10 Tips for Efficient Pipeline Tracking RevOps 10 min When times are tough, you need twice as many opportunities to close one deal. And to get more opportunities, you need quality prospects. A sales pipeline can give you an overview of what your selling cycle looks like. But how do you zero in on the right deals? How do you know they won’t fall flat a month down the line? Meticulous pipeline tracking is the answer. It brings sales reps closer to the moment of truth – will the deal close or not? Let’s get started. What is Sales Pipeline Tracking? Pipeline tracking puts every deal under the scanner.  It tells you how each one stacks up in terms of revenue potential – which deals are likely to convert, by when, and what stage they are currently in. Reps can then work backward from the goal and focus on the ones that will give them the best chance of hitting quota.  Let’s understand with an example. Let’s say your conversion rate for the month is 12% on a pipeline worth $1 million.  To achieve a quota of $300,000, you will need to double the number of opportunities you have lined up. Many people think the sales pipeline and sales funnel are the same.  There’s a difference, and it’s this: Sales pipelines represent the sales cycle from the seller’s perspective.  Sales funnels visualize it from the other side – the customer’s perspective. Related Resource: 5 Ways to Improve Your Sales Pipeline Visibility With sales pipeline tracking, you can: Pinpoint lagging deals and take steps to revive them. Estimate how many deals are likely to close in the next month or quarter. Analyze sales productivity by individual or team and see if they are doing the right activities. Share actionable advice on the best way forward. Make deal forecasts more accurate Identify opportunities for sales optimization What are the Components of Pipeline Tracking? Pipeline tracking has three key components: 1. Opportunity Stages These stages show the relative position of a deal since entering the sales funnel. 2. Conversion Rates This is the rate at which leads turn into opportunities and opportunities into sales. 3. Pipeline Value This is the total dollar value of the pipeline as a whole. It represents the total revenue potential of every active opportunity. 10 Tips for Efficient Pipeline Tracking For pipeline tracking to be effective, sales teams must: 1. Define the right pipeline stages Pipeline stages like ‘closing’ or ‘negotiation’ can be confusing for reps in the middle of a busy day.  To be fair, many sales managers use the default stages available in Salesforce or other tools.  But this ends up affecting pipeline visibility, forecasting accuracy, and revenue numbers.  The key is to: Be as specific as possible when describing each stage. For example:  ‘first call – no answer’ or ‘quote sent for approval.’ Make sure that pipeline stages relate to the sales process. Have a limited number of deal stages – no more than 7. 2. Define clear exit criteria for each stage Now that we’ve defined our pipeline stages let’s think about the exit criteria for each.  You can do this through a series of Yes/No questions based on the status of an account.  Depending on the deal stage, a few good questions could be: Has the rep qualified the customer by asking relevant questions? (Needs Analysis stage) Is the rep in contact with the economic buyer or the champion? (Initial Meeting/Needs Analysis stage) Has the customer confirmed they’re OK with the proposal/ mutual action plan? (Proposal stage) Has the customer agreed to sign the contract? (Negotiation stage) Clear exit criteria enable reps to move deals from one stage to another with ease.  Why not specify review criteria so reps can clean up their pipeline too?  You can benchmark the average closing time per rep and then track the following: The number of days a deal has been open The number of days since the last activity The expected close date mentioned by the rep In any case, tell your reps to reach out one last time before dropping a lead. You never know if they might have a future requirement. 3. Define the right pipeline metrics Pipeline metrics play a key role in setting KPIs and sales quotas based on the goal.  Some key metrics are: a. Number of new leads This is the total number of new leads entering the pipeline. Many businesses track new leads by source. Others prefer to track them at the opportunity stage. b. Pipeline value This is the total projected value of the opportunities you currently have. c. Conversion rate This includes converting leads to opportunities or closing opportunities into deals. d. Sales Cycle Length This represents how long it takes your reps to finally close a deal. Other key pipeline metrics include: Annual recurring revenue Average revenue per user Average deal size Pipeline velocity Related Resource: 15 Sales Metrics You Must Track 4. Streamline lead scoring Why do some opportunities score high but don’t convert?  And what about opportunities you didn’t pay much attention to but ended up closing?  If this happens too many times, it could be a sign that reps are not qualifying leads enough.  And this could create bottlenecks a couple of months down the line.  Review your lead scoring criteria – plus the lead qualification methodology.  This can help focus on opportunities with the best potential for closing. 5. Prioritize pipeline reviews Many sales managers focus all their attention on late-stage (negotiation) deals.  And that’s important from the revenue point of view.  But sales reps do need a big-picture view of the pipeline as a whole.  Pipeline reviews can help identify the winnable deals earlier in the funnel and find ways to achieve quota.  Managers can verify the ‘real’ opportunities and coach accordingly.  Now, it’s not possible for busy sales teams to have pipeline reviews every day.  But managers can share pipeline reports so that reps know what’s going on. Beginning of the 90-Day Phase: Vision and Execution 6. Customize Salesforce

