The Marketing Efficiency & Attribution Playbook: What Today’s CMOs Are Tracking RevOps 10 min Marketing attribution and efficiency metrics are becoming more critical than ever. CEOs want to know how to allocate budgets effectively across marketing, sales, and product. Investors seek clear insights into ROI. And marketers themselves need to track performance by channel and initiative to optimize their efforts. Yet, in B2B marketing, where deal cycles are long and touchpoints span multiple teams, tracking and proving marketing’s true impact is easier said than done. A recent Marketing Budget Benchmark Study by Ray Rike, Jon Miller, and Bill Macitis reveals key insights. sheds light on how top B2B marketers are approaching efficiency and attribution. Let’s explore key takeaways and how you can apply them to your own marketing strategy. What are CMOs Tracking? The Top 3 Metrics When asked about their top three performance metrics, CMOs consistently focused on: Pipeline Generation – Ensuring a steady flow of qualified leads for sales teams. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) – Measuring the long-term revenue impact of marketing efforts. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) – Tracking lead volume and initial qualification. Notably absent from the top three were cost-related efficiency metrics, such as cost per opportunity or customer acquisition cost (CAC). This suggests that many marketing leaders are still primarily focused on volume rather than efficiency—raising the question of whether marketing investment is being optimized for maximum impact. Why Efficiency Metrics Matter While pipeline and ARR are crucial, failing to measure marketing’s efficiency can lead to wasteful spending and missed opportunities. The study revealed that larger companies tend to measure: Cost per Dollar of Pipeline – Connecting marketing spend to potential revenue. Marketing Cost per New Customer (New Logo Revenue) – Assessing acquisition efficiency. Cost of Expansion Revenue – Tracking marketing’s role in upsells and renewals. Interestingly, cost per expansion revenue remains under-tracked in many organizations, despite its importance in retention and growth strategies. In many cases, marketing’s contribution to expansion revenue is undervalued compared to account management teams.   Attribution Models: What’s Working and What’s Not Accurately attributing revenue to marketing efforts remains one of the biggest challenges in B2B. The benchmarking data highlighted five primary attribution models: First-Touch Attribution – Identifies the first interaction a prospect had with the brand. While useful for understanding top-of-funnel performance, it overlooks the full buyer journey. Last-Touch Attribution – Credits the final touchpoint before conversion. This model can be misleading, often over-attributing conversions to channels like paid search or SDR outreach. Multi-Touch Attribution – Allocates credit across all touchpoints in the buyer journey. While comprehensive, it often struggles to account for offline influences and brand awareness efforts. Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) – Uses statistical analysis to measure the impact of different marketing activities. This approach requires significant data and investment, making it more common among large enterprises. A/B Testing – While not a full attribution model, controlled experiments can help validate the impact of specific marketing strategies. How Attribution Matures with Company Growth As companies scale, their approach to attribution evolves: Early-Stage Startups (<$5M revenue) – Often track deals manually, analyzing each conversion on a case-by-case basis. Pre-Scale Companies – Rely heavily on inbound metrics, focusing on organic sources like referrals and word-of-mouth. Scaling Companies – Experiment with first- and last-touch models but face growing pains in attribution accuracy. Mature Companies – Use multi-touch attribution combined with first- and last-touch insights to inform strategy and budgeting. Despite its potential, Marketing Mix Modeling remains underutilized in B2B tech, with adoption still below 10%. However, as organizations gather more data and refine their analytics capabilities, this approach may gain traction. The Future of Marketing Measurement To build a more efficient marketing function, leaders should move beyond simple volume metrics and embrace a more holistic approach: Adopt Blended Cost and Revenue Metrics – Instead of just tracking cost per pipeline, measure cost per revenue to better justify budget allocation. Use Multiple Attribution Models – No single model provides the full picture. A combination of first-touch, last-touch, and multi-touch insights offers better visibility. Prioritize Expansion Revenue Tracking – Marketing plays a key role in customer retention and upselling. Failing to measure its impact means missing a major component of revenue growth. By focusing on both pipeline growth and efficiency, marketing teams can drive stronger results and make a more compelling case for continued investment. Bhaswati Director of Content Marketing at Nektar.ai, an AI-led contact and activity capture solution for revenue teams. With 11+ years of experience, I specialize in crafting engaging content across blogs, podcasts, social media, and premium resources. I also host The Revenue Lounge podcast, sharing insights from revenue leaders. In this blog

