If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that sales teams want to close deals.
But the last few years have been far from smooth sailing, and it seems these ’unprecedented times’ aren’t over yet. With record inflation and predictions of a recession, reps need to be at the top of their game.
So, what can you do to cut risks and hit your targets?
In recent years, we've seen an increase in sales teams adopting tech that helps them to gain customer insights and be more solution focused. This year, we’re predicting an even bigger shift toward conversation intelligence (CI) and AI to help teams win.
Transcribing and reviewing your conversations with customers can help you identify pain points, improve the stories you’re telling and create buy-in. Put simply, it uses data to unlock sales teams’ potential, regardless of the economic outlook.
Want to sell more this year? Keep reading for the top ways CI can help you reduce sales risks and increase revenue:
Conversation intelligence can improve business performance by providing a window into a prospect’s thoughts, emotions or challenges that are driving their needs.
By taking time to review the themes and requirements cropping up on calls, you can make a bigger impact by following speech trends, determining what makes prospects tick and improving your pitch.
Data-driven info from customer calls helps you to solve their issues and sell more effectively.
It’s a win-win.
According to LinkedIn, top performing salespeople are more likely to regularly spend time on training with their manager. In fact, it's estimated they spend anywhere between a quarter and a third of their time looking at ways to improve their selling skills.
With a CI platform, you can put time into coaching more easily. Some even have built-in features that help you spot areas for improvement quickly, and facilitate 1:1, group and solo training to strengthen performance.
Put simply: if you want to look after your bottom line, look after yourself first.
With a conversation intelligence platform, you have a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. You can review your own calls, your team’s calls, or even those calls that BDR Susan made before she left the business.
All the information you need is easily accessible.
Insights and information from sales discussions can enable sales teams to have a greater sense of purpose, with an awareness of what their teammates are working on and how they operate. This can help to build better relationships, and makes it easier to share examples of best practice.
In today’s hybrid world, this ability to stay connected and share information is more powerful than ever.
The worst part of your job? Admin.
Sure, you understand why it's important to update the CRM, but all you really want to do is get down to business and close some deals.
Well, CI is here to help. These types of tools automate note taking and integrate with a whole host of platforms (yes, Salesforce and Hubspot included 👀) to upload them there for you. Plus, they can provide a summary of every call, as well as pulling out key words and themes to make it easier for you to find the information you need.
Conversation intelligence helps you to improve administrative workflow, so you can spend more time doing what you do best - selling.
Remember when you said you’d call that Chief Revenue Officer back 6 months ago? You’d built up a really great rapport, but now… Was his name Tom? Tim? Terrance?
CI gives you a living record of customers and prospects conversations, allowing you to recall details and depth in a few moments. With one source of truth for all your calls, you can be sure to pick up the details right where you left them.
When a CI tool has your back, you can build relationships and close deals more easily. The sweet taste of success will be all yours!
Need a bit more ground work on conversation intelligence? Check out our fundamentals guide, here.