According to Harvard Business Review, a typical knowledge worker switches between various apps and websites around 1,200 times daily, resulting in lost time and a poor user experience. For go-to-market (GTM) teams, consolidating the sales tech stack is vital for boosting operational efficiency and cutting costs. 

Eliminating redundant technology is only part of the solution. Even if the remaining applications are useful, their separation across different vendors and platforms creates challenges. This siloed data makes it difficult for GTM teams to reach their full potential. 

That’s why organizations need to unify tools in the sales enablement tech stack to reap the business benefits of consolidation. Read on to understand the reasons for doing so, learn about the business benefits, and hear some real-life case study examples.  

Drivers for consolidating and unifying the sales tech stack 

Overbuilding your sales tech stack can stifle growth, add costs, and create inefficiencies that impact sales productivity. Here are some key factors that make consolidating and unifying your tools an essential step: 

• Saturation of cheap point solutions: While inexpensive point solutions might seem like a good short-term fix, they often lack the robust features and scalability that growing organizations need. Using many small tools can create a mix of systems that don’t work well together. This can lead to data silos and missed opportunities for collaboration. Consolidating these tools into a single, more comprehensive platform can enhance functionality, eliminate redundancy, and ultimately improve sales productivity. 

• Rising administration costs: Each tool in your sales tech stack comes with its own administrative overhead. Factors like licensing fees, training needs, and ongoing maintenance can add up quickly. Consolidating the tools in your tech stack allows you to reduce the number of systems requiring support, cutting down on time and resources spent on administration.  

• Redundant technology: Many GTM teams use multiple tools that perform similar functions, leading to unnecessary overlap and added complexity. Consolidating and unifying the sales tech stack provides a single source of truth, removes redundant solutions, streamlines processes, and drives higher user adoption. 

The business benefits of a unified sales tech stack 

After consolidating and unifying your sales tech stack, you can expect to realize several business benefits:  

• Reducing costs and complexity: A unified sales stack reduces financial overhead and decreases the complexity of managing disparate systems. This frees up resources and reduces your administrative burden. 

• Eliminating silos and enhancing data quality: By centralizing your data in one platform, you eliminate data silos and give your teams the visibility they need to make informed decisions. When your data is consistent, accessible, and easily shareable, teams can quickly identify trends, measure impact, and establish best practices, resulting in faster, data-driven decision-making. 

• Improving efficiency and user experience: A single platform means fewer logins, fewer tool transitions, and more streamlined workflows. Your GTM team can find and share content faster, access key data without toggling between tools, and focus on high-value tasks instead of managing multiple interfaces. This enhances efficiency and boosts user satisfaction and adoption. 

• Enhancing collaboration and alignment across teams: When sales, marketing, and enablement teams use the same platform, it fosters better alignment and collaboration. A unified system enables seamless content sharing, consistent messaging, and clearer communication channels, ensuring everyone is working toward the same objectives. This shared environment helps accelerate deal cycles and promotes a more cohesive GTM strategy. 

Real-life examples: How two tech companies unified their sales tech stack 

Genesys:

• The problem: Genesys, a leading customer experience platform, had a disunified, clunky learning platform that frustrated sellers.  

• The solution: Genesys unified its content and learning experiences by migrating all sales-related content from SharePoint to Seismic and trading its learning management system for Seismic Learning.  

• The results: When Genesys created a seamless unified platform experience, 99% of their users adopted Seismic. In just eight months, Genesys experienced an increase of nearly 2000% in its sales teams using Digital Sales Rooms to create co-branded, personalized microsites, which resulted in a more engaging and relevant experience for its prospects and customers. 

Salesloft:

• The problem: Salesloft, a leading sales engagement platform, needed a way to consolidate and standardize resources, content, and onboarding to support company growth, while streamlining new messaging and initiatives. 

• The solution: Salesloft consolidated content that was scattered across multiple platforms with Seismic, leading to more efficient content management and better support for seller growth. 

• The results: The top 25% of Salesloft’s commercial sellers using Seismic boasted a 52% shorter average deal cycle and a 4% higher upgrade win rate. Additionally, those commercial sellers generated 40% more pipeline, and SDRs using Seismic saw 84% more pipeline generated than the previous fiscal year. 

Unify and optimize your sales tech stack with Seismic 

Consolidating your sales tech stack prepares your organization for success, allowing for faster decision-making and a better user experience. The right platform can unify your tools, helping you reduce costs, centralize data, and create consistent processes that enable GTM teams. 

Seismic empowers GTM teams to unify their sales tech stack by seamlessly integrating with popular platforms like CRM systems, content repositories, email tools, data sources, and more. Coupled with integrations, Seismic provides robust capabilities around learning and coaching, sales content management, and strategy and planning that eliminate the need for redundant technology. 

Speak to our team to learn how Seismic can optimize your sales software stack.  

The post How to add value by consolidating your sales tech stack  appeared first on Seismic.

But what does a sales playbook look like? How exactly does it help? And how do you make one you know will work? Let’s take a look. 

What’s a sales playbook and what is it used for? 

A sales playbook describes policies, workflows, and procedures for sales reps to follow during specific selling situations, such as a particular campaign, the launch or update of a certain product, or any other sales initiative. 

A sales playbook is important because it equips reps with everything they need to know—the training they should take, the marketing content they should share, the slides they should present, and the talk tracks they should follow. This ensures each prospect and customer has a consistent buyer experience, filled with only the most relevant and impactful interactions. 

Benefits of a sales playbook 

Consistency is a pillar of the perfect sales playbook. Success is more likely when your entire salesforce is aligned on key messaging, what content to show to whom and when, how to handle objections, and how to execute the latest sales techniques. 

A sales playbook also facilitates efficiency by ensuring sales reps focus on activities that add customer value. Rather than spending hours or days searching for relevant content, creating unique presentations, and reaching out for advice from colleagues, they can leverage that time to tackle high-value activities like prospecting and nurturing relationships with buyers. 