Intelligent Sales Automation: How AI is Transforming Sales Processes RevOps 10 min Imagine this. You’re a sales rep juggling emails, follow-ups, and endless data entry. Your coffee is cold, your CRM is a mess, and before you know it, half your day is gone, with barely any actual selling done! Sounds familiar? You’re not alone. Sales studies reveal that professionals only sell 22% of the time. The rest goes to manual tasks. The result? Missed opportunities, slow sales cycles, and lost revenue. What if you had a super-powered assistant? It could handle the dull tasks, study customer behaviour, and forecast future sales trends. Intelligent Sales Automation does just that, using the magic of AI sales tools. By leveraging automation, businesses can streamline operations, boost efficiency, and maximize sales performance. This guide looks at the benefits of smart sales automation. We’ll share real-world examples and show how AI is changing sales strategies for success. What is Intelligent Sales Automation? Intelligent sales automation uses AI, machine learning (ML), and data analytics to automate repetitive sales activities. To optimize decision-making, these technologies analyze customer interactions, CRM systems, and market trends. Integrating AI sales tools lets businesses generate more leads, personalise interactions, and raise conversion rates—all without manual effort. How AI Enhances Sales Automation Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised the sales landscape. Here’s how AI-driven sales tools are making an impact: Customer Data Analysis: AI analyses sales conversations to identify trends and buying patterns. Predictive Sales Forecasting: Machine learning models provide accurate revenue predictions. Automated Email Sequences: AI personalizes follow-up emails based on customer behavior. Lead Scoring & Prioritization: AI ranks leads based on conversion potential. Chatbots for Instant Support: AI chatbots engage prospects and answer queries in real time. AI in sales is growing at an exponential rate, with adoption expected to surge by 139% between 2020 and 2023. Companies using AI-driven automation are finding a competitive edge. They boost efficiency and make sales cycles faster. 7 Powerful Use Cases of Intelligent Sales Automation 1. CRM Data & Contact Automation The Problem: Sales representatives spend a significant amount of time manually entering and updating customer data in CRM systems. In fact, 71% of sales reps cite manual CRM entry as a major time drain, leading to inefficiencies and lost selling opportunities. The AI Solution: AI-powered CRM automation streamlines data entry by capturing key customer details automatically. These intelligent tools extract information from emails, meeting notes, and other customer interactions to populate CRM fields accurately. This not only reduces manual errors but also ensures that sales reps have the most up-to-date customer insights at their fingertips. As a result, teams can spend more time engaging with prospects and closing deals rather than on administrative tasks. 2. AI-Driven Lead Management The Challenge: Generating leads is only the first step—effectively managing them determines conversion success. Companies that implement high levels of sales automation see a 16% increase in lead generation. However, manual lead qualification and follow-up can result in inefficiencies and lost opportunities. The AI Solution: AI-powered lead management takes the guesswork out of lead prioritization. Advanced algorithms assess lead behavior, engagement patterns, and historical data to score leads based on their likelihood to convert. Automated nurturing sequences then ensure timely and personalized follow-ups, keeping prospects engaged throughout the sales funnel. With AI handling lead segmentation and prioritization, sales teams can focus on high-value opportunities, boosting conversion rates. 3. Intelligent Sales Forecasting Why It Matters: Accurate sales forecasting is critical for business planning, resource allocation, and revenue growth. Yet, many sales teams struggle with imprecise forecasts due to reliance on outdated methods or incomplete data. The AI Solution: AI-driven forecasting analyzes historical sales data, market trends, and customer behaviors to generate highly accurate sales predictions. These insights allow sales leaders to make informed decisions regarding inventory, staffing, and revenue goals. AI also continuously refines its predictions by learning from new data, ensuring forecasts remain relevant and reliable over time. 4. AI Chatbots for Customer Support The Trend: AI-powered chatbots have experienced a 92% growth since 2019, highlighting their increasing role in customer interactions. The AI Solution: AI chatbots provide 24/7 support, instantly answering queries, assisting with product recommendations, and resolving customer concerns. These bots use natural language processing (NLP) to understand customer intent and deliver personalized responses. By handling routine inquiries, chatbots free up human sales agents to focus on complex, high-value conversations, ultimately improving customer satisfaction and efficiency. 