SalesTechStar Interview with Valerie Bartlett, SVP of Growth at Tracer

Valerie Bartlett, SVP of Growth at Tracer shares her thoughts on what drives adtech and martech sales in this short chat with SalesTechStar:

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Welcome to this SalesTech Series chat, Valerie. Take us through your sales journey in the B2B tech realm. Tell us a little about leading sales for Tracer and how it’s been so far?

I’ve spent all my time in B2B adtech/martech sales.  I’ve always been a HUGE fan of big data and its applications. My journey started at a company called Quantcast where they processed petabytes of data per day in order to do lookalike modeling.  With the continued evolution I found myself continuing my journey into BlueKai/Oracle, Drawbridge, Liveramp and most recently was at TikTok where the resurgence of creativity and authenticity merged with my passion for marketing and advertising provided me with such a great opportunity to build an incredibly talented sales and client services org.  Many of the problems our agencies and advertisers had are the exact problems that Tracer solves and so naturally I was eager to get back into build mode.

It’s been so rewarding being able to respond to all the demand of a solution that solves a problem that is so pervasive across businesses. I’m continuously energized by the opportunity to build for a business like Tracer where there is a culture of innovation, determination, and intention fueled by a huge desire for success. Everything from process, cross-functional workflows and the in-between is what I am fueled by and I’m excited and eager to continue building brick by brick.

What are the five top fundamentals you’d share with anyone in B2B ad and adtech sales? 

1. Data, data, data. Use data to support your claims and demonstrate the effectiveness of your adtech solution (case studies, testimonials, etc.).
2. Education. Not everyone will fully understand your adtech and how it can benefit their business right off that bat. It’s important to educate your customers about the latest tech trends and best practices in digital advertising, as well as the specific features and capabilities of your product.
3. Become a trusted advisor. Ensure timely responses to customer inquiries, promptly resolve any concerns or issues raised, and offer continuous support during both the implementation and optimization phases. Through consistently providing outstanding customer service, you can cultivate loyalty and incentivize recurring transactions.
4. Learn the prospects’ business/industry. Prior to presenting any adtech solution, invest effort into comprehensively grasping your client’s business model, industry obstacles, target demographic, and advertising goals. Enhanced familiarity with their operations enables you to customize your pitch effectively, catering to their individual requirements and areas of concern.
5. Keep the funnel healthy. Focusing on big deals that are close to signing and not fully nurturing newer prospects can lead to disaster six months down the road—especially if that original deal doesn’t close.

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What are some of the top challenges modern B2B tech sellers constantly face, what tips would you share here?

Selling to a buying group vs. a single buyer is more prevalent now than ever before. Continuously personalize to the individuals but understand what the commonality across all stakeholders is.

Balancing the usage of AI in the day-to-day. Building relationships is such a critical part of sales. Finding ways to become more efficient leveraging AI doesn’t always yield the best outcomes. Know when to lean on AI to remove redundancy on admin tasks, but remember that human connection is paramount.

Building trust virtually can be tough. Many companies have not returned full time to the office. Finding a time to build rapport and relationships in real life has become more of a limited opportunity.  As Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Find ways to consistently connect with your customers and prospects.

Despite all the rich access to different kinds of salestech today, modern sellers still face challenges: can you talk about some of the salestech processes and practices that sales teams need to adopt from the top of hierarchy through to the youngest rank for better output?

Alignment on KPIs: The key metrics from the top down should be understood, agreed upon and adopted by all those on the commercial side of the house.  Too often I see different priorities between different leaders that impact the sellers in feeling like the goal post is shifting.

Stay organized: No matter what tool or system you decide to use, ensure you have a very clear way of organizing your time and priorities—and re-rank day in and day out.

Proficiency in CRM software: This is essential across all levels of the sales hierarchy, spanning from senior executives to entry-level sales representatives. This guarantees the efficient management, tracking, and nurturing of leads throughout the sales pipeline.

Tools for transparency: Promote teamwork and communication between sales, marketing, and leadership by leveraging collaboration tools like messaging applications, video conferencing platforms, and project management software. At Tracer, we utilize Slack for day-to-day communication, Asana for project management, and place all files in a shared G-Drive. These tools and practices facilitate smooth interaction among team members, enabling the exchange of valuable insights, best practices, and alignment with sales objectives and strategies, while providing a clear view to leadership.

Feedback loop: Stay tight with product, client services, and marketing orgs. There are many tools that will house information on different projects that are coming close to completion, but nothing replaces a tight feedback loop/process with product/marketing and client services.

What are some of the top trends that will drive the B2B tech and SaaS market in 2024?

Increased deployment of AI- and ML-powered solutions: These technologies can help with automation, making things more personalized, and predicting future trends, which increases efficiency, makes better decisions, and provides customers with a better experience.

Security, privacy, and risk management across all lines of business: This may encompass advanced threat detection mechanisms, robust identity management systems, and compliance tools, all designed to fortify organizations’ data and infrastructure against potential breaches and vulnerabilities.

Innovation that enhances a businesses existing tech investments: Very few people are building from scratch because of how time-consuming and costly that can be. Companies building on of solutions will be much more commonplace.

ESG driven strategy and investments: Helps meet customer demands, sets companies apart from competitors, manages risks, improves financial opportunities, fosters creativity, and contributes to sustainable business objectives in the long run.

If you had to share a few AI trends that will lead the salestech-martech space in 2024 and beyond, what would you talk about? 

Personalization: Enhanced AI-powered personalization will evolve to provide more intricate customization, enabling sales and marketing teams to offer uniquely tailored interactions to each customer. This encompasses individualized recommendations, content, and messaging delivered across LinkedIn, email, and more.

Automation: AI optimizes routine sales responsibilities like evaluating leads, reaching out via email, and managing data entry. This empowers sales teams to concentrate on activities that add significant value, such as fostering connections with clients and finalizing deals.

Chatbots: AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants empower businesses to interact with customers instantaneously, address inquiries promptly, and offer support at every stage of the sales journey.

Predictive Intelligence: This is a great tool for pattern recognition and identifying what is scalable/repeatable to improve win-rates, but don’t forget everyone is human and even AI can have erroneous outputs.

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