AI is here… and it’s real in sales technology. If you aren’t ready to embrace it, your chances of success are slim.
In an interview with Dustin Deno, SVP, Sales at Maropost sat down with us to reveal the interesting aspects of AI in sales technology and how automation can further improve Revenue Management for sales teams.
Tell us about your journey into sales and revenue industry.
I’ve always been interested in finding new and better ways to grow and lead teams, and as a sales leader, I’ve been able to get involved in every area of that process—both internally and externally.
When you combine that strategic side of sales with the competitive side, that’s what really drew me to the industry.
How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a sales tech user?
AI is here and it’s real.
We’re looking at an area of technology that’s the greatest advancement in sales tools since the telephone. If you aren’t ready to embrace it, your chances of success are slim.
Time is the most valuable resource in sales, and too often it’s spent on tasks that could be done by AI. AI can work through the vast amounts of data that typically slows down sales reps—the who, the what, the when—so they can invest their time in the right companies and the right people.
How is the Online Sales industry for enterprise-grade SaaS evolving with technology?
Enterprise-grade SaaS has had some big advances recently, but the implementation and ease-of-use side are still catching up. As this technology improves, it only makes sense that the customer and user experience should also improve. When enterprise-grade technologies start adopting this attitude, we’re going to see online consumption increase exponentially.
What inspired you to join Maropost?
For me, there were three key factors:
1) The market.
The B2C space is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Customers are demanding a unified experience, but companies are confused on how to deliver it. The technology landscape is fragmented, creating an opening for a solution that has the customer record at its core.
2) The product.
Looking at the market, you see a lot of platforms trying to approximate that 360-degree view by bolting different technologies together—and it doesn’t work. With Maropost, we have a platform that can actually deliver on that promise of a unified customer view and experience. We’re giving B2C organizations the tools they need to compete in an increasingly customer-centric environment—and we’re doing it right.
3) The leadership.
We have a phenomenal CEO, COO, and CTO leading us, and I’m excited to be a part of building their vision for the company and the industry.
How do you define Revenue Management from a current perspective on business intelligence and reporting?
Revenue Management is all about strategic growth. You need to understand your customers their needs, and how to execute on them, but you can’t do that effectively if your data isn’t in order. That’s where a lot of companies run into a problem. They get buried in data that doesn’t matter and miss the metrics that are critical to running an efficient revenue engine.
To achieve that strategic growth, your organization needs to focus on the KPIs that move the needle and measure them effectively—everything else is just noise.
Which sales technologies are you currently working with – including ABM, Technographic data, and CRM? How do these technologies help you sell better and faster?
We’re using a variety of tools to manage our sales operation, with CRM as one of the most central.
With an increasing amount of data available to us, it’s important that we invest in a tool that measures the KPIs that really count. The more discerning a CRM can be with data, the more you can focus your sales efforts effectively. Data for data’s sake will only slow your organization down—a tool that’s too complicated for its own good won’t do you any good.
For every tool we select, we’re always focused on how it can simplify or automate our processes. Tools that make work for your team are never the right choice. Technology should make things easier—whether that means more streamlined data acquisition or more automated data analytics—simplicity is critical.
How do you work with data science, process automation, enterprise planning, and advanced analytics at Maropost?
Data is absolutely invaluable to us as we scale our operation and processes. That being said, the most important aspect of data isn’t how much we can get, but how meaningful, we can make it.
Simplifying data acquisition and application means continually asking yourself, “Is this information going to help me make better decisions, or improve our customer, employee, and partner experience?” If the answer is ‘maybe’, you can do without that data.
If the answer is ‘yes’, move forward into finding the best way to efficiently capture and analyze that data. It’s easy to get distracted by data. The more you focus your data efforts, the more they’ll pay off.
Directly or indirectly, which sales leaders and companies have made the most profound impact on the way you work with technology for sales and revenue?
I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from some of the best—in each role I’ve had, I’ve learned something new about sales.
Salesforce has an incredible approach to scaling their sales organization, but ultimately it’s about the people. I learned a lot of what I know from the great leaders at Salesforce—most importantly, how to hire the best talent and lead them effectively.
Since joining Maropost, I’ve already learned a lot from our CEO, Ross Paquette. His customer-focused innovation, unparalleled work ethic, and forward-thinking vision of technology have been incredibly impactful—and they’ve helped him scale the company from a single-person operation to a high-growth company in a very short amount of time.
What are the major pain points for businesses in putting a 360-degree focus on Sales tracking for better account conversions?
Determining attribution is the hardest part of adopting a 360-degree view. With more touchpoints leading up to purchase, there are more factors playing into that purchase—and with so much interplay, understanding the impact of each of those factors is difficult.
Aside from attribution, creating that 360-degree view itself is also a major pain point. Too often, companies aim for that 360-degree view and inadvertently cause customer experience to suffer. Customer experience needs to come first, even if it means sacrificing an opportunity to gain more information. If your efforts to understand customers are getting in the way of them actually purchasing from you, you need to re-evaluate.
Thank you, Dustin, for chatting with us about your role at Maropost and the journey into the sales tech industry!.