5. Personalized Email Campaigns The Challenge: Generic email campaigns often fail to capture customer interest, leading to low engagement and poor conversion rates. The AI Solution: AI-driven email automation creates hyper-personalized content based on customer preferences, purchase history, and behavioral data. These intelligent systems craft subject lines, body text, and call-to-actions tailored to each recipient, significantly increasing open rates and conversions. By optimizing send times and content relevance, AI ensures that prospects receive the right message at the right time. 6. AI-Powered Sales Analytics The Insight: Understanding customer behavior and sales performance is key to refining strategies and boosting revenue. The AI Solution: AI sales analytics tools track sales trends, customer interactions, and conversion rates in real-time. These insights enable sales teams to identify successful tactics, pinpoint weaknesses, and adjust their strategies accordingly. AI also provides predictive analytics, helping businesses anticipate customer needs and proactively address market changes. 7. Sales Gamification for Performance Boost The Stat: A whopping 90% of employees say gamification improves their productivity, making it a valuable tool for sales motivation. The AI Solution: AI-powered gamification systems track sales performance, rewarding top performers with incentives, leaderboards, and performance-based challenges. These systems create a competitive yet engaging environment that motivates sales teams to achieve their targets. By integrating AI insights, gamification strategies can be customized to match individual and team goals, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. How Intelligent Sales Automation Benefits Businesses Let’s look at how sales automation actually benefits businesses:   1. Automates Repetitive Tasks The Impact: Businesses can automate over 30% of sales activities, significantly freeing up time for strategic selling. The

Revenue Leader Caroline Holt on Putting Together the Best Sales Tech Stack RevOps Sales Techstack 10 min Extracting value from a sales tech stack continues to be a frustrating challenge for revenue leaders. Budget freezes across the board have forced revenue leaders to be more mindful of the tools they add to their tech stack. But it can be a daunting project to undertake with the market being so crowded with tools across multiple categories.How can revenue leaders select the best tools for their tech stack? How can they derive value from this steep investment? And how can they make their sales teams more productive? We sat down with Caroline Holt, VP Revenue Training & Enablement at Bonterra, to unpack some of these nuances around creating the best sales tech stack. Caroline shares some brilliant insights on how revenue leaders can create the best sales tech stack. And make the process more efficient and effective. If you’re short on time, here is a quick summary of the conversation.   If you enjoy our discussion, check out more episodes of our podcast. You can follow on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube or grab the RSS feed in your player of choice. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of the episode. The Sales Tech Landscape Has Exploded & Disrupted Sales   Abhijeet: Caroline, thanks for coming on the show. Caroline: Thank you so much for having me. Abhijeet: You’ve been in the sales tech industry for quite some time. How have you seen it change over the last few years? Caroline: Well, it has not only transformed. But it has exploded, right? Technology has disrupted sales. I think the buying process in some cases has not changed over the last 20 years, but the way we sell and the way that the buyer wants to purchase has changed. So when I think about my role as a BDR early on, I was calling, I was faxing, I was emailing. But I could get to someone typically. And I think in some cases the proliferation of things like cadence tools that allow people to drop somebody into a constant flow of information has actually hindered our ability to get to people that we want, who might actually need what we need to do. So to the overarching question of how technology has changed, I think in some ways it’s changed in a really incredible way. Because I am an efficiency geek. I like removing friction from the sales process. But I think that sometimes we actually get in our own way because of how we purchase technology. I think of the tech stack in terms of where your business is and what you need to be successful. And I think that’s actually the biggest challenge right now. The first thing that I would say is that when you think about technology, it’s a great solution if you have a really good process to start with. And people to manage the automation, ongoing configuration, updates, maintenance, and so on. CarolineHolt VP, Revenue Training and Enablement Technology is going to be great at a foundational level. So the first thing you need is a way to engage with people, whether that is your regular old telephone and email, or whether that is some sort of a dialer tool where you’re capturing that information. And then you need some place for that information to live. So you need some sort of CRM to be able to capture that information, figure out who you’ve been talking to, what that’s been like, if you’re opening opportunities, what that opportunity looks like. Then you need to figure out what’s actually happening in those calls.  And then that you can analyze a lot of that data over time in terms of what people are saying in aggregate. So our whole roadmap should be focused on it. It  provides just a really powerful level of insight. But I think for a lot of organizations, they don’t ever optimize those parts of the tech stack, and then they start adding new stuff. They either haven’t gotten it right the first time, or they think that that’s table stakes.  