Challenges when creating a sales playbook 

There are several reasons why creating an effective sales playbook is easier said than done. First, typically, only one team takes responsibility for creating it. Sometimes it’s the sales team, product marketing, or enablement team. Regardless, creating a sales playbook should be a collaborative process that results in a document that all go-to-market (GTM) stakeholders are aligned on. 

Another common challenge when creating a sales playbook is including too much content, which can completely undermine the purpose of the sales playbook in the first place. Remember, a sales playbook is all about keeping sales reps focused on a specific initiative, so they tell a consistent story to buyers and can become more efficient in their jobs overall. If they’re inundated with too much information, you’re back at square one. 

Finally, there’s the matter of updating a sales playbook. It goes without saying that if you’re not using a digital sales playbook, you’re asking for a world of headaches. Imagine trying to deliver hard copies to every person who needs them, hoping they don’t misplace them, and praying new changes aren’t on the horizon. A digital sales playbook is a must so it can be accessed and revised on demand. 

Sales playbook best practices 

Having a digital sales playbook is just the first of several sales playbook best practices. As mentioned, a sales playbook should be easily discovered. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses have a disconnected collection of content that makes it difficult to find any particular asset. So, ideally, you would house your playbook—along with all your other content—in a single, centralized library that features intuitive navigation and sophisticated search capabilities. 

As for the digital sales playbook itself, how much content it links to should be limited to only the most relevant training lessons and marketing assets. As discussed, featuring too much content defeats the purpose of even having a sales playbook because it overwhelms sales reps, undermining the focused guidance it’s supposed to provide. And, just like the library it resides in, it should be easy to navigate. 

This is where a standardized sales playbook template can help. It provides parameters to follow when creating a sales playbook, making it easy to restrict how much content and text is presented. This, in turn, encourages more careful thought about what’s truly relevant to include. The sales playbook template should also incorporate visual elements and quick links, enabling sales reps to scan it and jump around within it at their discretion. 

In addition to lessons, marketing assets, and other materials about the sales play, a digital sales playbook should feature instructions on how to use those materials, informing sales reps on when they should be presented, to which personas, and why. 

Finally, your digital sales playbook should be trackable. The platform on which it lives should provide metrics and analytics that show when sales reps reference it and how it influences won deals. 

Creating a sales playbook with enablement technology 

To create a successful digital sales playbook, you need the right software. The Seismic Enablement Cloud^TM offers a unified platform to efficiently create content, build training and coaching programs, and measure the impact of it all. For sales playbooks specifically, Seismic provides a native content type called Pages that are easily finable within a single, centralized library. 

Pages lend themselves perfectly to the creation of an effective sales playbook and sales playbook template because they offer a variety of widgets and display options for bundling materials in a context-driven and easily scannable way. Be it text, images, icons, lists, columns, carousels, and even auto-populating options, Seismic Pages make it easy to create a concise, interactive digital sales playbook in just a few clicks and drag-n-drops every time. 

To learn more about creating the perfect sales playbook, check out Sales Playbooks 101: Best Practices & Strategies for Success and The Sales Playbook Blueprint. Or, to get started with Seismic, speak to our team today. 

The post Building the perfect sales playbook  appeared first on Seismic.

Why is this happening, especially after thorough training and onboarding?

The answer could lie in the tools you’re using for sales training. 

A superior sales training tool can: 

• Streamline the learning process 
• Scale to meet your team’s needs while providing measurable results 
• Align perfectly with your strategic objectives 

Are you ready to see how the right enterprise sales training tool could improve your training program and level up your team’s performance?  

Let’s explore the significant benefits enterprise-grade sales training brings to the table. 

What is enterprise sales?  

Before we discuss enterprise sales training, it’s important to understand what enterprise sales is.  

By definition, enterprise sales is selling products and or services to large, established companies (enterprises). For reps, this means:  

• Longer sales cycles 
• Larger deal sizes 
• More stakeholders 
• Potentially customized solutions 

Selling to large organizations has numerous benefits, but it’s arguably more challenging. It comes with great risk and great opportunity. Plus, it requires a nuanced skillset. The best enterprise sales teams excel in account planning, stakeholder management, solution design, and negotiation.   

This is why you can’t enroll your team in just any generic sales course. What’s most important here is enterprise-specific sales training.  

The benefits of enterprise sales training 

Enterprise sales environments are complex and demanding—especially today. Preparing individual reps and larger deal teams for success requires thoughtful enterprise sales training and onboarding. Sales leaders who prioritize training enjoy advantages like: 

• Increased revenue: Well-trained sales teams are more adept at closing deals and generating revenue. Enterprise sales training programs teach reps to communicate value, handle objections, and negotiate effectively. This translates to higher-value deals more often.  
   
• Operational efficiency: Effective sales learning platforms streamline processes and shorten ramp time for new hires. This means your sellers spend more time selling and less time learning on the job. Ongoing training and enablement also keep everyone on track and efficient. 
   
• Stronger client relationships: Understanding and addressing client needs understandably makes them happy and builds trust. Strong relational skills retain clients and attract new ones thanks to word-of-mouth marketing and a bolstered company reputation. Enterprise sales training teaches reps to take a consultative approach to selling that maximizes every client interaction. This means more opportunities for upselling.  

In short, investing in enterprise sales training is essential, and these are just three of dozens of perks. But with so many options on the market, how do you decide on the best sales training tool or platform?  

Key features to look for in an enterprise sales training tool 

When evaluating sales training tools consider these three essential features: 

1. Personalized learning and coaching 

Tailoring training content to align with each rep’s strengths and weaknesses provides a distinct competitive advantage. Making the training relevant fosters skill development and boosts engagement.  

For example, one rep may need deeper product knowledge while another could use advanced negotiation skills. Integrating data analytics allows for continuous refinement of the training content. This ensures your training is effective and responsive to every seller’s evolving needs. 

