Technology is changing at the speed of light. Determining what technologies will benefit a sales organization most is a challenging proposition. David Worley, U.S. Sales and Business Development Leader at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), identifies three areas of emerging technology sales managers should be focused on:
Sales intelligence tools
It’s paramount for sales teams to target the right customers at the right time. Good customer relationship management (CRM) programs improve customer retention by as much as 27 percent, according to Salesforce. CRM software enables sales reps to drill down on customer information so they can better address their pain points to make larger and more frequent sales. The best part is everything you need is stored securely in the cloud, ready for immediate access wherever you happen to be.
Worley also sees predictive analytics that have comprehensive data gathering capabilities being prevalent in the next three to five years. Similar to Amazon having live references on its products for customers to review, B2B companies could have previous buyers answer questions or give a review to new customers.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Where appropriate, it makes sense to use AI where services or tasks are easily transitioned and results are the same or better. But every service cannot be automated. Buyers still need good salespeople to resolve complicated issues. Sales reps who are positioned as consultative sellers have proven track records of higher average deal size, higher deal profitability, better customer retention and more repeat business.
Social selling
In our new socially connected world, 78 percent of salespeople who use social selling, such as LinkedIn, outsell those who don’t. According to LinkedIn, 76 percent of buyers are ready to have a social media conversation with potential providers, and more than 62 percent of B2B buyers respond to salespeople who connect with them to share insights and opportunities relevant to their business.
Even better, 92 percent of B2B buyers are willing to engage with a sales professional who is a known industry thought leader, a reputation that can be established by consistently posting thoughtful, relevant content on social media.
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