A new year brings new opportunities and new advancements in sales technology. Supporting your 2024 sales with an efficient and effective digital structure is essential in today’s data-driven world, and regardless of your niche or industry, you need to keep up with the times to remain competitive. In this article, we are looking at why sales technology is more important now than ever, how it is expected to evolve and grow throughout 2024, the changes AI is bringing to the sales process, and what you need to be looking for and adopting to succeed with your sales strategies.
What is sales technology, and why is it so important?
Sales technology is essentially the tools, platforms, applications, and services you and your team utilise in your sales process – this may come in the form of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), AI business automation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc.
According to LinkedIn, 54% of sales reps say that digital sales tools help them win over more proposals.
Giving your team the resources, they need to take selling to a deeper level is vital – the ability to personalise, develop in-depth strategies, and target leads that are most likely to convert, are all ways in which sales technology can support your business and improve your bottom line.
Some of the main benefits that come with working with the right sales technology include:
Improved efficiency in day-to-day task management.
Effective data capture and evaluation for targeted strategies.
Improved personalisation and customer journey mapping.
Increased conversions and sales.
How will sales technology evolve and change in 2024?
Technology continues to grow and evolve as more developments are made, and it becomes more accessible. Trends that are expected to have a considerable impact in 2024 encompass:
Improved Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning – In order to utilise data to specifically target customers, and improve sales conversions, the use of AI and machine learning is increasing. The tools are being utilised to streamline inefficient processes, identify cross and upselling opportunities, determine what interactions can and should be personalised (and how this should be done on a customer-by-customer basis), and to increase the value of offerings to customers.
Greater use of immersive virtual experiences – The trend for personalisation and creating individual experiences is also influencing the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), so that customers can be involved with companies from the comfort of their own devices. Experiential output has been trending in marketing and advertising for a few years now, but 2024 is set to see the sales process and customer service elements of business following suit.
Transformative actions with generative AI – Machine learning continues to develop and become more sophisticated, and Generative AI – with its ability to create text, video, images, and content, is growing in popularity. There is still development needed yet before all content at every stage is considered usable (and businesses do still need to be careful not to be penalised for over-using AI generated content in search engine optimisation tasks), but the technology is being used now in sales processes to create personalised content, input data into CRMs for sustainable lead growth, and put together data from different sources.
Implementation of more digital assets in the full sales cycle – Digital assets such as promotional content, graphics, videos, blogs, etc – has been used by marketing and advertising to build brand awareness; but as digital optimisation and improved applications allow for more flexibility and creativity, sales teams are finding that utilising digital assets throughout the sales cycle makes the brand more cohesive, appealing to the senses (such as sight and sound), memorable, and can offer visual cues as to where a lead is in the sales cycle.
Social and Consultive selling – The use of social media platforms to develop leads has been growing for some time, and with marketplace, shop, and selling platforms either available directly on the sites, or through third-party integration, 2024 is set to see more companies offering their goods and services through digital platforms. This does not however remove the human element, as Consultative selling is also a growing trend, where customers are guided by knowledge and knowledgeable team members through the various options and sales processes.
What impact is AI having on the sales process?
Customer interactions through digital platforms generate an enormous amount of data on a daily basis, and it can be costly and time consuming for team members to sort through the information to make use of it – the use of AI and business automation has been helping businesses manage their data with far superior results.
Business AI, when used for sales processes, has been:
Managing customer data and sorting the information through pre-determined funnels into manageable, usable formats.
Predicting customer behaviour by reviewing current data and comparing it with previous years’ figures, as well as the current state of the market.
Identifying opportunities for cross-selling and upselling by identifying specific key metrics, words, or values in consumer data, and comparing this against the values assigned to other products or services available.
Improving forecasting accuracy by reducing human-error in data review, comparing and collating data from various sources, and working (often in real-time) to create reports and deliver results that are understandable, usable, and reliable.
Boosting efficiency and effectiveness of sales team members, as they are able to focus on the work that requires their skillsets, and are provided with high-quality data that has been arranged in a way that suits their needs (such as lead temperature, time sensitive, etc).
What technologies should you be looking to adopt in 2024?
Bringing your sales into the digital sphere may sound daunting, especially if you have not proceeded very far into your digital evolution – but as more companies make use of the wealth of information they are provided with, you are at a disadvantage if you do not evolve.
When evaluating your sales strategies, and the technologies that will provide the best results for your team, you should be looking at:
Effective CRM software
Real-time dashboards
Team collaboration tools
Reporting and monitoring software
Automated functionality
CRM software is one of the fastest growing technologies from this list, with 91% of businesses with ten or more employees having a CRM system in place, shared by Demandsage.
TEB Apps – The Leading Sales Technology of 2024
TEB Apps is the leading CRM and automation technology for sales moving into 2024, and with good reason. All around the world TEB Apps has been helping clients boost revenue, maximise conversions and accelerate growth by streamlining their unique processes. With TEB Apps you will:
Automate your manual processes – From your lead management processes to your billing processes, you can streamline your manual tasks to reach new levels of efficiency.
Workflow management – Assign tasks and send proposals when on the move at any time with TEBs workflow management on both the desktop and mobile applications.
Centralise your data – Centralise all of your data for your team to easily access to gain customer insights and segment your leads.
Track your sales performance – Your sales performance can be tracked in real-time with TEB Apps, making it easy to see how your sales representatives are performing.
Contact us today and find out for yourself how you can make 2024 a year of digital evolution and increased sales.