7 Salesforce Reporting Tools to Consider in 2025 RevOps 10 min Salesforce reporting tools are vital assets for businesses that want to go beyond just acquiring leads and closing deals. These comprehensive solutions are a game-changer for sales leaders who want to ace their sales and customer relationship management. Salesforce reporting tools also enable data-driven decision-making, which is a must-have for a successful business. If you are looking for a reliable reporting tool for Salesforce, you are in the right spot. This article will explore the top seven options offering various features and salesforce reporting capabilities to address your reporting needs. So, let’s get started. What is a Salesforce Reporting Tool? Salesforce‘s reporting tool is a data reporting software that helps extract, organize, and analyze data from the Salesforce platform. The platform provides users with functionalities to transform raw data into meaningful insights. As a result, it helps businesses make informed decisions, track performance, and drive growth. Salesforce reporting tools offer varied capabilities to cater to diverse reporting needs. They empower users to create customized reports and dashboards, visualize data in various formats, and drill down into specific details for deeper analysis. These tools also integrate seamlessly with Salesforce’s data model, allowing users to leverage the full potential of their sales data without the need for complex coding or technical expertise. 8 Salesforce Reporting Tools for 2023 Let’s look at the top Salesforce reporting tools in 2023 you can consider for your business: 1. Tableau Tableau is a powerful Salesforce reporting tool that offers seamless integration within the Salesforce ecosystem. With its built-in reporting module, Tableau allows users to connect directly to Salesforce data and create interactive reports.  Tableau’s ability to embed visuals directly within the Salesforce application sets it apart, providing users with a cohesive experience. Moreover, data can be securely passed back and forth between Tableau and Salesforce, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of your data throughout the reporting process. Key features: Full information availability Self-service analysis and visualization Data blending Knowledge and skill sharing 2.G-Connector G-Connector bridges the gap between Salesforce.com and Google Spreadsheet, enabling efficient data exchange between the two platforms. With G-Connector, users can effortlessly connect their Google Spreadsheet to Salesforce.com, allowing manual and automatic data synchronization.  The versatile tool offers multiple methods to create data snapshots in Google Sheets, ensuring flexibility and convenience. A standout feature of G-Connector is the ability to set up a shared Google spreadsheet, enabling the Sales team to enter and update sales data in one central location easily. Key features: Automatic data exchange Snapshots of Salesforce data Single shared Google spreadsheet Notifications for team members 3. Jotform Jotform is a supercharged online form builder that offers a number of subproducts and features, eliminating manual data entry and automating your workflow.  It makes generating Salesforce reports effortless by allowing users to collect data and create beautifully designed dashboards & dynamic reports – all automated and ready to go at any time. Jotform also offers a handy analytics tool so you can keep track of where you are with your projects easily. Key features: Dynamic reports and dashboards Analytics and visualization Integrations to automate other apps including Salesforce Building complex workflows with approval flows 4. Klipfolio Klipfolio offers a cloud platform app for building real-time business dashboards. Users can create highly customized dashboards with tailored metrics and data visualizations fueled by multiple data sources, including Salesforce.  The tool connects businesses to hundreds of data sources, ensuring comprehensive and up-to-date reporting. The beauty of Klipfolio lies in its flexibility and accessibility, as the dashboards can be monitored from anywhere, on any device. As a result, Klipfolio enables businesses to gain real-time insights and easily make data-driven decisions. Key features: Flexible data connection Highly customizable metrics and data visualization Data mashups Publish data to TV wallboards Pre-built content 5. Conga Composer Conga Composer is a robust Salesforce reporting tool that empowers businesses to create error-free, templated digital documents directly within Salesforce. The application automatically populates richly-formatted templates with data from Salesforce.  Businesses can effortlessly generate reports, proposals, contracts, and other important documents, saving time and ensuring accuracy. In addition, seamlessly merging Salesforce data into customized templates streamlines the reporting process. It enables businesses to create professional documents easily. Key features: Generate documents in multiple formats Store documents wherever possible Accurate, consistent, pixel-perfect documents 6. Smartsheet Smartsheet is a Salesforce reporting tool that aims to increase the productivity of sales teams. It also enhances visibility into sales operations while maintaining the established workflows. With Smartsheet, collaboration and sharing become effortless across both Salesforce and non-Salesforce users, eliminating the need for manual data exports to spreadsheets.  The tool streamlines the reporting process by enabling auto-synchronization between Salesforce and Smartsheet. It eliminates redundant steps and allows teams to manage their pipelines efficiently. Key features: Synchronize Salesforce data to Smartsheet to make bulk changes Set criteria for real-time alerts Real-time data with advanced sharing across teams Auto-synchronization between Salesforce and Smartsheet.   7. InsightSquared InsightSquared offers several advanced features to enhance your sales operations. With real-time updates, InsightSquared’s RevOps dashboards provide immediate access to critical data. As a result, you can stay on top of your business performance in real time.  The tool’s Activity Capture feature generates insightful reports on your team’s activities and seamlessly shares the data. In addition, automated activity tracking eliminates the need for manual updates, boosting your sales team’s productivity. Key features: Real-time updates of RevOps dashboards Activity Capture  Analytics and visualization Current Challenges in Salesforce Reporting Let’s explore some of the challenges in Salesforce reporting and how you can overcome them: 1. Data complexity and integration Sales data can originate from various channels, including CRM systems and marketing platforms. Integrating and consolidating this data into a cohesive reporting framework can be daunting. Organizations must invest in robust data integration solutions and ensure data quality and accuracy to overcome this challenge. 2. Manual and time-consuming processes Many businesses still need to rely on manual processes for sales reporting, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. Extracting data from multiple sources and creating