That foundational piece, particularly the architecture around the CRM, if that stuff isn’t right, none of the other tech is really that helpful because you wind up buying stuff and building stuff that doesn’t really help that whole flow from who are we talking to, what are we talking to them about, what’s happening with those deals to closing those deals. Caroline Holt VP, Revenue Training and Enablement So that’s a really simplistic way of thinking about sales technology. But I would say that most organizations need to start with those fundamental pieces and then start thinking about, okay, once we know, now we need to figure out who those prospects are. So what sort of technology is gonna help us identify who those folks are. So how you build that stuff over time becomes really powerful. And then what you do with that data and analytics becomes really powerful over time. But sometimes people invest really quickly in a lot of technologies, but they never really optimize them for performance. So the other part is just thinking about having what you can actually bite off in terms of tech investments in any given year to be able to do the right thing for your business.  Where is Sales Tech Heading Towards?   Abhijeet: If you don the hat of a sales leader who’s going to spend a hundred dollars this year across the technology stack, how should they go about their investment approach? Where should those a hundred dollars be allocated?  Caroline: So I would say that like everything in enablement or any of the back office operations, it’s where are your problems? So if the business should be investing based on what technology is going to actually help them be more effective, where they’re less effective than they could be today. So

10 Best Revenue Operations Software for 2025 RevOps 10 min Achieving revenue goals is challenging, irrespective of the size of your sales operations. Your sales team can face numerous challenges, including managing complex sales processes, streamlining data, and aligning sales, marketing, and customer success efforts. Fortunately, revenue operations software simplifies how businesses optimize their sales performance. Revenue operations software empowers sales teams to bridge the gap between strategy and execution. Leveraging automation and advanced analytics allows these tools to provide a streamlined approach to manage sales operations and drive revenue growth. Tune in to our exclusive podcast – The Revenue Lounge, specially curated for Revenue Operations Professionals. Here’s a latest episode: Ep #1: Hubspot Customer Retention With RevOps ft. Sid Kumar This article looks at the top 10 revenue operations software solutions leading in 2025. Let’s uncover the best solutions and understand how they can position your sales team for success. 10 Best Revenue Operations Software Here are the ten best revenue operations software to consider for your business in 2025: 1. Nektar 2. Gong 3. Groove 4. HubSpot Operation Hub 5. Aviso 6. Kluster 7. Fullcast 8. Breadcrumbs 9. InsightSquared Analytics 10. Chorus What is Revenue Operations? Revenue operations or RevOps is an end-to-end operating model that helps organizations run their business in an interconnected way across GTM functions like sales, marketing and customer success. A tight alignment of the GTM model enables organizations to drive predictable revenue.  The role of RevOps is to drive visibility, accountability and transparency across the entire revenue funnel, improve efficiency across a unified revenue process, and unlock potential for revenue growth. RevOps connects teams, processes and people that have been otherwise functioning in silos. It also aligns them to work towards common revenue goals. Overview of 10 Best Revenue Operations Software   1. Nektar Nektar is an AI for revenue operations that drives funnel efficiency by plugging your CRM data holes/gaps and discovers hidden revenue from your customer interaction data. The software provides a unified contact and activity capture solution that ensures CRM data integrity and hygiene, resulting in a clear picture of revenue intelligence. Nektar offers a robust data capture and intelligence layer purpose-built for revenue operations. It enables sales teams to capture and consolidate critical data from various sources. Sales teams can get a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the pipeline. With Nektar, there are no more scattered information and data silos. You get a centralized platform that empowers your team to make data-driven decisions. Key features: Actionable pipeline visibility in real-time Accurate and comprehensive CRM data and reporting Enriched contact data for account-based selling Enhanced ROI for your sales tech stack 2. Gong Gong’s revenue operations software allows RevOps leaders to capture activity data from every touchpoint and unlock superhuman forecasting abilities. Gong’s RevOps platform leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze customer interactions across sales and customer success. It provides invaluable insights into deals, pipelines, and team performance. Gong is your partner in breaking down barriers and aligning your sales, marketing, and customer success operations. Harnessing the power of Gong’s RevOps software will help your team seamlessly collaborate and work in tandem. It will drive revenue growth and customer satisfaction. Key features: Clean activity data Pipeline visibility Deal risk warnings Closed-lost analysis 3. Groove Groove is a revenue intelligence and