2. Just-in-time knowledge solutions 

A critical feature to look for in online sales training software is the ability for reps to surface accurate, relevant information, right in their moment of need. Just-in-time knowledge is vital when, for example, a buyer asks a seller a detailed question during a call or demo. If the seller doesn’t know the answer, they can easily search for relevant information in a content repository to provide a quick, accurate response.  

Top-notch enterprise platforms can immediately supply tips and this just-in-time support for reps, even when they’re actively on a call. This real-time access to knowledge enables reps to speak with confidence and better address buyer concerns, increasing their chances of closing deals successfully.  

3. AI-powered technology 

AI-driven sales training tools are changing how sales teams learn and improve. By using AI, you can pinpoint specific areas each rep needs to work on and predict the ever-changing needs of the team. AI enhances learning by providing interactive simulations and personalized content suggestions. This leads to a more engaging training experience because every rep gets exactly what they need to excel.  

The impact of cross-departmental enablement 

The benefits of tailored sales training programs extend far beyond just the sales function. GTM organizations and entire companies also enjoy the same benefits we’ve shared in tangible, quantitative ways: 

• Increased revenue: Integrating various learning styles and preferences into training programs is important, particularly when adopting new technology. A 2024 survey on the impact of revenue enablement across generations found that 86% of employees emphasize the importance of comprehensive training that caters to diverse learning needs. An inclusive approach to training ensures teams are equally equipped and skilled.  
• Operational efficiency: Organizations that invest in cross-departmental training experience significant gains in operational efficiency, especially in global enterprises with distributed workforces. Recent research revealed that 35% of employees report considering leaving their jobs due to insufficient training and coaching opportunities. By addressing these gaps, companies can improve job satisfaction and streamline workflows. This means better alignment and faster execution across teams.  
• Stronger client relationships: Providing a variety of learning and training experiences is beneficial for all generations within the workforce, as 89% of employees agreed upon. This variety ensures that every team member, regardless of generational cohort, is equipped to handle client interactions. Plus, well-informed and versatile teams can offer more personalized service, which leads to higher client satisfaction and long-term loyalty. 

Partner with Seismic for your enterprise sales training  

Investing in enterprise sales training and onboarding is non-negotiable in today’s competitive market. The benefits of sales training programs extend beyond revenue growth; they impact organizational productivity and client satisfaction. Enterprise sales teams equipped with the right tools experience faster ramp times and close more deals. 

To sum it all up: Effectively training and enabling sales teams with cutting-edge technology will differentiate the leaders from the followers in enterprise sales. 

Discover how Seismic’s sales training solution can empower your sales force to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Get a demo to learn more.  

The post How an enterprise sales training tool improves revenue and efficiency  appeared first on Seismic.

Buyers demand more and make slower decisions, while reps face ever-increasing pressure to do more with fewer resources.  

In this high-stakes environment, any advantage can make a significant difference.  

Could artificial intelligence (AI) be the edge you need?  

Over the past year, generative AI (GenAI) has become an indispensable tool for sales and revenue enablement teams. Automating tasks like data entry makes teams more efficient and productive, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for what AI can do to improve deal cycles. 

In a 2023 survey of 1,400 sales, enablement, and customer success professionals in managerial and leadership roles, 82% said they were impressed with the results they’ve seen using AI-powered solutions. This feedback aligns with Forrester’s prediction that AI software demand will skyrocket to $37 billion by 2025. 

This is all because the right AI sales software does more than simplify tasks. It allows teams to focus on what they do best. With so many options, choosing an AI sales assistant might seem daunting. Let’s explore what you should look for as you evaluate tools.  

The 7 features you’ll want in an AI sales assistant  

79% of sales pros who leverage AI and automation say it allows them to spend more time selling. 

As you explore the possibilities of AI tools for sales, start with your end goal in mind:  

• What are you trying to achieve?  
• What does success look like? 

Answering these questions will guide you in finding the best sales AI assistant for your team. 

Here’s what we recommend considering as you begin the process. 

1. Automated content management  

It’s a familiar and frustrating scenario. You’ve likely encountered questions like, “Does anyone know where the latest one-pager for XYZ product is?” floating around in a Slack channel or during a team meeting.  

Establishing a central hub for sales collateral is fundamental. But, ensuring that this hub is always up-to-date and easily accessible is an entirely different challenge. Picture having the right content available and recommended based on the sales situation.  

The best AI sales tools ensure easy access to the most up-to-date information. Tools like Seismic Aura combine the power of AI with your company’s data. The result? AI-driven content tagging and categorization and a more efficient sales team. As a bonus, it also decreases manual work for your enablement team.  

2. Real-time sales playbook curation 

Any sort of one-size-fits-all sales playbook is no longer effective. 

Today, AI sales software can offer sales playbooks that adapt in real-time. Imagine a scenario where a playbook updates based on the latest market trends and individual lead behavior.  

Playbooks can also be personalized for each rep based on their success, past performance, and learning style. With AI doing the heavy lifting to process past deal data and current market trends, tactical deal advice and even content recommendations are backed by data around what’s led people to sign on the dotted line in the past. 

3. Tailored sales training, certifications, and onboarding 

Incorporating AI into sales training brings a fresh approach to education. Each rep gets a personalized learning path that adapts to their strengths and weaknesses. For example, if AI detects that a rep consistently struggles in the final stages of closing a deal, it can integrate more closing techniques into their training plan.  

AI can also manage the certification process to ensure your sales force consistently advances their skills and stays up to date on their credentials. This learning and certification cycle keeps your team sharp and effective.  

4. Personalization across all sales content and collateral 

In today’s competitive landscape, personalization is a must. 

AI sales bots like Seismic for Meetings offer AI-driven content recommendations to make it easier for reps to prepare, present, and follow up with their prospects and customers. 

By delivering customer-specific content, this tool streamlines interactions and captures vital insights during meetings. These insights empower sales enablement and marketing teams to make smarter content decisions, leading to more effective enablement and targeted training initiatives. 