10 Best Deal Tracking Software for 2025 RevOps 10 min Imagine your sales team juggling multiple deals at once. They’ve got meetings, follow-ups, and deadlines to manage, and it feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Sound familiar? Well, what if we told you there was a way to make your life easier? A way to streamline your sales process and close more deals? That’s where deal tracking software comes in. We’ve seen first-hand how deal-tracking software can transform a sales organization. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best deal-tracking software for 2023. Each software solution will help you stay organized, focused, and efficient so you can focus on what you do best – selling. So, if you’re ready to take your sales game so the next level, keep reading. The possibilities are endless with the right deal tracking software at your fingertips. 10 Best Deal Tracking Software for 2024 1. Nektar 2. EngageBay 3. Kapture CX 4. Salesmate CRM 5. Pipedrive 6. Insightly 7. Nutshell 8. Salesflare 9. BigContacts 10. FreshSales What is a Deal Tracking Software? Deal tracking software is a tool that helps sales professionals manage their sales pipeline by keeping track of all their deals in one central location. Deal tracking software provides an overview of each deal’s status, from initial contact to final close, allowing salespeople to quickly and easily assess the state of their pipeline.  Let’s say you have dozens of deals in your pipeline, ranging from small accounts to large enterprise deals. A deal tracking software will allow you to see deals that: are in the negotiation phase need follow-up calls are on track for a close Think of deal tracking software as a solution that provides end-to-end visibility into your sales pipeline, allowing you to stay organized and focused on closing deals. Overview of 10 Best Deal Tracking Software for 2025 Now that you know everything about deal tracking, it’s time to look at the software solutions that can help you. Here’s our pick of the top 10 deal tracking software: 1. Nektar   Nektar is one of the best deal tracking software that helps businesses spot real opportunities sooner, progress deals faster, and ultimately drive revenue growth. One of the key benefits of Nektar is its ability to automatically analyze every buyer interaction, providing valuable insights and actionable intelligence to sales teams. Using advanced algorithms and machine learning, Nektar can identify upside and at-risk opportunities in real time, enabling sales teams to focus their efforts where they’re most needed. Nektar helps sales teams prioritize their time and resources, ensuring they’re always working on the most promising deals. Key features: Offers the buyer-seller activity as a key leading indicator to understanding the deal progression Allows time measurement at each stage to optimize sales cycles Identifies high-value opportunities that require more focus 2. EngageBay   EngageBay is an intuitive deal tracking software that helps businesses manage every individual lead in their sales pipeline tracking. The software enables businesses to streamline their lead flow, view important information about each lead, and close deals more efficiently. Businesses can filter and sort their leads based on different criteria, such as lead source, lead score, and lead status. It helps businesses prioritize their leads and focus on those most likely to convert into paying customers. The software also allows businesses to set up automated workflows that move leads through the pipeline based on their behavior and actions. Key features: Unified sales lead information Centralized client data Estimated revenue generation forecast 3. Kapture CX   Kapture CX offers an intuitive interface that makes it easy for businesses to keep a tab of their leads and prioritize them. The software helps businesses optimize their relationships with clients, boosting sales. The software allows businesses to set up custom hierarchies and view their sales performance data at different levels of the organization.  Businesses can identify trends and opportunities for improvement and track the progress of individual sales reps and teams. It also provides businesses with various tools to help them engage with their clients more effectively, such as effective personalization. Businesses can build stronger relationships with their clients and increase the chances of closing deals. Key features: Omni-channel support Integrated sales monitoring Easy API compatibility 4. Salesmate CRM   Salesmate CRM comes equipped with a sales activity tracker, which allows you to plan and stay on top of your sales pipeline. With Salesmate CRM, you can easily track your team’s activities and monitor their progress in real-time. This feature is particularly useful for sales managers who need to keep tabs on their team’s performance and identify areas for improvement. You can use the software to automate repetitive tasks, like sending follow-up emails or updating your CRM system. It will help free up your team’s time and allow them to focus on more important tasks like closing deals and generating revenue. Key features: Automates sales activities and playbook Sales timeline for easy tracking Smart calendar view 5. Pipedrive   Pipedrive is another excellent option that allows you to create the stages of your sales funnel. You can easily track your deals and stay organized throughout the sales process. With Pipedrive, you’ll receive automatic alerts and reminders to stay on track and ensure no deal falls through the cracks. These notifications are customizable and can be set up to suit your specific needs and preferences. Pipedrive also has advanced analytics capabilities that provide a range of useful metrics and reports, allowing you to identify opportunities to close more sales and improve your overall performance. The platform also incorporates AI technology to help you prioritize leads and identify which deals will likely close successfully. Key features: Visual sales pipeline Customizable pipeline Team collaboration 6. Insightly   Insightly helps businesses stay on top of their sales pipeline through its customizable dashboards. Users can break down the data they want to track in a way that makes sense for their business. Whether you’re interested in tracking deals by stage, salesperson, or product, Insightly can help you do it.