operations software that offers complete transparency. It provides advanced activity capture capabilities for reps, managers, and operations teams. With Groove, organizations can rely on real-time Salesforce reporting and collaborate on account lists. Furthermore, the platform offers insights into the entire buying committee and allows to conduct interactive pipeline reviews. Groove enables organizations to capture and track critical sales interactions in real time through its advanced activity capture technology. It allows reps, managers, and ops teams to stay up-to-date on the progress of deals. Sales teams can also quickly generate comprehensive reports within Salesforce to get insights into sales performance. Key features: Advanced activity capture Auto contact capture Opportunity and pipeline management 4. HubSpot Operations Hub HubSpot Operations Hub allows your entire team to stay aligned with a clean and connected source of truth for customer data. It enables your business to adapt seamlessly to the ever-changing needs of your customers. With Operations Hub, organizations can sync data across various systems, ensuring customer information is up-to-date and accessible in one centralized location.  Operations Hub helps maintain data integrity and eliminates inconsistencies by cleaning and curating customer data. The platform offers other tools, including programmable automation, data sync, and data quality tools.  Key features: Data sync Data quality automation Data quality command center (BETA) 5. Aviso Aviso is a conversational intelligence software that provides revenue leaders with a clear path to plan and key deal actions to accelerate success. It enables sales operations and planning teams to track progress and course correct. With Aviso’s AI-powered capabilities, revenue leaders gain valuable insights that help them confidently navigate their portfolios. Leveraging advanced algorithms, Aviso provides a predictive view of revenue. It allows leaders to anticipate potential outcomes and make informed decisions.  Key features: Advanced view of sales metrics filtered by product/team Advanced briefing for forecast calls Human and AI combination to close deals faster 6. Kluster Kluster is a revenue operations software that enables businesses to build repeatable processes. They can also scale their sales funnel and deliver reports on time, every time. With Kluster, organizations can optimize their revenue operations for consistent and predictable success. Leveraging Kluster’s intuitive tools and workflows allows organizations to establish standardized and efficient sales processes. It ensures every deal follows a consistent path. There are maximized chances of success and minimized errors or missed opportunities. Organizations can also track and analyze key metrics throughout the sales funnel, from lead generation to closing deals.  Key features: Build repeatable process Scale your funnel Deliver reports on time every time 7. Fullcast Fullcast is a revenue operations software that enables businesses to improve RevOps efficiency. Organizations can create territory, quota, and capacity plans without relying on complex spreadsheets. Operations teams can painlessly align their activities with the strategy and eliminate hours of manual effort. With Fullcast’s intuitive interface and

Top 5 Trends That Will Impact Sales Operations in 2025 RevOps 10 min The sales operations function went through dynamic changes this past year. Economic uncertainties in 2023 killed the “growth at all costs” model.  In 2025, budgets will be tighter, talent scarce and selling more challenging. All these challenges make one thing clear –  Delighting customers at every turn is what matters.  If we walk backwards from this larger goal, it requires a maniacal focus on the customer. What do customers really need? How can they be assisted? How can they be helped with making confident purchase decisions without seeming pushy? To achieve this, sales teams have to meet customers where they are, at the right time. And act as their trusted advisors.  Having complete visibility into the customer journey from lead to cash (to renewal and expansion) is critical to survive what lies ahead. The new mantra for sales operations in 2025 will be to “build a seamless customer journey.” This article will cover the top sales operations trends that 2025 can expect. It’s vastly different from the trends we saw last year. Which is a testament to the fact how fast things are changing in the B2B sales world. What is Sales Operations or SalesOps? Sales Operations refers to the function, role, activities or processes within a sales organization that help sales reps sell faster and better. This department is responsible for reducing frictions within the sales process. It enables reps to achieve higher win rates in a predictable and repeatable manner. The sales operations function strategizes on ways that can help sales reps focus on tasks that contribute to revenue. This includes implementing sales training, investing in tools and technology that eliminate roadblocks in selling, or creating processes that optimize the sales process for all reps. The ultimate goal of a sales operations function is to create a sales engine that runs smoothly. The sales operations function has a direct impact on business revenue. This department continues to be a strategic component of an organization’s structure. Top Trends To Expect in Sales Operations in 2025 B2B sales has been evolving at a rapidly fast pace, making traditional processes of operations obsolete. Some of the biggest challenges facing sales operations today include: 72% of B2B buyers demand a rep-free experience. 