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Building out an efficient tech stack is key to any salesperson’s day-to-day operations. However, data shows that putting one together isn’t so easy.
While unique to each organization or individual salesperson, a tech stack is essentially a collection of various applications or software used for daily operations. Some notable companies one might find in a stack: Salesforce, HubSpot, and ZoomInfo. Each offers a different flavor of service to help revenue teams—from account management software to sales CMSes and from sales forecasting software to CRMs. But as more applications are added to the stack, the more cumbersome it becomes, causing challenges for sellers and leaders alike.
According to recent research conducted by Morning Brew Inc., 67% of salespeople are satisfied with their tech tools, while only 11% are truly enthusiastic about them. Among leadership, 52% agree the company’s tools slow them and their team down, causing issues and inefficiencies across the organization. This suggests that potential changes to the stack are mission-critical to revenue leaders trying to navigate the speed of change.
AI is the way. According to Salesforce data, sales reps spend 70% of their time on administrative tasks—emails, budgeting, etc. With AI added to sales tech stacks, the hope is that the technology can give sellers more time to sell and less time on the day-to-day operations.
“There’s a lot of interest in AI tooling and I think we're seeing that well beyond sales,” Brian Devaney, a partner at Underscore VC, a Boston-based venture capital firm backing B2B software entrepreneurs, told us. “Every function, every job is saying, ‘can I use this as a way to have superpowers, right?’ There’s a lot of interest on the sales front. We use [AI] to be more prepared. Can we use this to focus on the types of jobs that should take my time and attention? We’re kind of seeing this early proliferation of what could be every seller having a dedicated business analyst or a sort of chief of staff that’s helping them get prepared, do research, and show up 10 times better at every conversation they’re having.”
Salesforce noted that “among teams currently using AI, sales ops pros say the top tactic to prepare is to consolidate tools and tech stacks.”
Human first: While certain AI automation tools, such as Gong.io and Salesloft, can take on many of salespeoples’ basic tasks, like cold outreach and prospecting, it’s important, experts tell us, to keep the human element in play.
“Ultimately you need to have that human eye and you can’t just sit and leverage the AI piece to just do your entire job,” Sean Horton, vice president of growth at digital marketing firm Fusion Now, said. “That’s at least the focal point: How can I utilize the AI tools, if [companies] all have them, to expand upon why I’m a good salesperson in the first place?”
Zoom out: As tech tools pose a pain point for some sales leaders, B2B software vendors can look to these inefficiencies as an opportunity to offer best-in-class products that streamline salespeople’s processes.