Everything You Need to Know About Revenue Forecasting RevOps 10 min As much as 80% of sales organizations miss the mark on revenue forecasting by 25% or more. That’s a particularly worrying number, primarily because of 3 reasons: Global volatility and economic downturn  Complex buyer journey and sales processes Added pressure on revenue leaders to deliver predictable growth  A revenue forecast serves as a guide to achieving realistic revenue goals to tide over unpredictability.  This exhaustive guide lays down everything you should know about revenue forecasts and how to do them right, including: – What is revenue forecasting? – Why is revenue forecasting important? – What are the key foundations of revenue forecasting? – Accurate Forecasting Using Revenue Forecasting Models If you’re short on time, here’s a quick summary of this blog: What is Revenue Forecasting? Revenue forecasting predicts how much revenue your business may earn for a certain period.  It uses historical data to make educated speculations about the potential revenue. Contrary to common assumptions, revenue forecasts aren’t based solely on quantitative data. They’re also enriched by qualitative data. To sum it up, revenue forecasting models answer the key business question: How does your current performance take you where you want to go? It’s not unheard of, even in SaaS circles, to confuse revenue and sales forecasting. But there are 3 key differences you must know if you want to build accurate forecasts. Why is Revenue Forecasting Important? A revenue forecast gives you, quite literally, the “foresight” to see what the future brings. Here’s how you can benefit from it: 1. Know expected revenue & budget  Revenue forecasts give you insight into how much money you can expect to generate from product sales. This, in turn, will give you the information to set up budgets for RevOps and other teams.  On the other hand, you can also track expenses for the period and optimize your cash flow. 2. Strategize growth You can strategize with key stakeholders by figuring out your expected revenue and budget. These meetings throw light on what actions you can undertake to increase earnings.  Two-thirds of businesses consider revenue process optimization important to achieving customer retention goals. Whereas 63% think revenue strategy is important for adapting to new market expansion. Revenue forecast provides the basis of growth strategy showing you: How quickly can you scale What will be your future expansion in terms of earnings, expenses, and markets How can you set and adjust revenue goals to bridge gaps between predictions and real-world performance 3. Set appropriate long-term goals Other than business goals, you can use revenue forecasts to set other long-term goals for marketing campaigns, software purchases, and resource allocation.  For instance, they can be used to decide how much staff you will need in RevOps teams and how many resources you must hire corresponding to each function.  4. Make informed decisions  Revenue forecasts ensure you’re not caught off guard in unpredictable times and can make data-backed decisions with accurate analyses.  For example, while preparing a forecast, you may find that sales for June-July 2022 were lower than the rest of the year.  The first thought would be to attribute this to seasonal demand.  But if you know how to forecast revenue, you dig deeper into the data. Then, you find the underlying reason–your sales head left the company during this time.  You can decide not to base next year’s forecast on the same numbers in June-July 2022.  5. Helps secure funding Revenue forecasting is responsible for your organization’s general profitability.  To secure funding, you can make serious financial projections (including the profit & loss statement and cash expectations). Investors look at these numbers and decide whether to invest in your business. Now that the benefits are on the table, you can understand more about what is revenue forecasting and how to create one. To begin, we look at its key foundations.  Key Foundations of Revenue Forecasting To understand further why revenue forecasting is important, you must take great care in maintaining these 3 foundations: 1. Revenue goal Revenue goals are realistic financial targets that improve business growth. These targets or goals must be based on actual market data, not gut data. 2. Revenue pipeline Your revenue pipeline includes active, upcoming, and prospective deals. It acts as a map to show where prospects and existing customers are placed in your sales funnel. The pipeline is where your leads turn into customers and is, therefore, the primary revenue source. 3. Product delivery  You must track and manage the delivery of your product or solution. This includes monitoring: How much of each contract is earned How much of it is due in the future It also covers the management of customer payments and lowering customer churn due to poor delivery. How to Forecast Revenue Using Models Businesses primarily use 4 revenue forecasting models. We’ve discussed each one below. 1. Straight Line Revenue Forecast The simplest of all models, straight line revenue forecast, uses historical data to project revenue growth for a specific period.  It typically assumes that the previous year’s growth rate will remain the same for the next.  The method first determines the revenue growth rate and then calculates forecasted revenue. The formula is:  Current Revenue (1 + Growth Rate / 100) = Revenue Forecast Let’s break this down with an example.  If you’re experiencing a revenue growth rate of 30% in 2022 with current revenue at $100,000, your forecasted revenue for 2023 will be: 100,000 (1 + 30 / 100) = $130,000 Given its simplicity, the straight line model works best for startups or companies preparing their first revenue forecast. A few major drawbacks of this method are that: It assumes the growth rate will remain constant It doesn’t factor in macroeconomic changes  2. Weighted Moving Average Revenue Forecast The model considers moving averages of historical data to create a forecast. Most commonly, businesses use 3 and 5-month forecasts. But feel free to explore, experiment and use this for as short as 1 month, too.  You must add weights to each average to build a more accurate revenue forecasting model.  For example, the revenue for Q1

