CRM and data analytics top salestech wishlist, but skills remain scarce - and it's hurting utilisation rates
Jason McKenzie, Petra Sprekos, Nick Flood, and Gui Feijo.
When it comes to the technology supporting B2B sales, sales leaders' priorities look very similar to those of marketers. CRM is king, data analytics are critical, and integration is essential. But there is pressure to consolidate the stack, staff lack training or even training budgets, and there is the additional concern the tech might overwhelm salespeople, distracting them from their all-important facetime with clients.
What you need to know
- CRM and data analytics are the two top technology priorities for sales leaders, according to a study by Arktic Fox.
- In that regard they are aligned closely with B2B marketers, who rated CRM as the most important technology in another recently released study: The State of Marketing 2024 from Chiefmartec.
- But getting sales teams to engage with technology and ensuring it doesn't become a burden remains a problem.
- And the majority of sales teams have no dedicated budget for training in sales tech.
It got a 45 per cent open rate, and that’s good. But we don’t know whether we have any sales coming in.
CRM and data an analytics form the bedrock of sales technology in Australia according to the recent report by Arktic Fox, which found CRM in particular is front and centre of 80 per cent of sales leaders.
That priority aligns closely to the needs of B2B marketers around the world, according to a separate study, The State of Martech Report 2024, although it's at odds with the short-term outlook in the US identified by The CMO Survey
From the Arktic Fox study, it's also clear that in the world of Australian B2B, there is a wide range of maturity around the use of sales technology.
According to Jason McKenzie, National Sales and Marketing Manager, Nolan Group: ”CRM, for me will be the centre of everything that we do.”
McKenzie, a sales and marketing manager who is new to his role, sees strong upside from systems but recognises there is work to be done. The goal is to be able to more effectively attribute sales from marketing activity.
He shared the example of a recent email campaign with Mi3. “It [a recent email campaign] got a 45 per cent open rate, and that’s good. But we don’t know whether we have any sales coming in.”
ARN on the other hand is much further along the maturity curve. ARN National Sales Director Nick Flood told Mi3 Australia, “Our sustained investment has been into our ARN NeuroLab, which provides brands with deeper insight into how audio advertising engages audiences across all formats.
“We complement this with a range of attribution partners, as well as partnerships to further enrich our digital inventory such as Azira and Triton, including our recently announced collaboration with ID5 providing brands with access to greater scale across all forms of digital audio.”
According to director and co-founder of Arktic Fox, Petra Sprekos, different business units often have distinct perspectives and priorities when it comes to technology selection.
"Aligning teams by asking them for their problems to solve or priorities upfront [before a tech is selected], then aligning on use cases for the tech can ensure the chosen Salestech solution aligns with business goals and objectives, fostering greater buy-in and collaboration throughout the implementation process," she said.
Sprekos said Salestech adoption often requires significant investment in terms of time, resources and training. “It's an ongoing program of work, not a project with an end date.
"By aligning teams, organisations can pool their expertise and resources to make more informed decisions about which Salestech solutions to invest in and how best to leverage them to achieve desired outcomes. This collaborative approach aligns teams in the decision-making process and enables acceleration of delivery and roll out.”
Alignment is crucial, Sprekos continued. “By fostering collaboration and communication between these teams, organisations can ensure that Salestech investments are strategically aligned with business objectives, seamlessly integrated into existing workflows, and effectively utilised to drive revenue growth and customer satisfaction.”
Like marketing technology – with which it is closely aligned – sales leaders are under pressure to consolidate their tech stacks, and to improve utilisation. However, the Arktic Fox report also surfaced concerns about overburdening sales representatives.
The report noted, “By taking a more measured approach to Salestech investment, companies can strike the right balance between equipping their sales teams with the tools they need to succeed and ensuring that technology remains an enabler rather than a hindrance to productivity.”
And like their marketing colleagues, sales leaders want increased focus on greater integration of technologies within their core offerings and with other systems such as finance.
“While technology can undoubtedly enhance efficiency and effectiveness, there's a fine line between empowering sales professionals and overwhelming them with excessive demands and distractions," the report stated.
The report quotes Gui Feijo, Sales Manager, HubSpot saying, “The amount of information and tech that reps are expected to absorb and learn, and implement is growing and very large - we use the analogy of a sponge, at some point, the sponge doesn't take any more water - and the sponge just fails. A human is the same and at some point, cannot absorb or take in any more information. As leaders, we need to help our sales reps cut through the noise and find the 1-2 things that are going to make a real difference.”
Finally, aligning the entire business when choosing, implementing and utilising Salestech is essential for several reasons, primarily to ensure and facilitate seamless integration between platforms as well as to maximise efficiency and optimise outcomes across the entire customer journey. This was also highlighted by some leaders as a key to the success of any Salestech procurement.
Skills gaps
According to the study, there is a critical skill gap within sales teams around the understanding and utilisation of technology and platforms salespeople typically use. In addition to CRM, this includes LinkedIn, Sales Navigator and other prospecting tools. Indeed, over 40 per cent of sales leaders identified this as a key skills gap, and the report’s authors said this highlighted an urgent need for comprehensive training and support to better leveraging these channels and platforms.
Yet most sales leaders have failed to act, with the research revealing more than 50 per cent of sales leaders have no dedicated training and development budget.
“Furthermore, the resistance of some sales teams to embrace digital platforms exacerbates the issue. Despite the undeniable benefits of digitisation in streamlining sales processes, enhancing productivity, and expanding reach, there remains a reluctance among certain sales professionals to adopt these technologies. This resistance may stem from a fear of change, a lack of understanding of the platforms' functionalities, or concerns about job security in an increasingly automated landscape," the report stated.
ABM
Finally, on Account-Based Marketing (ABM) only about a third of the sales leaders interviewed by Arktic Fox saw ABM as a pivotal solution. But amongst that cohort, the authors described “a notable emphasis on investing in tools that enhance sales messaging and conversations, regardless of whether they occur in face-to-face interactions or online settings.”
“This strategic approach to marketing offers a range of benefits that contribute to its widespread adoption and effectiveness. This trend sees brands shift towards a more targeted approach to prospecting and demand generation efforts, leveraging data and insights to deliver timely and relevant communications across various channels and delivers more personalised communications and interactions for high high-value assets," the report stated.