5. Automation of repetitive sales tasks 

Ben Franklin was right when he said, “Time is money.” This principle resonates deeply in the fast-paced world of sales. Sales reps often find themselves bogged down by repetitive tasks that eat up their time and, subsequently, their productivity.  

With the right technology, this doesn’t have to be the case. The best AI tool for sales focuses on automating mundane, repetitive motions. The end goal: Reps can focus on more important aspects of their roles like building and nurturing relationships. For instance, AI might handle data entry, schedule appointments, or update customer records automatically.  

According to our report, The State of AI in Enablement, 88% of respondents stated that they’ve experienced growth in customer satisfaction since implementing AI in their enablement processes. This stat highlights how time saved can be directly reinvested into customer interactions, a key driver of sales success. 

6. Conversational intelligence 

Many tools can record and transcribe sales calls. Today, that’s not enough to extract valuable insights. Look for an AI sales assistant that takes it a step further through conversational intelligence capabilities. You’ll want a tool that can identify and easily resurface strategic moments from every conversation like: 

• Competitor mentions 
• Recurring pain points 
• Pricing discussions 

This particular functionality will help your team pinpoint at-risk deals and spot patterns in buyer behavior. It also helps everyone prepare for follow-up calls, address objections, and go to market with a more refined, cohesive strategy.  

7. Savvier sales enablement analytics  

Going through weeks, months, and quarters without a crystal clear view of your key performance indicators (KPIs) is risky business.  

Luckily, certain AI sales bots provide advanced enablement intelligence thanks to powerful integrations. These metrics align teams around strategic objectives so everyone works on their piece of the puzzle to contribute to the overarching goal: accelerate revenue growth. 

By automating analytics, these tools offer real-time insights and actionable recommendations for leaders and active reps. They free your team to focus on execution and empower you to course correct based on what the numbers are saying. 

An AI sales assistant: Your competitive edge and partner in efficiency 

We’re confident that this is only the beginning of what’s possible with AI sales assistants. To understand what else AI could do for your team, browse our recent report, The State of AI in Enablement. 

If you’re ready to experience the benefits of AI in your sales processes firsthand, contact our sales team to learn how Seismic can be your ultimate AI sales assistant and competitive edge.  

The post 7 features to look for in an AI sales assistant  appeared first on Seismic.

Helping your employees return to work after parental leave with minimal disruption.

The intersection between AI and humans in the modern corporation.

Whatever it is a buyer values, there’s likely a social seller putting it all out there for them. They’re buyer-centric, modern sellers who regularly show up and speak up on LinkedIn. They have a very different mindset and approach from what we’ve seen in the past.

They’re pulling the world toward them and building reputations, relationships, and trust at scale. They’re magnets for the right conversations, with the right people, at the right time. And, they’re driving big revenue results.

As enablement leaders, it’s essential that we help sellers develop and continuously sharpen the mindsets, skillsets, and approaches they need to thrive. In today’s world, where buyers are inundated with non-stop sales and marketing messages, sellers need to rise above the noise. They need to stand out in positive ways.

And social selling, done right, can give them that critical edge.

While some articles on social selling examples focus on tactics, this one is different. We’re going to focus on the sellers. We’ll explore what they do, why they do it, and how it drives success for themselves and for their company.

Mattias Svensen | Senior Account Manager | FARO Technologies

Mattias sells complex equipment to highly technical and very demanding buyers. Some are building hospitals or immense medical equipment production facilities. Others are retrofitting ships to meet highly regulated environmental standards. It’s serious business, and Mattias delivers serious learning to his customers and his future customers across northern Europe.

He knows it’s not enough to reshare his company’s marketing content, even if it’s great material. He also uses LinkedIn to share his own insights and learnings in an authentic way.

“I don’t want to be generic. I want to share my own experience. That’s how to stand out,” he told me on a recent call.

“My main interest is to develop my business. I want to show what we can do in the field. That’s not shown in a product sheet or in a fancy video. It comes from experience. I have lots of customers who don’t know about all the capabilities we have. There is no better, no more efficient way than using LinkedIn for that. If you can do that together with a personal flavor, you have a good formula.”

Mattias provides a great example of social selling into industries where decision-makers are hard to reach and hard to build trust with.

Ashley Coghill | Director of Enterprise Accounts | Parentaly

Ashley is on a mission. Of course, she cares a whole lot about the growth of her small company. That’s crystal clear when she shares the names of the giant firms she’s working with.

But she has real passion for more than her own success. She’s an outspoken advocate for women in sales. She champions the cause of working parents. She urges companies to do a better job of supporting those on, and returning from, parental leave.

“I consider LinkedIn like a community,” she says. “I feel like I’m giving and very rarely taking away from LinkedIn.”

Let’s think about what she’s saying. The notion that LinkedIn is a community of professionals is central to the thinking of the most successful social selling strategies. It’s a sharp contrast to the outdated notion that LinkedIn is a giant Rolodex of people that we ought to bombard with connection requests and pitch-slaps.

“The whole point is to be there, to be present, and to be engaged,” she continues. “Of course, I’m intentionally making sure I’m connected to the right people so when I post something they’re going to see it, but it’s about building a public reputation.”

“Pick a couple of things you actually care about, post about those things consistently, and it will just sort of snowball from there,” Ashley advises.

And to those who say they don’t have time social selling? “It’s a fundamental difference of opinion on how sales should be done. I don’t believe that a transactional, quick-win sale is something that lasts. As part of a strategy to get into an enterprise account, building a reputation as someone they want to work with is invaluable.”

DeJuan Brown | Director, Modern Workplace – Financial Services and Insurance | Microsoft

DeJuan is a fantastic example of social selling with real passion and heart in one of the world’s largest enterprises. He brings a big personality, a keen intellect, and he addresses a wide range of topics spanning AI, growth mindsets, continuous learning, mentorship, and more.   

