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    The Sales Feed Show

    Do More with your Sales Tech Stack

    Wed Jun 21 2023
    sales tech stackssales industryprospectingdeal managementsales enablementbuyer enablementtech stack consolidationsales success

    Description

    The episode discusses the importance of sales tech stacks in today's market, the evolution of sales tech stacks, adapting sales tech stacks to different deal cycles, the rise of buyer enablement, pricing and consolidation in sales tech, the impact of tech stack consolidation on sales, and optimizing sales tech stacks for success.

    Insights

    Sales tech stacks need to be trimmed down and focused on essential tools.

    There has been a consolidation trend in sales tech stacks as companies seek funding to close deals.

    Sales reps and leaders still use a wide range of different tools for prospecting, deal management, and sales enablement.

    LinkedIn Sales Navigator emerged as the most popular tool for prospecting, surpassing all other options combined.

    Short sales cycles require high efficiency, while long deal cycles necessitate robust tools and multi-threading.

    Deal management has evolved to accommodate longer deal cycles and complex buying processes.

    Efficiency improvements for sellers should also benefit buyers, leading to the rise of buyer enablement as a new category in sales.

    Buyer enablement aims to make commerce easier by creating better processes for sellers and improving buyer experiences.

    Consolidation of sales tech is driven by the need to reduce costs, training, and complexity.

    Sales SaaS companies are using pricing and packaging strategies to handle the pressure of tech stack consolidation.

    Companies are becoming more focused on different segments and their specific needs.

    Creating the right offering for each segment brings the most value.

    Adoption of tools is important for success, even if they're not preferred by reps.

    Reps can find affordable tech tools themselves to gain an edge in their process.

    Tech stack consolidation allows reps to focus on making connections with sellers and understanding customer needs.

    LinkedIn Sales Navigator is strongly correlated with exceeding quota, while certain sales CRMs are negatively correlated with achieving goals.

    Chapters

    1. The Importance of Sales Tech Stacks
    2. The Evolution of Sales Tech Stacks
    3. Adapting Sales Tech Stacks to Different Deal Cycles
    4. The Rise of Buyer Enablement and the Rest of the Sales Process
    5. Pricing and Consolidation in Sales Tech
    6. The Impact of Tech Stack Consolidation on Sales
    7. Optimizing Sales Tech Stacks for Success
    Summary
    Transcript

    The Importance of Sales Tech Stacks

    00:00 - 07:19

    • There is a need to trim down sales tech stacks and go lean in 2023.
    • Sales Hacker's state-of-sales tech stack report reveals insights from 976 sales professionals.
    • The report explores the current and future state of sales tech stacks.
    • Marcelo Ross is Sales Hacker's head of content and Colin Campbell is head of community and outreach at Sales Hacker.
    • They discuss the importance of the sales tech stack in today's market.
    • The sales tech community has experienced significant growth, leading to a wide range of tools and categories.
    • There has been a consolidation trend in sales tech stacks, with companies focusing on essential tools.
    • The proliferation of point solutions has increased as companies seek funding to close deals.

    The Evolution of Sales Tech Stacks

    06:56 - 13:31

    • The proliferation of point solutions in the sales industry has increased exponentially, with many companies adopting various tools to compete for talent and achieve success.
    • Despite the overlapping features and categories, sales reps and leaders still use a wide range of different tools for prospecting, deal management, and sales enablement.
    • The most surprising finding was that some people listed unconventional tools like Microsoft Power BI for prospecting, blurring the lines between categories and workflows.
    • LinkedIn Sales Navigator emerged as the most popular tool for prospecting, surpassing all other options combined.
    • Front-end tools actively used by reps for finding and securing opportunities were reported as the most widely used among sales teams.
    • The focus on prospecting and deal management was expected due to the need to create and close business even during an economic downturn.
    • The surprising aspect was the lack of emphasis on sales enablement despite the introduction of numerous point solutions. Many teams struggle with enabling their reps effectively.
    • Companies with short sales cycles were more likely to report using six or more sales tools, possibly due to the need for high efficiency in low average deal size scenarios.

    Adapting Sales Tech Stacks to Different Deal Cycles

    13:09 - 19:56

    • Short sales cycles require high efficiency and a stack that minimizes human involvement.
    • Long deal cycles necessitate robust tools and multi-threading for enterprise deals.
    • Mid-market deals are less repeatable and rely heavily on sellers' efforts.
    • Deal management category has evolved over the years to accommodate longer deal cycles and complex buying processes.
    • Smaller companies prioritize velocity, while larger companies focus on digital signals and having the right people in place.
    • Remote and digital selling have enabled the collection of more data for analysis and insight generation.
    • Deal management is an evolution from prospecting technologies, with Aaron Ross's Predictable Revenue book popularizing the concept of XDRs.
    • Developing new technologies for profit may be reaching diminishing returns.

    The Rise of Buyer Enablement and the Rest of the Sales Process

    19:28 - 26:38

    • Deal management has seen a lot of technological advancements, but now there's a focus on the rest of the sales process.
    • Technologies like conversational intelligence tools are being used to uncover insights about deal management.
    • Efficiency improvements for sellers should also benefit buyers, leading to the rise of buyer enablement as a new category in sales.
    • Buying is difficult and making it easier benefits both sellers and buyers.
    • Zoom has made the buying process more complex with distributed decision makers and asynchronous communication.
    • Buyer enablement aims to make commerce easier by creating better processes for sellers and improving buyer experiences.
    • The abundance of sales tech includes back office technologies for analytics and forecasting, as well as tools that directly help sales reps be more effective and create better buyer experiences.

    Pricing and Consolidation in Sales Tech

    26:19 - 34:01

    • Colin and Marcella play a game of 'The Price is Right' sales tech edition
    • They guess the monthly price of different sales tech tools
    • Vidyard Pro is priced at $19 per month for individuals and $49 per month for businesses
    • Pandadoc Business Edition is priced at $49 per user per month
    • LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core is priced at $65 per month

    The Impact of Tech Stack Consolidation on Sales

    33:33 - 40:43

    • Consolidation of sales tech is a big takeaway from the podcast.
    • Using too many different tools can drive up costs, training, and complexity.
    • Purchasing multiple tools can add up quickly, so buyers need to be thoughtful about their purchases.
    • Sales SaaS companies are using pricing and packaging strategies to handle the pressure of tech stack consolidation.
    • Companies are becoming more focused on different segments and their specific needs.
    • Creating the right offering for each segment brings the most value.
    • Positioning as a category creator can crowd the market and confuse buyers.
    • Adoption of tools is important for success, even if they're not preferred by reps.
    • Reps can find affordable tech tools themselves to gain an edge in their process.
    • Tech stack consolidation eliminates toggling tax and allows reps to focus on making connections with sellers.

    Optimizing Sales Tech Stacks for Success

    40:14 - 46:41

    • Consolidation of tools allows for better focus on understanding customer needs and closing deals
    • LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the most popular tool and strongly correlated with exceeding quota
    • Using Outreach to manage the entire sales cycle increases likelihood of exceeding quota
    • Certain sales CRMs are negatively correlated with achieving goals, while Salesforce and HubSpot are recommended
    • Ideal tech stack depends on industry, growth stage, and unique business needs
    • Use systems and platforms effectively to leverage data and improve performance
    • Focus on sales fundamentals and find what works best for individual selling style
    • Avoid distractions from shiny objects and prioritize existing tools before exploring new ones
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