What sales teams need in their sales tech stack
Sales is technology and data-driven. In many ways, sales hasn’t changed in decades: It’s still all about people. Making connections and building relationships, and solving problems.
But underneath, sales has changed. As is the case across countless other sectors and professions, software has changed the way sales teams operate. Most sales teams now access and use a selection of software solutions every day.
Often known as a technology layer, or tech stack, these solutions make sales teams more efficient and have changed the way we interact with potential buyers. In this article, we take a look at the 9 most useful sales tech stack tools that every sales team needs.
9 sales tech stack tools every team needs
#1: LinkedIn
Most sales professionals couldn’t work as effectively without LinkedIn. With over 610 million users worldwide, there is a good chance that you’ve already used this professional social network to source leads and reach out to potential buyers.
Being smart about how you use LinkedIn is key. It’s still useful when it comes to cold outreach, but that won’t always generate results. Tailor messages more closely with the needs of potential customers.
Do more homework before reaching out. Comment on posts. Post things yourself, such as articles (marketing should be able to support you with this) and engage with others. Playing the longer game will improve the outcomes from using LinkedIn, even if you aren’t paying for premium membership.
#2: LinkedIn Sales Navigator
If you want to take how you use LinkedIn to the next level, you need Navigator. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is packed full of useful features that turns the platform into a lead generation and outreach tool. It includes InMail outreach (even when you aren’t connected with someone), PointDrive Presentations, and CRM integrations.
Team pricing starts at $134.99 per month, with discounts for paying annually, from $1,240.00 per team member.
#3: Email finders
Reaching out to prospects cold usually requires an email address. Even if you call or use LinkedIn, the most effective way to nurture a lead is still email. And for that, you need an email address. These aren’t always published on websites or even visible on LinkedIn, which is where email finder tools come into play.
Finder tools such as Aeroleads, FindThatLead, Hunter or VoilaNorbert. Sales teams can use these to identify and verify email addresses before starting outreach campaigns. All have free plans so that you can try them out.
#4: Sources of data
What if you need more than an email address?
LinkedIn is useful, of course. But when it comes to launching comprehensive outbound campaigns, companies usually need a little more information. Names, job titles, phone numbers, addresses, and other company details, such as approximate turnover and headcount.
All of that information is available to purchase. There are dozens of business intelligence and data source companies around the world that can supply this. One such company is Clearbit, where plans start at $99/month.
#5: CRM
Every sales team needs a CRM.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is how sales managers keep track of leads, and see who’s on target and who’s achieving KPIs. CRMs are invaluable for managing relationships, and usually come with a whole load of handy tools that make this easier.
Prices vary, of course. They’re usually charged on a ‘per seat’ basis, so it depends how many sales reps are in your team. Salesforce is one of the best known in this market. But there are dozens of others, from SaaS startups to legacy CRM players, such as SAP. One that is increasingly popular is HubSpot CRM. It’s free, apparently forever, making it worth looking at.
#6: Screen sharing
Sales isn’t only about outbound prospecting.
Buyers are more aware and often have a fairly clear idea what they’re looking for. They’ve usually done their homework. So if a warm lead comes in, you need a way to capitalize on this opportunity, quickly.
Screen sharing software is the ideal solution for these opportunities. If a potential lead has the time, you can quickly add screen sharing to your phone call and demo a product straight away. CrankWheel is a great screen sharing software for sales, making it as easy as possible for potential buyers to get a demo straight away. No need to download software. Phone and web-based, for an on-the-go convenience. Free for ever for limited usage.
#7: Calendar tool
Something else that should be as easy as possible for buyers: Booking sales calls or meetings with a member of the sales team. With the right tool, such as Calendly, prospects can book meetings in a few clicks instead of chasing for a meeting through calls and emails back-and-forth.
Pricing starts free, with only 1 calendar integration, or from $10 per month after a 14-day free trial.
#8: Presentation software
Depending on what you’ve already had created in your sales enablement stack, sales team members might need quick and easy ways to create customized presentations. If you want something easier to use, cleaner looking and more modern than PowerPoint, then Prezi is an invaluable tool.
It comes with dozens of sales templates and presentations other users have shared with the Prezi community. It’s easy-to-use interface means sales teams won’t be spending long creating presentations that will make an impact.
#9: Web conferencing
When you need to put together a big meeting with multiple stakeholders, and a video feed from each participant will be helpful, you can bring out web conferencing software. It can be a bit clunky and usually requires each participant to download and install software to participate, but when it’s the right tool, you should go for it. The best of the bunch in this category is Zoom, which has a free plan for limited usage.
#10: Screen Recorder
A Screen Recorder is a must when you want to send warm-up emails or recaps from your meetings. You can go through your proposition, explain complex topics visually and show features that the prospect might be interested in. If you have features that you are prototyping, you can even record a Figma prototype and share it via email.
In every one of these categories, there are other solutions worth exploring. We’ve pulled together the ones that we and customers have had positive experiences with and used to improve sales pipelines and conversion rates. Whatever it takes to get the job done, to sell more faster, is useful for sales teams and sales leaders.