His social selling journey maps to the fundamental changes that many of us have experienced on LinkedIn. “I started in 2008,” DeJuan told me. “I thought this was where I’d have my living, breathing resume. It was like tick-marks, accomplishments, trophies and accolades. Things that made me more appealing to potential employers.

“That transitioned into seeing that LinkedIn was a place where I could educate those who I serve. I could share content they care about, and I could put some commentary on it to show that I think about it. I’m not just posting this stuff. In the past few years, that evolved to realizing that people want to know people. Sales is a human contact sport. We need to bring the humanity to the table.”

I asked DeJuan what holds so many sellers back from doing what he does. “There’s so many ways to get involved,” he says. “Often, we think if I’m going to put myself out there on LinkedIn, I need to be an amazing author because I need to pen something from scratch. But what’s the power of joining conversations that already exist? What’s the power of reposting with some comments of your own? You don’t have to write four hundred words. You can just say ‘this is interesting to me, and this is the main reason why’. You don’t need to be an expert. Do you have a perspective? Agree? Disagree? Say those things!”

And the impact of all this? DeJuan says “I’ve gotten meetings with so many C-Suite inhabitants by virtue of the content I post on LinkedIn. The familiarity of who I am prior to my reach out is critically important. It’s such a short walk from a conversation that’s already started in LinkedIn comments and posts to a call or a meeting. It makes so much sense because it follows a path of continuity. There’s nothing abrupt about it. A cold call is abrupt. A conversation that starts on LinkedIn and moves to the phone or to Teams is much more organic.”

It all starts with the right mindset

The best social selling examples aren’t hacks or tactics. Instead, successful social selling starts with the right mindset. It’s important to understand why people are on LinkedIn in the first place. Then, show up with an honest intent to educate, inspire, and help your current and future customers.

Sellers who join this great ongoing business conversation with a ‘balanced diet’ of interesting and valuable content rise above the crowd. Keep in mind that good social media selling is about more than pushing your company’s marketing content. If that’s all sellers share, they’ll be seen as advertisers. Instead, an effective social selling strategy empowers sellers to be seen as experts and industry peers in their space.

And, if you’re looking for more examples of social selling, you’re in luck. My teammate Heather Cole and I recently interviewed Sam McKenna, CEO of #samsales Consulting for Go-to-Market Magic. Sam shared some excellent examples and tips for being a seller who buyers want to speak to. Give it a listen here!

Are you ready to harness the power of social selling?

Enablement leaders have a tremendous opportunity to usher in a new era of buyer-centric, authentically human social selling in their organizations. Seismic is here to help.

Seismic LiveSocial provides a unique feed of fresh, relevant content for each of your sellers. LiveSocial gives sellers access to authentic, compliant, and market-specific content right at their fingertips. It’s easy for them to add their own voice and expertise that position them as trusted thought leaders. Interested in learning more? Watch this on-demand video or explore some frequently asked questions about LiveSocial here.

The post 3 examples of social selling done right appeared first on Seismic.

Sales coaching programs typically take a customized approach, tailoring guidance around the seller’s unique strengths to help them develop and refine the skills needed to have meaningful customer interactions and achieve their quotas. Behind every sales coaching program is a sales manager, and it should come as no surprise that effective coaching requires effective managers. According to Gartner, managers who understand how to be a good coach can help individuals increase performance by as much as 8%.

Optimizing sales coaching with software

Coaching sellers poses challenges for sales managers due to the added complexity of managing remote teams. Additionally, the lack of experience and knowledge in modeling the right behaviors makes it more complicated. These obstacles are just a few reasons why most managers spend less than 5% of their time coaching sellers.

To create a scalable sales coaching program that delivers the personalized feedback that sellers require, sales managers need sales coaching software. Just as frontline teams depend on various technologies to do their jobs successfully, sales coaching software is an essential tool that makes it possible to create an online sales coaching program that enables sellers to practice, receive feedback, and track progress over time.

8 qualities every sales coaching program needs

To create the best sales coaching program for your organization, you should start by identifying your objectives and then determine the technology you need to achieve them. Below are the top eight qualities that you should look for and implement as you develop your sales coaching programs:

Customization

Customization is one of the most critical qualities of any sales coaching program. Tailor coaching sessions to address individual and team needs, considering factors like experience level, strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. This helps sellers and teams capitalize on their strengths and address problem areas faster.

Clear objectives

If you don’t measure it, you can’t track it. Setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for coaching sessions provides clear direction and focus. This ensures that coaching efforts align with organizational goals and sales targets. SMART goals also hold individuals and teams accountable, making it more likely that they’ll follow through and take the steps needed to improve performance.

Continuous feedback

Sales coaching programs should offer feedback to sales reps in the moment — whether it’s positive reinforcement or constructive criticism — to help them adjust their behavior quickly. It’s important to deliver continuous feedback to promote learning and facilitate improvement.

Role-playing exercises

Practice makes progress. Prepare sellers for new challenges by incorporating role-playing scenarios to simulate real-world sales situations in a risk-free environment. Sales coaching software makes it easy to deliver scenario-based training at scale, helping sales reps enhance skills, confidence, and adaptability. This tool also enables sales leaders to identify problem areas and know where to correct them.

Data-driven insights

All sales leaders need data to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Utilize sales data and analytics to identify performance trends, areas for improvement, and coaching priorities. Sales coaching software should provide easy access to dashboards and custom reporting to help leaders make data-driven decisions and track the ROI of their coaching efforts.

Skill development

The business landscape is constantly changing, making it critical for sales leaders to prioritize learning and development for their teams. Supplement coaching conversations with training to help sellers master a wide range of sales skills, including prospecting, objection handling, negotiation, closing techniques, and relationship-building.

Offering training and coaching doesn’t just contribute to better performance, it can also improve retention. Seismic’s Value of Enablement Report found that companies that provide on-the-job coaching increase seller retention by an average of 20% each year.