47% sellers say their sales tech stack does not boost their productivity or improves results. Close to half of operations professionals say that processes within their companies are only moderately data-driven or not data-driven at all.  The confidence of operations professionals dipped over the last two years. As companies hold back on investments because of the downturn, sales leaders will have to devise new ways to survive and sustain in 2024. This puts sales operations in a unique position to help organizations navigate these new challenges.  By embracing innovation and pivoting at the right time, sales operations leaders can provide some much needed relief in the tough months that await. They can do this by staying on top of these trends that demand attention: 1. Reduce Technology Overwhelm Among Sellers 2023 was the year of AI. The space of sales technology was already an exhausted field, and artificial intelligence tools just got added to the mix in 2023.  But too many tools also cause overwhelm among salespeople.  As high as 49% of sellers feel overwhelmed by the tech they are required to use for their jobs. This reduces the likelihood to attain quota by 43%. More tools in the tech stack add the burden of deployment, management and adoption. The goal for sales leaders is to evaluate what they have, consolidate wherever they can and optimize their tech stacks to improve productivity and execution across every role. Bloated tech stacks can also create many problems in disguise and add to a lot of hidden costs such as cost of integrating, tool fatigue, cost of siloed data and much more.  Which is why 2025 will be the year of tech stack consolidation.  Tech stack consolidation is the process of reducing the number of tools in a company’s tech stack by merging functionalities into lesser and more exhaustive platforms. The goal of consolidation is not to knock down all of the investments in point solutions that already exist. It demands a structured approach in analyzing which tools offer real value for sales teams. And eliminate tools that don’t add any merit to their day to day workflows. Sales leaders will have to do a cross-functional exercise to identify what their top use cases are for sales operations. And lay down a complete technology roadmap against these use cases.  Teams that use tech stack that enable the full sales motion, from creating pipeline to closing deals are more likely to meet their revenue goals. A lean and fully capable sales tech stack is a reality as companies look to consolidate vendors while retaining the features and capability of their previous array of point solutions.  If you are also looking to consolidate your sales tech stack in 2025, here’s an evaluation framework to get started on. 2. Strategic Multithreading Will Become a Competitive Differentiator B2B buying has changed drastically over the last few years. Relying on decade old strategies to close deals do not appeal to the modern buyer. Especially when buying is no longer a linear process or a one person event. From an average of 6.8 decision makers in every B2B purchase, the number has now gone up to 14. And most of these contacts never make it to the CRM. As they can be from other departments within the company calling the shots in the background. This is where strategic multithreading comes into the picture. Knowing exactly how many people are involved in a deal and having complete visibility into their needs, aspirations and expectations are vital for sales people to know.  This kind of relationship intelligence enables reps to form relationships with multiple stakeholders on the buying committee of an account. And they have to do it in a strategic manner. Having access to the list of contacts that might be influencing a deal will be a saviour for sales

Welcome Efficiency Gains in 2025 with a Suite of Meeting Insights Built for Revenue Teams Product 10 min Imagine you’re preparing for a 42 km marathon. You’ve set a weekly running plan across terrains and weather conditions. You’ve brought the best equipment – wind-resistant clothing, a sleek water pouch, well-fitted goggles, perfectly cushioned shoes with the right grip, and a pace calculator. There were days when you completed 42 km, there were days you only did 5 km, and there were days you did 25 km, and so on. But, throughout your preparation, the pace calculator unfortunately missed capturing your pacing and the time taken to run the distance. Oops! Now, you have no idea what is the average time you take to complete 42 km or what is your average pace. So you’re going in blind and decide to pace yourself by winging it. Yes, this blog is not about preparing for a marathon. But this example is an analogy to sales. The runner is the revenue leader. The equipment refers to the sales team and tools. Each run refers to a meeting with a buyer. The pace calculator refers to a tool that is meant to provide key insights – what are you doing well, and what you should improve. So, with the analogy and this context, let me challenge you with some questions: How many meetings does it take your SMB and your enterprise teams to win a deal, respectively? How many meetings get completed out of all the scheduled meetings? How often are meetings happening in each of your accounts? How often are the different members of the buying