The convergence of mobile, analytics, context-rich systems and the cloud is transforming the sales process and enabling buyers and salespeople to engage with each other more effectively. Recently, Gartner, an information-technology research and advisory company, listed 10 top strategic technology trends. Some have significant implications for sales forces, including:
- Computing everywhere: Through the proliferation of mobile devices, buyers and salespeople can reach each other anywhere, anytime.
- Advanced, pervasive and invisible analytics: By layering analytics seamlessly on top of linked data on customers, sales activities and salespeople, companies can deliver the right assistance to salespeople and customers at the right time.
- Context-rich systems: Data and analytical insights can be tailored for specific situations faced by customers and company personnel. The customization aligns perfectly with how salespeople think and work.
- Cloud computing and software-defined infrastructure: These enable fast deployment and scaling of systems to keep up with the changing needs of the business, the customers and the sales force.
Consider these examples:
A telecom company developed a filtering model that used advanced analytics to recommend to account salespeople which products and services to offer to each customer based not only on past purchases within that account but also on purchases in other accounts with a similar profile (i.e., “data doubles”). The model also forecasted the size of the opportunity and the likelihood of purchase at each account.
The data and technology enabled the sales force to better match products with customers, driving stronger uptake of new product lines and improving the opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling.
A company in the financial services industry examined millions of phone records and listened to dozens of calls to identify how to improve the sales process. Using advanced analytics, the company produced simple but groundbreaking insights. First, by focusing on just seven of the 14 target industries, salespeople could increase profits by 16 percent. Second, by shifting calls to the right time of day, salespeople could triple the probability of a sale and increase profits by 20 percent. Third, by adopting the sales techniques used by top performers, salespeople could enhance their results.
As new trends emerge, sales forces must constantly and creatively adopt and adapt new technologies to improve sales processes and better serve customers. Andris A. Zoltners, P.K. Sinha & Sally E. Lorimer
Andris A. Zoltners is a professor emeritus of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He and P.K. Sinha are co-founders of ZS Associates. Together with Sally Lorimer, they are co-authors of Building a Winning Sales Management Team: The Force Behind the Sales Force.