Peer-to-peer learning

Facilitating opportunities for sales team members to learn from each other’s successes and failures through peer-to-peer coaching or knowledge-sharing sessions is a great way to communicate best practices. Sales coaching software enables teams to scale winning strategies by easily distributing playbooks, choreography, and content across the sales organization.

Tech integrations

There are several essential technologies that sales teams rely on to perform their roles. Consider sales coaching software that integrates with your sales enablement tools, CRM systems, and other technology platforms to streamline coaching processes, track progress, and provide access to resources. Connecting with your systems of record helps maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales coaching programs.

Scale your sales coaching program with Seismic

Empowering your sales reps to meet their quotas and beyond is not a one-and-done activity. It requires a commitment to sales coaching that’s ongoing and tailored to every sales rep’s specific needs. Seismic’s learning and coaching solution equips sales leaders to assess skills, deliver personalized coaching, and track development — all within the flow of work. Our coaching software enables sales teams to train their teams 62% faster and reach their goals more often. 

Are you ready to experience a modern coaching platform? Jump into this free lesson to see Seismic Learning firsthand.

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Daniel Pink, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of To Sell is Human, sums up the “art” part well: “The ability to move others to exchange what they have for what we offer is the art of the pitch.” It takes significant training and coaching to perfect a sales pitch and refine any seller’s soft skills.

As for the “science,” sellers need the right content, skills, insights, and analytics to connect with prospects and prove their product or service’s value. Without a doubt, one of the most vital pieces of sales content they need in their toolkit is an excellent sales pitch deck. 

A sales pitch deck is a visual representation of the value your organization provides. It’s an indispensable piece of sales collateral that anchors millions of virtual and in-person pitches each year. 

Most decks combine data, storytelling, and emotional engagement to create a compelling narrative — a narrative that convinces buyers to move forward in the sales cycle and eventually make a purchase.

So, what do the most successful sellers include in their pitch decks? In this post, we’ll share five key components of a winning, revenue-driving sales pitch deck. 

What should a sales pitch deck include?

Most markets are saturated with good options for buyers to choose from, so your pitch deck has to stand out and answer this question: Why should people buy your product or service instead of someone else’s?

An impactful sales pitch deck includes: 

1. Your solution to a burdensome problem
2. The standout features of your product or service 
3. Proof that your product is better than your competitors
4. Real stories from happy customers
5. Pricing information

We’ll dig into each of these five things shortly, but remember that the overarching goal of your deck is to combine visuals and concise text in a way that communicates your value proposition loud and clear. 

But here’s the kicker: No two customers are the same, and neither are the best sales decks.

Source: Zendesk, 2023

That’s why personalization is the backbone of any great pitch deck for sales. (Hint: Tools like Seismic’s pitch deck generator make it simple for sellers to customize every pitch deck to their prospect’s interests, industry, and potential use cases in seconds).

With personalization in mind, let’s dive into the five elements your sales deck design should address to make the best impression.

1. Challenges and pain points

A great place to start is with the specific challenges and pain points your prospect is experiencing. Every impactful sales deck outline shows a clear understanding of the prospect’s pain, right from the get-go.  

This shows the prospect you’ve done your homework and have a deep understanding of their world. This slide (or a couple of slides) should always be personalized based on any initial conversations or past interactions you’ve had with a prospect before the call.

2. Your solution and value proposition

This part of the deck is where you demonstrate how you’re the pain relief they’ve been looking for. Share what your product or service can do and how it’s going to make a difference. 

Don’t be afraid to dive into the details of your solution. Highlight, at the highest level, the value you provide by showcasing a benefit or two that demonstrate your competitive edge. Charts, graphs, and data points are powerful elements that bring your value prop to life in this section.

This is the moment in your sales pitch deck that needs a compelling narrative. In other words, there is a better time to list off features.

3. Product features and capabilities

Once you have a solid narrative, transition to the highlight reel of your business. A great sales pitch deck outline includes slides showing key features and personalized product screenshots and GIFs.

The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of what you offer, complete with technical specifications prospects will care about, like integrations, and any unique capabilities your product offers that your competitors may not.

A word of advice for this section: Your prospects will either tune in to what you’re saying in this section or tune you out if what you’re saying doesn’t apply to them. Know who you’re talking to. If it’s a champion who’ll be an end user or, perhaps, an Ops person who’ll be responsible for implementation, share the technical details you feel are relevant. But if it’s a C-suite decision maker, they want value and proof of ROI — not a list of features.

4. Industry-specific customer testimonials

“When people are uncertain, they are more likely to use others’ actions to decide on proper behavior for themselves.” 

Robert Cialdini, the author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion said this, and it couldn’t be more true.

Social proof is everything. Seeing how others in the same space solve problems with your product is often just the push prospects need to affirm their decision. Be sure your sales pitch deck includes real customer feedback, complete with the exact wins they enjoyed because of your solution. Short quotes, headshots, and stats often work well on these kinds of slides.

Again, personalization is so important here. Work to find a story or two that will resonate most with your prospect. 

5. Pricing and packages

As you approach the end of a pitch, it’s time to talk numbers. The best thing you can do in these concluding slides is be transparent about your pricing model.

Outline the cost structure and all available packages or options. Cover all pricing tiers, any discounts or incentives, and what’s in it for the customer. Your prospects should leave this meeting with a clear understanding of how you can help them, and what it looks like to partner with you. 

One last bit of advice: A sales pitch should never feel like a monologue. Engaged prospects will have questions along the way, so be sure your deck isn’t so inflexible or that you don’t have time to listen to the prospect and address their questions and concerns.

Personalize every single pitch deck with Seismic

A one-size-fits-all approach to sales pitching simply doesn’t cut it anymore. 

To create the best sales deck and pitch experience for sellers and prospects alike, consider Seismic’s suite of revenue enablement tools, including Guided Assembly and Seismic for PowerPoint. These two tools enable thousands of global sellers to create personalized, informative B2B sale pitch decks that incorporate all five elements above and resonate deeply with prospects. We also have a free toolkit with a customizable pitch deck generator to create the best presentation possible.

