Sales Technology is definitely not a new sub-segment in the industry, though this space has garnered its fair share of attention as a niche. The closely interconnected arenas of Marketing Technology and Sales Technology offer common product enhancements, offerings and capabilities today.
Where on-premise platforms were popular years ago, the demand today revolves around Cloud-first, AI-powered features with enhanced prescriptive and predictive analytics capabilities that also help breakdown customer intentions and buying behaviors.
As a result, choosing the right tech stack, or, more specifically, the right SalesTech / MarTech stack is always going to be key to achieving your business goals.
Given the improved capabilities of technologies today, and the wide range of tools that are available to pick from, the basis of a strong tech investment starts by investing in the right tech stack!
Here are 5 Factors to Consider when Choosing your SalesTech Stack in 2020
1- Requirements could Change Depending on Whether you’re Selling in B2B or B2C
We all know how B2B buying journeys are not only more complex but longer. The fact that there are more people involved in every buying decision doesn’t make it any easier. But it’s these differences that will help you decide what SalesTech stack will enable your sales efforts better.
Tools that help nurture customers through longer buying journeys, Sales Technologies that predict when a customer is or will most likely be in-market for a particular product are some of the tools a B2B Salesperson might benefit more from. While selling in B2C, email marketing tools, personalized mass communication platforms, or text messaging, cold-calling apps and technologies will come in handy.
2- Tools that Help Boost Team Collaboration
We live and work in a gig economy, with many companies jostling to manage remote teams. Besides this, there is also the need to optimize communication processes and collaborative efforts between internal teams despite team size or physical location.
Platforms like RingCentral Glip and Trello are popular collaborative tools that help enable easier internal messaging and file sharing. Trello’s workflow management feature or HubSpot’s CRM, for instance, could help Sales reps see where the Sales process is heading for the team as a whole.
Read More: 7 Best-In-Class Collaboration Tools That We Reviewed For Your Sales Team
3- Regular Upskilling and Sales Training
You can’t do much about employee attrition.
A SiriusDecisions research once indicated that 45% of B2B sales organizations report annual rep turnover higher than 30%.
No business is safe from employee turnover. But the best way to safeguard company interests despite attrition is ensuring an element of regular upskilling and training that allows incoming Salespeople to constantly learn and update their skills.
SalesTech tools like Bigtincan Hub helps with onboarding and learning for Sales teams. Sales learning and training is a crucial element in the overall Sales process.
Read More: SalesTech Star Interview With John Moore, VP Of Customer Success At Bigtincan
4- Sales Strategy Always Comes First
It is important for Sales Teams and Sales leaders to first identify their strategy before they choose what SalesTech to adopt. Otherwise, getting influence by the “Shiny New Object” syndrome will tempt you to invest in tools and technologies that peers seem to think are great for Sales but aren’t necessarily right for you or your current business need.
Identifying the main business goals, revenue goals and sales goals that you want to achieve within a specified period of time will then help you work backwards to determine which technologies can help achieve those goals faster.
The SalesTech and MarTech landscape will keep evolving. New Technologies and Tools will make it’s way to the landscape, to make the best use of innovations in SalesTech and Martech – identify what goals you want to achieve first!
5- Tools that Help Improve Marketing and Sales Alignment
The often-talked-about friction between marketing and sales is something that the smart use of technology can help reduce, even nullify! CRMs, CDPs, platforms that allow teams across departments to have a more cohesive view of their prospect’s buying behavior can also enable better alignment between multiple departments. Reducing this ago-old friction with the help of the right SalesTech / MarTech will help achieve core business goals much faster!
What are some of the top factors that you’d consider in 2020 when choosing your SalesTech Stack?