10 Best Sales Forecasting Tools to Consider in 2025 RevOps 10 min Imagine going on a sailing expedition without any knowledge of the sea conditions or a map to guide you. Sounds scary, right? Just as a skilled sailor carefully studies the currents, weather patterns, and landmarks to plan a successful course, salespeople in today’s ever-evolving sales landscape must harness the power of data, market insights, and strategic foresight to sail their businesses toward success. But wait, let us give you a shocker.  By 2025, over 90% of B2B enterprise sales organizations will continue to rely on intuition instead of advanced data analytics.  The consequences of using intuition are pretty obvious – inaccurate forecasts, broken sales pipeline, and unfulfilled quotas. Now, if you want to become a part of the 10%, having the right sales forecast tools in your tech stack is important.  And we know how hard it is to add tools to your business’ tech stacks without extensive research which is why in this article, we have put together the top 10 sales forecast tools you can choose from.  What is Sales Forecasting? Sales forecasting is the process of estimating future sales of a business based on historical data, market trends, and other relevant factors.  It involves analyzing past sales performance, considering market conditions, and making predictions about future customer demand and purchasing patterns.  The goal of sales forecasting is to help businesses with: Anticipating customer demand, allowing them to align their production, inventory, and resources accordingly Aiding in budgeting, financial planning, and setting realistic sales targets Strategic decision-making, including product development, marketing campaigns, pricing strategies, and expansion plans Evaluating performance, identifying gaps, and making adjustments to achieve sales targets Identifying emerging trends, market opportunities, and potential threats, enabling them to make proactive strategic moves Providing a basis for setting sales targets, incentivizing sales teams, and monitoring individual and team performance Enhancing investor confidence by demonstrating a clear understanding of market dynamics, growth potential, and the ability to generate future revenue What are Sales Forecasting Tools? While we just learned what sales forecasting is. And there are tools available in the market to do just that.  Sales forecasting tools are platforms that assist businesses in predicting and analyzing future sales performance. These tools utilize advanced data analysis techniques, algorithms, and statistical models to provide accurate and actionable sales forecasts.  Common features found in good sales forecasting tools are:  Pre-built or customizable forecasting models Interactive dashboards and visual representations of forecasts Scenario analysis and historical analysis  Collaborative features and performance tracking Real-time updates and integration capabilities  Reporting and analytics Top 10 Best Sales Forecasting Tools to Consider in 2025 Now, we will get straight to the point. After screening through the zillions of sales forecasting tools in the market, we have curated the top 10 out of them. Time to sit back with a notepad and a pen in your hand.  1. Nektar Nektar is an AI for RevOps platform that helps revenue teams get a true view of their CRM data, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and optimize their sales process. Nektar can integrate with any existing GTM (Go-to-Market) tools, so sales teams can use it in conjunction with their current sales stack. By leveraging AI-powered analytics, Nektar provides real-time insights into the sales pipeline, enabling sales teams to identify bottlenecks, opportunities for improvement and forecast their sales accordingly.  Key features of the platform are: Automated tracking of leads, deals, and pipeline metrics Collaborative forecasting & scenario planning Rules configuration  Real-time notifications and alerts Historical data analysis and trend forecasting 2. InsightSquared InsightSquared is a powerful sales analytics platform that provides comprehensive reporting and dashboards. It enables accurate forecasting and pipeline management, empowering businesses with revenue intelligence and data-driven insights.  With its robust tracking and benchmarking capabilities, sales performance can be optimized and strategic future decisions can be made based on actionable analytics. Key features of the platform are: Powerful sales analytics Robust reporting and dashboards Forecasting and pipeline management Revenue intelligence and data-driven insights Sales performance tracking and benchmarking 3. Gong Gong is a conversation analytics platform that revolutionizes sales effectiveness. By recording and transcribing sales calls, it offers valuable insights for coaching, training, and improving sales performance.  Gong’s AI-powered technology provides deal, market, and customer intelligence, helping teams make data-backed decisions and drive revenue growth. Key features of the platform are: Conversation analytics and insights Call recording and transcription Sales coaching and training Deal, market, and customer intelligence AI-powered insights and recommendations 4. Nutshell Nutshell is a user-friendly CRM platform that offers robust contact and lead management. Its intuitive interface simplifies sales pipeline tracking, enabling teams to manage deals effectively.  