Automation Tools for the Sales Teams of Tomorrow
By Patrick Welch, President of Bigtincan
Just as in carpentry, building an effective sales enablement framework requires the right tools. The rise of virtual selling environments continues to reduce the frequency of traditional in-person interactions along the buyer’s journey. This places the onus on sales reps to create compelling pitches, simplify complex products, and drive conversions with less face-time than ever before. And just as one wouldn’t expect a carpenter to build a bench with a toolbox full of missing pieces and rusty nails, B2B sales organizations cannot rely on legacy technologies and expect to drive conversions.
Innovations in sales enablement automation have fundamentally shifted the paradigm for effective selling. From AI-powered speech coaching to VR-based digital sales rooms, automation empowers organizations to curate memorable interactions that are personalized for each sale. These tools take the concept of a bespoke experience to a whole new level, building confidence and simplifying decision-making for prospective buyers to ultimately foster smart purchasing decisions.
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Coaching to Close Deals
The benefits of a robust sales coaching strategy are extensive. Not only can dynamic coaching improve win rates, but it also increases employee retention. Positioning sales reps to maximize their performance will further incline them to remain with the company. However, not all coaching is created equal. Leveraging automation tools allows organizations to scale coaching and training across large teams, and meet the unique needs of each employee. Processes are personalized through self-guided learning and just-in-time training that can be tailored for both new hires and tenured reps alike.
By leveraging AI-powered conversation intelligence solutions, sales reps gain a deeper and more intuitive understanding for how their voice and tone influences buyer intent. Using machine learning algorithms, the solution performs speech analysis on pre-recorded sales pitches and then generates actionable insights for improvement – measuring vocal clarity, filler word usage, pauses and more. With this visibility available from both rehearsals and actual meetings with customers, managers can tailor their coaching strategies based on the analytics of what is working and what is not – increasing overall team effectiveness.
Personalization at Every Step
Since engagement takes place at different places in the sales funnel and from a variety of different channels, it’s critical to simplify the decision-making process via personalization. Customer-facing materials need to be tailored to each prospect regardless of how the sales rep arrived at the interaction. By leveraging product messaging and content that speaks directly to their organization and industry, sales reps are informing buyers to make a purchasing decision that maximizes their ROI. With easy-to-use digital tools, reps can now quickly customize microsites, presentations, and proposals to meet the customer where they are and provide them with the resources they need.
Furthermore, these digital tools allow sellers to part ways with the static collateral they used in the past. Instead, reps can now build more immersive sales experiences through interactive digital spaces that go above and beyond the in-person experience. Even in a remote environment, the sales floor can be personalized to each individual buyer.
Virtual World, Real Results
The push to create more immersive experiences for customers has driven advances in what is possible with augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality technologies. With so little time to demonstrate how a product works and why a customer should purchase it, sales reps need innovative tools that appeal to all types of learners. VR-based technology supports rich, multi-sensory learning that allows buyers to learn in the Metaverse. This bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds, enabling remote prospects to engage with products in a real-world setting that mirrors the in-person experience.
The shift to a digital-centric sales landscape is here to stay. With that said, now is a perfect time to embrace the integrated adoption of sales enablement automation as a framework for shaping the buying experience of the future. With the right tools in place, organizations can position their sales reps to guide buyers through virtual selling environments that offer impactful experiences, simplify decision-making, and lead to smart purchases.