group invited to these meetings? How often are these buying group members attending these meetings? What is the nature of the meeting? What is being discussed exactly? How much time is being spent or wasted in meetings by your sellers and deal support team like solution engineering, executives, etc.? Sure, conversation intelligence tools may help answer a couple of these questions. But, not all. Moreover, most conversation intelligence tools only capture data if they’re set to record that meeting. If it’s not set to record, then the data does not get captured. And before you jump to a conclusion, no, this is not a blog on conversation intelligence. Rather it’s about zooming into your buyer-seller data with a specific focus on meeting insights. Meeting Insights Missing from Your Engagement Data Over the last two quarters, Nektar introduced several useful features that surface insights into buyer-seller engagement. Some of them are specific to meeting data. These insights are 100% accurate because they stem from data picked up at the source of action – your calendar invites, be it Google or Outlook. What’s more? All the data is provided to you in your standard Salesforce objects – account, opportunity, contact, and lead. So you can leverage Salesforce’s powerful reporting capabilities to surface these meeting insights. Let’s dive into some insights that Nektar.ai unlocks through these recently launched features. 1. Meeting Status Every week revenue leaders conduct 1:1 deal reviews where the rep shares with them all the meetings that are scheduled, that took place, and that got canceled or rescheduled. Additionally, the rep also has to share who is invited to the meeting and who attended. The revenue leader then suggests adding a key stakeholder, and the dialogue continues. With Nektar, this ‘zero value information exchange’ can be eliminated. Instead, revenue leaders can access such data in their Salesforce. Nektar automatically marks the status of a meeting across the meeting lifecycle – scheduled, completed, aborted, canceled, missed – to give deep visibility into how meetings are impacting sales cycles, win rates, and revenue generation. The most important question this helps answer is: How many meetings do I need to complete to win an enterprise deal and an SMB deal, respectively? This can be further segmented at an industry or region level for further granularity. Layer Meeting Status with additional factors to unlock clear visibility into deal activities and understand what’s working and not working. 2. Meeting Type Let’s assume an enterprise deal had 55 meetings from creation to close. With Meeting Status you will easily know how many were completed. You may also choose to use native Salesforce reporting to slice this data across deal stages. The only insights you have are that 55 meetings were scheduled, 40 were completed, and each deal stage had a specific count of meetings. But, you’re still not sure what each meeting was about. Was it a demo meeting, a discovery meeting, a use case mapping meeting, a mutual success plan meeting, a proof of concept discussion meeting, or something else? And how many such meetings took place? This is where Activity Tagging becomes beneficial. Nektar automatically assigns tags to meetings based on the context of the meeting using certain keywords. This tag is then automatically added to a custom field on Salesforce within standard objects, making it completely reportable. Equipped with this data point, revenue leaders can easily spot what types of meetings are taking place and how many meetings of the same type are taking place. Most importantly, you can define these tags yourself. For you, you may define one of the tags as ‘use case mapping’, while another company may not. Or, you may have defined only 4 tags while another company may have defined 12 tags. It’s easily customizable to suit your revenue process. Going back to the example we started with, you’ll have the following insights – 55 meetings were scheduled, 40 were completed, 3 discovery meetings, 5 demo meetings, 3 use case mapping meetings, and so on. This insight helps you gather which types of meetings are critical to winning a deal. For example, if deals over $100,000 had more use case mapping meetings and deals less than $50,000 had more negotiation meetings, you can now optimize your plays to replicate this more often to improve your chances of winning deals. Activity tags are customizable. Based on your sales process,

Top 5 Trends That Will Impact Sales Operations in 2025 RevOps 10 min Imagine having a machine. A machine with all the parts in working condition, it’s even run daily but produces suboptimal outputs.  The issue is – ‘Oiling.’ Without proper and regular oiling, the various parts of the machine can’t function properly. To make the machine work cohesively, oiling is required.  Sales optimization tools can help with the oiling. It is done so that the sales function produces optimal results.  