The SalesTech Spine

In the last 2 years, the B2B landscape has changed drastically. So much so that Winning by design found that Close rates have?dropped by 42%, with opportunity generation rates also plummeting.

Our buyers are more empowered than ever before, looking to complete as much of their buying process before reaching out to vendors, between 57% - 90% according to Gartner and Forrester respectively. Even more worrying though is “72% of buyers would prefer a rep-free experience” (Gartner).

In a post covid world where digitalisation has only accelerated, the economy has deteriorated and buying and selling has drastically changed, what tech will help your time-poor team to not only increase efficiency, but efficacy too??

While Tech certainly isn’t a silver bullet (and little other than a shiny new toy, without strategy), it can be used to streamline sales processes, enhance productivity, drive revenue, and help to fill in the blank for a buyers driving buyer enablement and asynchronous selling initiatives. Here’s my view on what should be included in a business's SalesTech spine.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software:

An obvious one but has to be include. If working well, a CRM acts as the foundation of your SalesTech spine, facilitating efficient sales pipeline management and effective collaboration, pulling in data from all other pieces of tech mentioned.

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Sales Engagement Platforms:

To optimise sales productivity and accelerate deals, integrating a sales engagement platform can be helpful. These platforms offer features like email tracking, sales automation, and personalised outreach, empowering sales reps to engage with prospects in a more targeted and efficient manner.

*Using a sales engagement platform can be like walking a fine-line. Consider the trade off between efficiency and efficacy. While an en-masse automated approach may be efficient, it’s likely going to create a lot of noise for your buyers and lead them to become tone-deaf to the message

Sales Analytics and Business Intelligence Tools:

Data is the lifeblood of sales, and leveraging advanced analytics and business intelligence tools can unlock valuable insights. These tools enable you to analyse sales data, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and identify trends and patterns. By using a tool like this you’ll likely be able to make data-driven decisions faster, refine sales strategies, and optimise overall performance.

Sales Enablement Solutions:

Sales enablement tools play a vital role in equipping sales teams with the resources and knowledge they need to succeed. These tools provide easy access to sales collateral, training materials, and product information, ensuring that sales reps are well-informed and equipped to engage with prospects effectively. In a world where buyer-centricity is everything, sales enablement tool can help to drive seamless collaboration between GTM teams, aligning efforts and driving consistency across the customer journey; improving the buying experience.

Communication and Collaboration Tools:

Efficient communication and collaboration are vital for effective sales operations. Incorporating tools like team messaging platforms, video conferencing, and document sharing solutions enables sales teams to collaborate seamlessly, even in remote or distributed environments; crucial considering the changes in the way that we work.

Video Messaging Tools:

In a world where prospects are receiving 50-125 emails per day, engagement rates and response rates are dropping and as a result opportunity generation rates have plummeted. We must find new ways to cut through the noise and instantly create strong connections with our buyers, early on, if we are to have any chance in influencing the decision in which they arrive at when making a purchasing decision.

Video messaging tools allow businesses to create and share personalised videos tailored to individual prospects, enhancing communication and making a lasting impact on potential buyers. It adds dynamism?provide a dynamism and interactivity to buyer & seller engagements throughout the sales cycle, ultimately boosting conversion rates and accelerating deal closures.

The Next step for SalesTech…

In a world where buyers are completing an increasing amount of their process without vendors (and their sales reps), the winners and losers in the space will be decided by those that are able to embrace buyer enablement. But what is it?

“Buyer enablement is the provisioning of information that supports the completion of critical activities necessary to make a purchase.

Just as sales enablement helps sellers sell, buyer enablement helps buyers buy by providing them with prescriptive advice and practical support to make the buying process easier to navigate and complete.” (Gartner)

In short it’s simplifying our buyers’ purchase process and empowering sellers to deliver value that aligns with each stage of the buyers process. A strategic enabler of this is asynchronous selling

Traditional B2B sales are almost synonymous with synchronicity, The seller always had to be in the room with the buyer throughout as much of the process as humanly possible An asynchronous GTM (Go-to-Market) motion is designed to optimize B2B go-to-market strategies and activities. Unlike synchronous selling, it centres around the buyers process, enabling flexible collaboration and communication across teams.

Therefore an asynchronous GTM platform would enable us to align content, tasks, analytics and reporting, under one solution, while offering the ability to integrate and automate certain task. By providing a centralised hub for collaboration, organisations can streamline workflows, drive efficiency, and achieve business growth.

Asynchronous selling is not just a trend; it's a strategic imperative for businesses looking to achieve sales excellence and maximise their revenue potential.