With seamless email integration and automation, businesses can streamline their communication. Nutshell’s sales analytics and reporting features provide valuable insights for informed decision making.  Key features of the platform are: Contact and lead management Sales pipeline tracking Email integration and automation Sales analytics and reporting 5. Anaplan Anaplan is an integrated business planning platform helps businesses with scenario modeling, forecasting, and budgeting capabilities.  It facilitates sales and operations planning, allowing businesses to align strategies with financial goals. Real-time data analysis and visualization drive informed decision-making, enhancing performance and enabling agile business planning. Key features of the platform are: Integrated business planning Scenario modeling and forecasting Budgeting and financial planning Sales and operations planning Real-time data analysis and visualization 6. HubSpot Sales Hub HubSpot Sales Hub is a comprehensive platform that combines contact and lead management with email tracking and automation. It provides a visual sales pipeline, assisting teams in tracking deals and managing their progress effectively.  With sales analytics and reporting, businesses gain valuable insights to make data-driven sales forecasts. It also offers task and activity management for streamlined sales processes. Key features of the platform are: Contact and lead management Email tracking and automation Deal and pipeline tracking Sales analytics and reporting Sales task and activity management 7. Pipedrive Pipedrive is a visual sales pipeline management tool that helps teams track deals and monitor progress.  It offers contact and lead management, sales reporting, and analytics. With email integration

Top 10 Sales Enablement Software of 2025 RevOps 10 min Your sales reps have a mile-long to-do list. They need to generate leads, manage the pipeline, attend customer meetings, and follow up on a ton of other activities.  You’d agree it’s overwhelming.  With so many things to juggle, it can be difficult for them to figure out where to focus their energy. This multi-tasking is one of the biggest blockers for sales teams today. Shockingly, only 35.2% of a sales rep’s time is spent actively selling.  So, what’s the solution?  Give your sales reps the power they need to succeed with great sales enablement software. In this article, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about sales enablement – from what it actually is, to the benefits you’re missing out on if you’re not using it for your sales team.  Plus, we’ll be sharing the ultimate list of the top 10 sales enablement software that you can use to turn your reps into super-reps.  Top 10 Sales Enablement Software of 2024 1. Nektar 2. SalesLoft 3. Groove 4. Cirrus Insight 5. InsideSales 6. Mixmax 7. Spotio 8. salesSimplify 9. Buzzboard 10. VanillaSoft What is Sales Enablement?  Sales enablement is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s a must-have for any organization that wants to stay competitive in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. Forrester Research Sales enablement is a term that’s been gaining popularity in the business world over the past few years. In a nutshell, it’s all about providing sales teams with the tools and resources they need to be able to sell more and better.  This can include things like product knowledge, sales training, customer insights, sales automation software, and other resources that can help sales reps get better at what they do.  The ultimate goal of sales enablement – increase sales.  Overview of Top 10 Sales Enablement Software of 2024 Now that you know what you should look for, we will give you a detailed comparison of the top 10 sales enablement software in the industry and how they can turn the tables for your sales processes. 1. Nektar   Nektar is a sales productivity platform that helps sales reps improve their performance and hit their targets by using data-driven insights and automation. It offers various tools and features that help streamline the sales process including automated data collection.  The platform enables sales reps to focus on what they do best – building relationships with prospects and closing deals. Nektar’s primary focus is to equip sales teams with the necessary tools and resources to kickstart their sales funnel effectively. The platform enables sales reps to focus on what they do best – building relationships with prospects and closing deals. Nektar’s primary focus is to equip sales teams with the necessary tools and resources to kickstart their sales funnel effectively. Key features: Automated tracking of leads, deals, and pipeline metrics Collaborative forecasting and scenario planning AI-powered revenue optimization insights Rules configuration for sales updates Real-time notifications and alerts for revenue insights Historical data analysis and trend forecasting User-friendly interface with customizable dashboards Integration with popular CRM platforms 2. SalesLoft   SalesLoft is a comprehensive sales engagement platform that is designed to help sales teams streamline their workflows and drive revenue growth.  