Saving sales

INDUSTRY NEWS

Saving sales

Generative AI hasn’t taken over the world (yet), but it has got a lot of people worried about their jobs. If you’re wondering how long it will be before artificial intelligence kicks sales reps to the curb, we’ve got good news. There is one uniquely human skill that is essential to sales. According to Gartner Research Principal Colleen Giblin, “mentalizing” will protect sales reps from our robot overlords. It also happens to be something that successful sales reps are good at. Head over to the Gartner blog to learn all about the computer-unfriendly skills that roll up under mentalizing: active listening, emotional intelligence, and empathy. Hone your skills today to keep AI at bay.

Marketing measurement and other mysteries

There are many mysteries in life. Does time work differently for Martha Stewart?  Was Gucci reincarnated in the form of a seven-year-old boy? Should marketing measurement fall under RevOps? We may never know the answers to all of these questions, but you’ve got a shot at the last one. When SalesOps morphed into RevOps, the idea was to centralize marketing, sales, and customer operations under one department. However, many revenue leaders still struggle with where marketing measurement teams should reside. Brett Kanhnke, Principal Analyst at Forrester, offers up key insights for determining whether marketing measurement should fall under Marketing or Revops. He expresses no opinions related to time-vortices or reincarnation.

AI: your next VP of Sales

What about sales leaders? Are the robots gunning for their jobs? While AI like ChatGPT is taking the world by storm, sales management jobs should be safe for the foreseeable future. Similar to how learning a new software in your tech stack can take time and effort, you will also need to learn to adapt to this new AI environment. Cindy Gordon at Forbes breaks down how AI will have a significant impact on sales leaders, requiring them to increase their digital literacy and experiment with AI to modernize their organizations. To help write this article, she even asked ChatGPT for six ways AI will impact sales leaders’ roles. Sneaky or smart? You decide.

IN THE GROOVE

Slalom goes for the Groove

You know that Winter Olympics event where skiers barrel down a mountain while maneuvering between regular obstacles at breakneck speed? That’s called slalom. It’s probably named after global consulting firm Slalom, as they are known for operating with extreme precision in complicated environments. That’s why a Fortune 500 manufacturing company turned to Slalom to find and implement a technology platform to make its inside sales team more productive and effective. After evaluating the top sales engagement platforms, Slalom found the perfect solution in Groove. Read the case study to learn how a Fortune 500 company generated a 32% increase in conversion rates after Slalom implemented Groove.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Hear it from the pros

Cold outreach sucks – especially en masse. To break through the ice, you need to personalize your messaging. But you already knew that. In a world where anyone can learn anything about anyone, it still feels challenging to get your message seen. Thought Leader J.C. McKissen interviewed the top sales pros and uncovered the six best practices for personalization in sales on the LinkedIn Sales Blog. If the pros are mixing old-school tactics with a new-school mindset to win, so can you. Time to break through the inbox ice.

Is ignorance really bliss?

Contrary to popular belief, ignorance isn’t bliss – at least not in sales. Just look at the stats! RAIN Group surveyed 400 sales pros to identify the top sales and enablement challenges facing sales orgs in 2023. Shockingly, it found that sellers and buyers often walk away from lost deals with different takeaways. Sellers underestimate selling challenges (we love the confidence, but a little bit of self-reflection is also good), and buyers don’t believe sellers are as effective as they think they are (oof!). To avoid being overconfident and losing more deals, RAIN outlined five actually effective ways to win buyers over. Use these key tips to win more deals, create stronger connections with buyers, and discover true bliss. 

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