SalesTechStar Interview with Debra Cancro, SVP of Data Products at Bigtincan

Debra Cancro, SVP of Data Products at Bigtincan chats about a few top sales enablement best practices that sales teams need to keep in mind:

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Welcome to this SalesTechStar chat Debra, tell us about your tech/B2B journey – what inspires you most today about the sales-marketing B2B experience?

My B2B tech journey extends all the way back to my first experience out of college when I was working at AT&T as a systems engineer. As I immersed myself in the world of digital innovation, I developed a deeper understanding of how B2B technologies can improve the lives of others. That ability to make a positive impact through artificial intelligence and machine learning continues to inspire me today.

Throughout my career, I’ve founded two technology companies, Autonomy Engine, LLC and VoiceVibes, Inc. VoiceVibes was the culmination of all my work in B2B tech. By harnessing the power of AI-driven technology, we were able to provide sales teams with more effective communication, onboarding, and coaching. At the beginning of 2021, Bigtincan acquired VoicesVibes to integrate its voice analytics technology into the Bigtincan learning hub. I was welcomed onto the Bigtincan leadership team to oversee product innovations. In my day-to-day work, I continue to develop technologies that provide users with simplified and actionable performance insights across their operations so they can offer top-notch services.

Read More: Bigtincan Wins Silver Stevie® Award for its Sales Enablement Solution

With the impact of salestech and AI in sales tools revamping how sales teams can plan their initiatives, how do you feel the marketplace will move in the near-future?

Our customers are increasingly looking for more web-based products in order to meet consumer demand, but it’s important to consider that the shift to web-based does not necessarily include mobile-based. For example, due to the pandemic, we found that selling teams aren’t on the road as often as they were a few years ago, so there is a higher need for desktop solutions. We do, however, make sure we are still developing our mobile-based platform so that those customers still have the same level of omnichannel accessibility.

With the help of IoT and e-commerce acceleration, the average customer has become more independent and desires more self-service options, so sales teams must pivot in response. This market shift means that consumers now view sales representatives as trusted advisors. Customers want to work on their own timelines, do their own research, and receive help from selling teams when they need it.

With this in mind, the future of the marketplace will rely on automated recommenders based on insights gathered from AI-driven tech. When we talk about AI and AI-driven features, the conversation often centers around the idea of automation. This is because we’ve long used AI to improve various functions within a business. For example, AI can help to support sales and marketing professionals throughout every phase of the customer lifecycle. AI is taking sales enablement and customer-facing teams to the next level to offer prospects and clients an unmatched buying experience.

Recommenders can help both new and experienced sellers determine the best next step in their sales process, which can be difficult in the remote world. Recommenders can also help drive customer experiences so that sellers don’t need to spend as much time with each customer, in turn allowing them to work more efficiently.

Do you feel sales people today harness the power of AI and salestech sufficiently to drive true ROI?

From trackable content metrics and proven returns on investments to simplified mobile access to relevant sales collateral, AI has become the backbone of an efficient sales and marketing workflow. This technology is being used effectively to help marketing teams better understand their prospect’s customer content needs by offering detailed analytics that uncover which collateral was most digested by recipients.

These insights include how long each person spent with the content and which material led to the highest closing rates – meaning the content that delivered the highest ROI. AI enables marketers to present a tangible direct link between deals closed and content created, tying dollars to insights that drive profits.

What optimization/improvisation areas should B2B Sales teams focus on more, in your view?

Sales teams can utilize AI to better understand their presentation skills – a key factor for selling both confidence and products. For example, available AI-driven tools, like VoiceVibes, analyze sales calls and pitches to offer specific insights about how salespeople are perceived on calls, ranging from personable to pushy. This invaluable tool enables sales teams to focus on adjusting their tone of voice to make the best possible impression with sales prospects, and according to research from Bigtincan, people are 13x more likely to want to buy from someone who sounds confident and authentic.

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For B2B and tech companies looking at revamping their sales enablement and customer engagement models, what top thoughts would you share with them?

I suggest that B2B and tech companies consider how they can prove to their prospects and buyers that they are always thinking ahead and prepared to go above and beyond customer expectations. It’s crucial to ensure their sellers have streamlined access to the right content and sales materials for effective training —whether they are remote or in-person—and have the proper tools to positively engage with digital customers.

AI-driven tools are becoming increasingly advanced and exist to augment sales and marketing. As a result, companies should also think about how AI technology can be implemented into their sales processes to streamline operations and ensure that all products in their sales enablement platform are interconnected. Neglecting AI tech can put a strain on existing salesforces, creating less time for selling.

With this in mind, it is important to not be afraid of digital adoption. Although adoption can seem daunting, sales enablement platforms have become sophisticated enough to offer a nearly seamless integration process. To help offer a simplified integration, Bigtincan provides customers the ability to customize our platform to their pre-existing processes so that it is easier for the company and their employees to both adopt and kickstart their use of the technology.

Some last thoughts, takeaways, digital sales/customer communication tips and best practices before we wrap up!

The key to a successful sales strategy is building the foundation now for the innovations that will come tomorrow. Many companies look at sales enablement capabilities and consider the technology to be an unnecessary accessory that they don’t yet need. However, I challenge those organizations to think about the time and money they could save without second-guessing which content was landing with their prospects, digging through outdated collateral only to not find what they’re looking for, or pitching a contact without the right tools in place to confidently express the benefits of their offerings.

These unmatched solutions offer actionable insights to streamline workflows and re-focus sales and marketing teams in their operations. Further, for those who may not yet be all-in for sales enablement tools or don’t have the overarching budget, these solutions are digestible into smaller portions, allowing companies to start small, focusing purely on content management, for example, with the option to expand when they are ready and as they see fit. There’s no one size fits all approach to sales enablement, and that’s why a customizable platform can serve as the perfect solution.

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