Personalized selling at scale is possible with Seismic.Think you’re ready to see Seismic’s pitch deck personalization in action? We’d be thrilled to show you our platform.

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Evaluating sales performance requires a strategic blend of analysis, assessment, and a commitment to continuous improvement. By embracing a comprehensive evaluation process, you can ensure that your sales team operates efficiently and contributes to your organization’s goals and objectives. 

Evaluating vs. measuring sales performance

The words ‘evaluating’ and ‘measuring’ are often used similarly when referring to sales performance. Both are equally important for sales leaders to focus on, but evaluating performance and measuring performance are two different things.

Sales performance measurement involves quantifiable metrics and numerical data. It assesses and tracks KPIs related to revenue, conversion rates, and deal volume. The goal of measuring sales performance is to understand how certain areas of the sales process or team operate.

Sales performance evaluation is a broader concept and considers several different factors. Evaluating sales performance includes data and metrics as well as customer satisfaction, sales strategies, and greater alignment across the organization. Ultimately, evaluating sales performance provides a comprehensive understanding of how the entire sales function contributes to the organization’s success. 

This blog post explores essential strategies and tips for evaluating your team’s sales performance. Let’s dive in.

1. Define and monitor clear sales performance metrics

Sales performance indicators act as the compass that guides your team toward success. To effectively assess your team’s performance, clearly define the indicators you want to track. Identify metrics like conversion rates, average deal size, and customer acquisition cost (CAC). Then, regularly monitor these performance indicators to gain insights into the effectiveness of your team’s efforts. Tracking these metrics helps identify trends, set benchmarks, and make informed decisions based on real-time data.

2. Implement regular performance reviews

When it comes to analyzing individual rep performance, scheduled performance reviews are essential. Conduct regular one-on-one performance reviews to explore individual and collective achievements, challenges, and trends. During these sessions, emphasize open communication and encourage sellers to share insights on their experiences. Documenting these reviews over time will identify patterns and provide a historical perspective for more accurate assessments.

3. Leverage technology for data

Sales teams generate extensive amounts of data, and leveraging technology is key to meaningful analysis. Integrate a comprehensive dashboard for sales performance to visualize and interpret your team’s data effectively. This consolidates your sales performance metrics into an easily digestible format and facilitates a quick overview of your team’s performance. Then, combine this with specialized sales performance tracking tools, such as CRM systems and analytics platforms, to conduct in-depth analyses. These sales tools provide actionable insights, enabling sales leaders to make informed decisions based on real-time data.

4. Encourage peer feedback

We can’t stress this enough — assessing sales team performance is not just about numbers. It’s also about the team’s dynamics, culture, and collaboration. Foster a culture of peer evaluation where team members provide constructive feedback to one another. This feedback can uncover insights that traditional performance indicators might not capture. Additionally, observe how sellers collaborate during joint projects or initiatives. How well team members work together, share information, celebrate wins, and contribute to shared goals can provide valuable insights into the team’s effectiveness.

5. Complete a training needs assessment

It’s also essential to identify skill gaps within your team. To do this, regularly assess the skill set of each seller using targeted sales performance indicators. You can also create a skills matrix to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of each seller. This matrix will assist with the development of a personalized training and coaching strategy for each rep. Remember, the goal is to identify gaps and address them through continuous learning opportunities. This approach ensures that your team has the skills and knowledge needed to excel in a competitive sales landscape.

Drive sales performance with Seismic

Effective enablement directly impacts sales performance. That’s why the Seismic Enablement Cloud is purpose-built to help sales organizations equip sellers with the right content, tools, and training to meet and exceed performance goals. Ready to learn more? Get a demo to see how teams drive greater performance and growth with Seismic.

The post 5 strategies to evaluate sales performance appeared first on Seismic.

For more than 12 years, we’ve had a front-row seat to what great sales coaching can do for sellers, sales culture, and the bottom line. High-quality, meaningful sales coaching is something sellers want, and it’s something managers should prioritize.

However, the Seismic 2023 Value of Enablement Report revealed this troubling stat: 36% of respondents say their company does not offer coaching right now.

A sales organization that lacks sales coaching is leaving money on the table, and we’d like to change that, starting with this blog post. If you’re a sales or enablement leader looking to roll out sales coaching programs or optimize your current tactics, peruse 10 of our best sales coaching tips below.

1. Establish clear outcomes

In order to start or refine any sales coaching framework, leaders need to cast a clear vision of what success should look like. So, decide which outcomes you’re after, and work backward. Some common goals sales leaders set before they deliver effective sales coaching are:

• Improve productivity: Could your reps accomplish more in less time with better processes? Could they more efficiently navigate their customer interactions without sacrificing quality?

• Increase engagement: Does it seem like your reps are a bit checked out or maybe doing the bare minimum? A coach who cares could be just the re-engagement incentive they need.

• Decrease turnover: This goes hand-in-hand with increasing engagement. Reps who feel invested in and well-supported by their management and leadership are 20% more likely to stay.

• Grow revenue: Are you hoping for higher average close values (ACV)? Maybe stronger win rates? When done well, coaching refines a seller’s natural skills and gives them a chance to work on their weaknesses, leading to better overall company performance.

2. Coach from a place of expertise

To become (and stay) a great sales coach, you’ll need to find a coach or two for yourself. Before you ever start coaching others, seek out enablement and mentoring from admirable, effective sales coaches.

You’ll quickly notice that the way they provide feedback isn’t sporadic or chaotic; it’s methodical, consistent, and deliberate. If you study their ways and learn the sales playbook(s) at your organization inside and out, you’ll deliver feedback that’s exponentially more impactful to the sellers on your team.

3. Provide coaching regularly and in different formats

After you have a good understanding of your goals, it’s time to think about the logistics and frequency of your coaching. The best coaches offer coaching on an ongoing, regular basis, but remember this: Coaching does not always have to happen in live, 1:1 sessions.

