Engagement Tools
To make CRM platforms more actionable, sales engagement tools like Outreach combine and use all the information from your CRM, your phone logs, emails, and content management systems to enhance sales workflows. In doing so, sales engagement tools enable effective outbound strategies and offer a leg over the competition by saving time and allowing sales teams to create targeted and personalized sequences that resonate with buyers.
#3 LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Personalization and prospect research has ascended to new levels as reps move increasingly toward a customer-centric selling strategy. The information reps can procure from tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator provides critical insight into who their buyers are and their interests, both on a professional and personal level. Leveraged correctly, Sales Navigator is an exceptional tool to prospect and engage buyers.
#4 Buyer Intent Data Platforms
Accompanied by a CRM, sales engagement platform, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator, buyer intent data systems offer a bird’s eye view into buyer activity and interaction. From online content consumption and download tracking to departmental growth and competitor interaction, platforms like SalesIntel and LeadGenius provide visibility around purchase intent. Utilizing a contact database is the first step in finding the right people, but investing in a database that also has buyer intent signals will help you find the right people at the right time.
#5 Conversational Intelligence Tools
Conversational intelligence tools like Gong are making a significant impact on training, coaching, and improving the efficiency of sales teams. By monitoring what sales reps are saying and analyzing what worked and what didn’t, managers can coach their reps with incredible efficiency. Conversely, sales reps can actively own their own development by tracking call ratio, customer monologues, keyword/phrase, and develop improvement plans around those metrics.
Related Content: The Road from $0 to $20 Million: Refining the Sales Process
What’s the Right Equation for Sales Technology?
Our recommendations are based on years of experience and hundreds of implementations, but there’s one thing to keep in mind: find the stack that’s right for you. As long as you have a network of systems that seamlessly integrate and enable your sales team to hit their targets, then you’ll position your company for growth.
“Sales tech enables change in behavior. If you aren’t committed to changing behaviors, you can have the best sales tech, and it’s going to be lukewarm… If your reps haven’t bought in… that’s where they hit roadblocks.” -Kalsang Tanzin, Regional Manager, Mid Market at LinkedIn Sales Solutions
In other words, having the best sales technology is a great place to start, but the real value is in buy-in, adoption, and then continuous optimization.
(For an encompassing overview of the leading sales technology and their place in your business, check out “Skaling Your Sales Tech Stack” in The Road from $0 to $20 Million Playbook.)
How Sales Ops & Rev Ops Drive Revenue
Guest: Frederick Shilmover (InsightSquared)
As stated in a previous article, 10 Ways Sales Operations Drives Revenue, “Sales Ops handles all of the non-selling processes and tasks within the sales process to reduce friction and help Sales close deals faster.” However, Sales Operations strive for more than just boosting closed deals. Sales Operations revolve around optimizing sales strategy and streamlining many of the processes that hinder performance. In tandem with Sales Operations is Marketing Operations, in which marketing teams work to reduce inhibiting factors that block scalability and successful execution.
That’s where Revenue Operations comes in. It envelopes Sales Ops, Marketing Ops, Customer Success, and every other area of revenue generation. In his conversation with Jake, Frederick Shilmover, President and Founder of InsightSquared, stated that Rev Ops sets the tone for the next generation of operations through cross-functionality.
“Rather than focusing around one part, Rev Ops is centered around the entire goal… Rev Ops isn’t around lead gen, deals, or renewals; it’s about everything cross-functionally. – Frederick Shilmover
Our Book Recommendations for Rev Ops:
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
- Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
Enable Your Growth with the Best Sales Technology
Sales technology allows sales teams to unleash their full power when used correctly. This could mean implementing the right tools for your business, making sure they’re integrated and ensuring data integrity, and putting in processes that help with team adoption.
The whole point of these tools are to enable your team to do more by extricating tasks that impede productivity and time selling.
“Tech should be about pushing away all of the things that aren’t incredibly human, so they’re free of all distraction.” – Frederick Shilmover
Depending on what level your company is at, start with the five tools outlined in this article that will cover your needs across the sales cycle. As you grow, Sales Ops and Rev Ops will begin to play a crucial part in the management of technology, processes, and strategy across teams and departments.
