SalesTechStar Interview with Mark Bedard, Vice President of Global Sales at Cognism

Mark Bedard, Vice President of Global Sales at Cognism talks about the importance of using intelligent sales data and technology to not only drive better marketing-sales alignment but also company goals and revenues in this quick chat with SalesTechStar:

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Hi Mark, we’d love to hear about your journey through the years…tell us more about your (new!) role at Cognism?             

I’ve spent the better part of my career building revenue teams and driving cross-functional go-to-market within the data space.

I have recently taken on my new role as Vice President of Global Sales at Cognism where I will be focused on building a best-in-class revenue team focused on providing immense value to our customers.

Part of this role is to establish and grow a new office for Cognism in Boston, MA with a focus on expanding and supporting global, enterprise organizations.

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In today’s (still largely) digital selling environment, how are you seeing sales leaders redefine their salestech stack to drive results and better inter-team collaboration, especially with marketing teams?

Access to intelligent sales data has become increasingly more important for all businesses’ sales and marketing activity. Businesses cannot take the risk of engaging with the wrong audiences or contacts. With targets now based anywhere – sales teams can no longer rely on them being in a physical office – intelligent use of technology is going to be the only way to effectively reach them.

We all know that sales and marketing should be on the same page. The emphasis for sales leaders is now on having compliant intelligent target data to work from to plan their sales and marketing activity. Increasing numbers of organizations are identifying relevant leads and behavioral traits through intent data software solutions – which aid them in finding out who is researching their product types online.

With the right targets identified and behavior analyzed through technology solutions, the marketing team can then build their campaigns around the very specific audiences delivered in the way they best respond.

 Globally we have entered a new era where stricter data compliance laws govern what organizations can and can’t do. GTM leaders today want to be reassured that any technology there are using to build their target base is adhering to any compliance that may be in place in the territories they sell to.

What are some top sales and revenue trends you are looking forward to in 2021? A few predictions you have in mind as well, like the return of in-person events…

Over the past few years, a fanatical focus has been placed on customer experience and I could not be happier about it.  As the B2B customer continues to expect B2C experiences, companies that succeeding are the ones who can consult with their prospects in helping make their buying decision.

Cognism has been a partner to their customers from the start – that type of culture is very hard to create and was one of the reasons why I decided to join the team.  As we grow, we will continue to focus on providing the best experience to our existing, as well as future customers.

How do you feel sales platforms and sales technologies will evolve in future and what will drive demand for more innovations and what kind?

Compliance will continue to be a big topic when it comes to sales intelligence & GTM platforms.  As businesses grow and target new markets they will want to work with providers that have already done the legwork in ensuring a globally compliance solution. Businesses already want to work with providers who can reassure them they will develop alongside regulations and provide them the ability to regulate their level of risk when enabling their sales force.

A few parting thoughts for sales and marketing teams and leaders?

With access to so much thought leadership and exceptional data studies, there is a ton of information available for today’s sales and marketing leaders.  With access to so much information, it can be easy for modern leaders to fall into the “it worked for them, so of course it would work for us” trap.  Learn from the best practices available, but do not blindly apply them to your organization if it doesn’t fit.

If you really want to stand out from the pack, do your research, bring thought leadership and best practices to your team, but then take it the extra step and apply it to what makes sense for your business.

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