The platform is known for its focus on personalized outreach and building strong relationships with customers, as well as its ability to provide managers with valuable insights and data to help them optimize their teams’ performance. Overall, SalesLoft aims to help businesses improve their sales processes, drive growth, and achieve their revenue goals. Key features: Email tracking and scheduling Sales automation and cadence management Call tracking and recording Analytics and Reporting Social selling tools Sales coaching and training resources Customizable sales workflows Mobile app for easy access to the sales dashboard 3. Groove   Groove is a sales engagement platform that helps sales teams increase their productivity and efficiency. It offers various functionalities, with a focus on email tracking, CRM integration, sales automation, and analytics and reporting.  The platform is known for its user-friendly interface and ability to be customized to fit the specific needs of each sales team. Its goal is to streamline the sales process, improve collaboration, and ultimately drive better results for businesses. Key features: Email tracking, scheduling, templates, and scheduling Real-time analytics and reporting Customizable sales workflows Sales coaching and training resources Mobile app for on-the-go sales 4. Cirrus Insight   Cirrus Insight is a sales engagement platform that is designed to integrate customer relationship management (CRM) tools like Salesforce, Gmail, and Office 365 into a single, unified platform The main focus is on improving sales productivity and efficiency by enabling sales teams to manage all of their customer interactions and data in one place, while also providing managers with valuable insights to optimize team performance and drive growth. Key features: Email tracking, scheduling, and templates Sales automation and workflow management Analytics and reporting Customer data management and segmentation Lead and opportunity tracking Campaign and pipeline management Calendar integration and scheduling 5. InsideSales   InsideSales is a sales engagement platform that leverages AI and machine learning algorithms to help sales teams prioritize leads, personalize outreach, and close deals more effectively. The tool allows sales reps to work together on deals, share insights and information, and collaborate on sales strategies. The platform’s AI capabilities can also help sales teams identify hidden opportunities and potential areas for growth. Key features: AI-powered predictive analytics  Lead scoring and routing Email and call tracking  Sales coaching and training  Real-time insights and analytics  Mobile app for productive sales  Pipeline management and forecasting  6. Mixmax   Mixmax is an all-in-one sales productivity and communication platform that provides a range of features and tools to help sales teams streamline their workflows, improve productivity, and close more deals.  The platform offers real-time collaboration and commenting, allowing team members to share insights and feedback on sales activities and customer interactions.  Key features: Email tracking and scheduling Email templates and snippets Calendar scheduling Automated and personalized email sequences Analytics and reporting 7. Spotio   Spotio is a

A Revenue Leader’s Guide to a Successful SKO 2025 Sales 10 min As revenue leaders, you must be busy preparing for your Sales Kick Off (SKO) for 2025. With so many challenges being carried forward from the last two years, are you wondering what a modern SKO might look like for the coming year? The approach you take must communicate your go-to-market strategy for the year ahead, and set up your sales reps for success. To make this happen, you will have to address some of the most pressing challenges that your sales reps face. In this article, we have compiled top tips from 15 revenue leaders on what they plan to do differently for their SKO 2025. These are the top use cases these leaders plan to focus on. We believe it will be helpful in making your next SKO a game-changing event and will help you drive your revenue acceleration plans. 1. Understand who your reps are speaking to and at what stage Your sales reps probably speak to multiple prospects on a daily basis. However, the most initial prospects might not always be the most valuable when it comes to closing deals. As the sales cycle proceeds, it’s not uncommon for different personas or buyers to enter the conversations. The more information your reps have on these new entrants, the easier it will be for them to close deals faster. In short, your sales reps must be adequately equipped to handle dynamism with respect to buyer queries at different stages of the sales cycle.  For instance, a deal might be at a later stage in the sales process, and a new persona might enter into the conversations through your email threads. This should not go unnoticed, and your system should alert on the role that this new stakeholder might play in the deal journey.  Instead of being lost on new buyer personas entering the sales conversations, the right tool can help you figure out some of the following questions: Is the new persona valuable in accelerating my deal cycle? Does the new persona have a say in the decision-making process? Does the new persona affect my deal size? Depending on the answers you get, your sales managers can coach reps about the persona(s) that are now a part of the buying committee. They can also educate reps on how to handle the probable objections that might come with them. This way, your sales reps will be alerted and prepared to mould the forthcoming conversations with the new persona in mind.  2. Use activity data to understand if the deal is real Sales pipeline management continues to be one of the most challenging aspects of managing a sales team. While there are automation tools that have made it simpler for sales managers to create detailed sales pipeline reports, the quality of these reports might not always be of value. The key reason is sales pipeline bloating. Over a period of time, your sales pipeline might get bloated with many opportunities that are no longer viable. This happens because your sales reps might not want to eliminate any deal opportunity, even if no conversations have taken place in a long time. Your sales reps might also believe that the bigger the pipeline is, the more value it holds or creates a positive image of their selling skills for their managers. However, the truth is that these opportunities end up wasting time and resources when conversations are missing. They need to be eliminated from the pipeline so that reps can focus on deals that are actually valuable.  