Sales Technology

Sales technology refers to the software, tools, and systems that sales teams use to optimize their sales processes and improve sales performance. For sales operations roles, sales technology is critical for enabling sales reps to sell more effectively and enhancing the efficiency of sales workflows.

Key types of sales technologies that sales ops would focus on selecting, implementing, and managing include:

• CRM (customer relationship management) systems like Salesforce – The central hub for managing customer and sales data, tracking opportunities in the pipeline, sales productivity metrics, and sales forecasting. Sales ops is responsible for CRM configuration, user adoption, data integrity, and reporting.
• Sales enablement tools – Resources to help sales reps improve their selling skills and productivity. Depending on the organization, sales ops may provide enablement content and track usage data to demonstrate ROI. Examples include sales playbooks, training courses, and proposal automation software.
• Sales communication and productivity suites – Tools for email, phone/SMS, and social engagement with prospects integrated into the workflows of CRM and sales automation systems. Sales ops oversees adoption and usage analytics.
• Analytics and reporting – Technology for monitoring team and pipeline performance, uncovering insights, and identifying risks/opportunities. Sales ops creates reports, dashboards, and alerts to provide visibility and guide strategic decision-making.
• Lead routing and sales automation tools – Rules-based tools for assigning leads to reps and nurturing prospects with automated follow-up messages. Sales ops sets lead scoring rules, nurturing workflows, and measures impact.

The goal for sales ops in managing sales technology effectively is to provide sales reps with the right tools and systems to improve productivity and revenue growth. Sales ops maximizes adoption, ensures seamless integrations between platforms, analyzes data to demonstrate ROI, and continuously looks for ways to enhance the tech stack to drive sales performance.