Revenue Ops & Automation Blog

Managing a team of diverse individuals with unique strengths and varying amounts of sales experience can be overwhelming to even the most seasoned sales leaders. Especially this year, as sales teams adapted to remote selling techniques, embraced new technologies, and 40% of businesses missed their revenue targets, the role of a sales manager seems more difficult than ever before. 

Harnessing the power of social media has been a cornerstone of successful sales strategies within the past few years. Especially in 2020, when millions of road warriors were grounded overnight and forced to work remotely, knowing how to access and sell to prospects virtually is a necessity for modern sales teams. 

Hitting a sales slump is a right of passage for every salesperson and team, and this year has been especially tough across various industries due to the uncertainty of Covid-19. It’s no surprise that 57% of sales reps are expected to miss their quota this year (Salesforce). 

Knowing how to increase sales revenue when it’s not where your company needs it to be is a tricky situation for executives and sales teams alike. Finding the exact areas to improve in your sales process can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it doesn’t have to. 

According to LinkedIn’s State of Sales Report 2020, 97% of salespeople said that technology is either “important” or “very important” to their sales process. Meanwhile, the number of salespeople relying on sales intelligence tools has increased 54% in the past two years. 

In the past decade, the sales playing field has changed dramatically. What may have worked for sales reps before is now insufficient.

In the recent past, a bright charisma, creativity, and improvisation drove the majority of sales. Then, authenticity ruled the day. Most recently, social proof and trust-building are essential for brands.

While all of these are still valued today, these approaches alone just don’t cut it. 

Sales enablement is a term that has recently gained a lot of traction in the business world. While sales enablement has always existed, it is only in the past five years that a universally accepted term has been put forth to describe the processes, people, and technology that reduces friction in the sales process.

Companies of all types have been placing a heavy emphasis on inbound lead strategies for the past few years. While some may argue inbound is the key to sustainable sales success, others point to the lack of control of your pipeline.

Many sales leaders wonder if the inbound mentality is creating a culture of less-effective salespeople who can only close leads that are served to them on a silver platter. For the long-term success of your company and its salespeople, is outbound sales the real game changer? 

Data analytics is a key business tool that helps successful companies plan growth, execute strategies, and make the right adjustments along the way. According to Insights2020 research, nearly 70% of executives working with “overperforming” companies attributed the corporate success to interpreting and acting on disparate chunks of data.

Sales enablement is a term that is gaining traction in the corporate world and its definition varies greatly depending on who you ask. 

To some, sales enablement means content management. To others, it means sales rep training or coaching. Some would venture even deeper into the concept of sales enablement and say it’s not a business strategy, but instead, a company vision.

Most CEOs have a vision or value proposition that is the backbone of their company and corporate strategies. Quite frequently, however, that value proposition isn’t communicated to or followed by the sales team (and other important departments).

Value proposition misalignment and confusion can wreak havoc on your growth plan as departments market to the wrong customers, work towards different goals, and use the wrong tools and messaging to sell products and services that they don’t fully understand.