What is sales process optimization? Sales process optimization refers to refining and improving the steps in selling a product or service to a customer. The process typically includes steps such as lead generation, lead qualification, needs assessment, proposal creation, negotiation, and closing the sale. Sales process optimization aims to increase efficiency and effectiveness, resulting in more successful sales and increased revenue. How do Sales Optimization Tools Work? Sales process optimization is essential in B2B sales, where the sales cycle is often longer and more complex than in B2C sales. In B2B sales, the process typically involves multiple decision-makers and influencers, and the sales rep needs to demonstrate how the product or service will address the business’s specific needs. Here are some key ways in which sales process optimization works in B2B sales: 1. Identifying and targeting the right prospects Sales process optimization in B2B sales involves identifying and targeting the most promising prospects with customized messaging and outreach. This involves using data analytics to identify businesses that are a good fit for the product or service and creating targeted marketing campaigns to reach them. 2. Understanding the buying process B2B sales often involve multiple decision-makers and influencers, and it’s important to understand the buying process for each prospect. Sales reps need to identify the key decision-makers, understand their needs and priorities, and tailor their messaging accordingly. 3. Creating a value proposition In B2B sales, it’s important to demonstrate how the product or service will provide value to the business. Sales reps need to articulate a compelling value proposition that addresses the prospect’s specific needs and pain points. 4. Managing the sales process B2B sales often involve a longer sales cycle than B2C sales, and it’s essential to manage the process effectively. This may include using CRM software to track leads and opportunities, setting up regular touchpoints with the prospect, and managing the negotiation and closing process. 5. Analyzing and optimizing the sales process Finally, sales process optimization in B2B sales involves analyzing sales data and feedback to identify areas for improvement. Sales reps need to be able to adjust their approach based on what works and what doesn’t and continually refine their sales process to improve outcomes. A Closer Look At a Sales Optimization Process Now that we have understood the role of sales optimization in B2B segment, let’s understand the process in a step-by-step format:   1. Define your goals The first step in sales optimization is to define your goals. This may involve setting specific targets for revenue, number of sales, or other metrics that are important to your business. 2. Analyze your current sales process The next step is to analyze your current sales process to identify areas for improvement. This may involve reviewing your sales data, talking to your sales team, and gathering feedback from customers. 3. Develop a plan Based on your analysis, develop a plan for optimizing your sales process. This may involve making changes to your sales strategy, implementing new tools or technologies, or providing additional training to your sales team. 4. Implement your plan Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to implement it. This may involve rolling out new processes or tools, providing training to your sales team, or adjusting your sales strategy. 5. Monitor your results As you implement your plan, it’s important to monitor your results. Track your progress against your goals, analyze your sales data, and gather feedback from your team and customers to identify areas where you can continue to improve. 6. Continuously improve Sales optimization is an ongoing process, so it’s important to continue refining and improving your sales process over time. This may involve making small adjustments based on feedback and data analysis or making larger changes if your goals or market conditions shift. Let’s have a look at some sales optimization examples to understand the use cases of the above processes in real-life.  Use Cases of Sales Optimization Tools Sales optimization has a wide range of use cases in B2B sales, including automating lead generation, personalizing the sales experience, improving group intelligence, and implementing a sales enablement strategy. By leveraging sales optimization tools and techniques, businesses can improve their sales outcomes, increase efficiency, and drive revenue growth. Here are some examples of sales optimization that businesses implement to improve their sales outcomes: 1. Automate lead generation Businesses can use automated lead generation tools to identify potential customers based on specific criteria instead of relying solely on manual prospecting. This can help streamline the sales process and reduce the time and effort required to find new leads. 2. Personalize the sales experience Personalization can help sales teams better understand the specific needs and preferences of the stakeholders in a buying committee. This allows them to tailor their messaging and approach to each stakeholder, increasing the likelihood of resonating with each individual and ultimately closing the deal. By having insights into all the stakeholders, sales teams can also multithread better, meaning they can engage with multiple stakeholders simultaneously and build a rapport with each of them.  3. Open more doors with more active contacts Encourage multithreaded conversations by equipping your reps with additional contacts. Provide your representatives with more contacts automatically discovered from all sales tools.  4. Improved group intelligence Instantly grant your reps the knowledge of a buying committee map, so they know whom to engage, how, and when to best influence deal progress. 5. Real-time activity intelligence Automatically capture both structured and unstructured data and update it in real-time against active opportunities