In fact, our recent survey of 1,200 GTM professionals found that 76% of people who have quick access to coaching and training content say it keeps them from second-guessing themselves when they’re interacting with customers.

Consider making asynchronous coaching and feedback using a tool like Seismic Learning one of the types of sales coaching you focus on. You’ll be able to create data-driven sales coaching plans that focus on each rep’s knowledge gaps and offer that coaching on a self-serve basis.

4. Practice common sales scenarios

This advice may feel basic, but it’s important: You should practice the most common and most difficult situations sellers face with them. You can do this at scale with automated coaching software, and skip the endless hours of role-play.

With sales coaching software like Seismic Learning, you can ask reps to record and share their latest elevator pitch, or maybe even practice a personalized pitch for a specific persona. Reps can practice during a time that works well for them, and you can evaluate their submissions at a time that works well for you. It’s a win-win.

5. Shadow sellers and provide constructive feedback

We also recommend hopping on live calls with your sales reps every once in a while to evaluate them and provide constructive feedback directly after. As long as you approach this from a place of support and kindness, this is a setting to deliver highly-tailored feedback and get some quality facetime with your reps. This is especially helpful for newer reps who are ramping.

6. Celebrate wins, both publicly and privately

Yep, part of a great sales coaching strategy is celebrating when sellers do outstanding work. This could look like sharing a video snippet from a recent successful call, sending an email or Slack message to the broader sales organization about what a seller did and why it worked, or even sending a DM to that seller to recognize their work and progress.

7. Encourage self-reflection and assessment

A great coach teaches salespeople how to be more self-sufficient, and part of that looks like coaching them well enough that they notice when they do something well or when there’s room for improvement. Offer them frequent opportunities, ideally via sales coaching technology, to evaluate themselves and their performance progress over time.

8. Offer coaching via various channels

In the same way sellers interact with their prospects on phone calls, video calls, in-person meetings, and email, you should do the same. Give your sellers a way to receive coaching and refine their craft on their own time using a learning library of content.

Case in point, our research shows that 79% of people who use enablement technology to give them quick access to content, information, and/or coaching agree that it empowers them to speak to clients from a more informed standpoint. Enablement technology is a critical coaching channel.

9. Don’t be their only coaching resource

We can’t stress this enough: A good sales coach scales their efforts so they aren’t the entire team’s sole source of professional development. Set up peer coaching groups. Encourage sellers to attend training and webinars. Push for your organization to send them to conferences. Recommend books and people who they should add to their network to grow and learn from.

10. Lean on data

The best sales coaching also happens when coaches are constantly asking themselves, “Are my words, actions, and efforts really making a difference?”

In sales coaching specifically, “making a difference” looks like supporting the bottom line and getting reps in your charge closer to quota. With an enablement platform that handles learning and coaching and integrates seamlessly with your CRM, you can easily generate reports to see what kind of training is moving the needle. You can also see where reps are falling short, and this intel can inform your future coaching efforts so you know what to focus on in future months.

Maximize your potential with Seismic Learning

As we’ve mentioned a few times throughout this blog post, Seismic Learning is a loved-by-thousands coaching tool for sales leaders and managers around the globe. It leans on AI to recommend onboarding, training, and coaching materials to managers. Our latest AI-focused research revealed that only 45% of GTM professionals already use AI tools to support their learning efforts. So if you’re ready to get ahead of the curve and amplify your sales coaching techniques with AI, Seismic is the answer.

Ready to learn more about Seismic Learning? We’re ready to chat with you about our sales coaching tools whenever you’re ready.

The post 10 sales coaching tips to elevate your impact appeared first on Seismic.

Streamlining workflows for improved productivity

In today’s dynamic and fast-paced sales environment, organizations need to provide sellers with the tools that enable them to do their best work. However, studies show that workers waste, on average, 9% of their annual time at work switching from one application to another. This is especially prevalent when sellers have to jump from tool to tool before, during, and after meetings with buyers. With Seismic for Microsoft Copilot for Sales, organizations can streamline workflows and provide sellers with the contextual content they need right in the Microsoft tools they already use on a daily basis.

As the launch partner with Microsoft Copilot for Sales, Seismic helps sellers throughout the meeting experience to help drive deals and relationships forward. Within Microsoft for Sales Copilot, Seismic effortlessly equips sellers with meeting recaps, AI-powered email and content generation, and CRM automations. Organizations can use the Seismic for Microsoft Copilot for Sales integration to:

1. Provide meeting summaries: When a Teams meeting ends, Seismic generates a meeting summary.
2. Enablement content recommendations: Sellers receive AI-powered recommendations and insights on the best content to send to buyers in the post-meeting follow up.
3. Deliver training recommendations: Sellers also receive post-meeting recommendations on training courses on the features and capabilities that were mentioned during the meeting.

This partnership goes beyond enablement and equips sellers with real-time, actionable insights that elevate their preparation, personalization, and professionalism. Together, Seismic and Microsoft Copilot for Sales eliminates time-consuming tasks and empowers sellers to prioritize high-value activities, cultivate relationships, and close more deals. Interested in seeing it in action? Watch the video below!

One part of a larger partnership 

Strategic partnerships are the backbone of a connected tech stack, and Seismic has been a proud partner of Microsoft since 2014. The integration with Microsoft for Sales Copilot, which launched last year, highlights our joint efforts to reshape enablement and streamline the seller experience.

And now with the impact of generative AI, we’re excited to continue our collaboration and introduce innovative solutions that empower global sales teams. If you’re interested in learning more about how Seismic and Microsoft are a match made in heaven, check out this ebook.

See the latest capabilities in action

Stay tuned for more to come in this dynamic space! If you’re a current Microsoft and Seismic customer, visit Seismic Exchange® to learn more about the integration and install the app. Or, if you’d like to see Seismic for yourself, request a demo here.

The post Seismic and Microsoft Copilot for Sales Integration: Enabling productivity where sellers work appeared first on Seismic.