If your sales managers have a clear picture of where the pipeline looks bloated, they can decide on how to drive predictable quarters for themselves. The activity data of the reps can be used as a leading indicator to determine which deals are real and whether the deal has a potential to be closed or not.  This significantly improves the sales cycle and helps focus on deals that actually yield positive returns for your organization.  3. Monetize the value of your CRM Sales technology, such as CRM tools have become an integral part of the sales process for top-performing organisations. While CRMs solve a lot of challenges sales teams face, they also have certain limitations. Sales people spend 17 percent of their day entering data into their CRMs. This struggle to find clients, research and keep CRMs up-to-date can suck out the energy of your sales reps, leaving less time for them to spend on more strategic and revenue-generating activities.  CRMs also run the risk of carrying incomplete data as manual entry is prone to error. Overtime, CRM data can also become stale and not really add any value to closing deals. Your sales reps are busy. You need to give them automation solutions that make their lives easier. According to Hubspot’s Global Sales Enablement Report 2021, leaders and managers who use automation as a part of their sales process are exceeding revenues.  Automation is helping reps improve their productivity and close more deals by eliminating manual tasks from their everyday life. By automating parts of their sales process, sales leaders free up rep time to focus on selling.  A system that logs all activities of your sales reps, creates contacts and updates business objects such as accounts and opportunities in your CRM without any human intervention can potentially free up five to six hours of their time per week. Nektar maintains CRM hygiene by automating the data entry process and provides timely and accurate insights on revenue activities, delivering 3 key values -100% CRM hygiene, higher win rates, and increased deal velocity. 4. Improve playbook compliance for consistent selling Poor internal processes can be the major reason causing deals to slip through the cracks. When reps from your teams communicate differently with customers, it might harm your brand’s reputation.  A playbook freezes the sales process to be followed, and helps create a strong foundation for your teams. An HBR study found that 50 percent of high performing sales organisations had sales processes that were closely

10 B2B Sales Closing Techniques for 2025 RevOps 10 min “How hard can you push a client to close a deal?” Sales leaders get asked this question a lot. “Why push at all?” some might answer. If you have clarified the value they’ll get out of your product, they would want to sign up. But you have to be tactical about it. Sometimes customers don’t want to commit until next week, next quarter, and so on. And that’s where sales closing techniques come in. What are Sales Closing Techniques and Why Do They Matter in B2B? For the best sales reps, selling is an exact science. They use tried and tested strategies to: Understand what makes people buy Appeal to those factors to close sales The strategies are based on months of researching accounts, studying the market, and decoding buyer behavior.  But let’s face the facts. Selling B2B is not easy.  Remote sales even less so.  B2B deals have many layers to them – multiple buyers, pain points, sign-offs, etc.  Priorities can change overnight. People may tell you they don’t have the budget after months of follow-up. Effective B2B sales closing techniques can give reps a fighting chance. And help the team speed up sales. So, here’s our list of 10 B2B Sales Closing Techniques for 2024: 1. Always ask about their goals for the product For VPs and CEOs, buying decisions are black or white.  Your product either meets their needs or it doesn’t.   So, think about what they want from the product.  Don’t hesitate to ask if you aren’t sure.  And tie your product solutions to them.   This will help you contextually explain your value proposition. To do this: Look beyond the sales script and ICP data. Put people first. Ask your own leadership team about the current market outlook Look up case studies or ask your LinkedIn contacts about problems that CEOs obsess about. You might have already talked to their team members before getting into a meeting with the CEO. But always ask them about their biggest goals for the year.  Hear out their perspective and use the same words they use to describe the problem. Then position your product as the answer. 2. Don’t engage in discount-based selling Asking about their goals can be a great way to qualify them.  They’ll tell you what they’re spending money on.  You’ll likely be able to tell how likely they are to buy. Ask them, “How important is XX goal to you?” Or “By when does this initiative need to be completed? Explain how your product can help them achieve it.  You might find some don’t have objective criteria for evaluating a product. Rare but not unheard of. Some buyers might change their buying criteria to match changing business needs.  And it might all come down to the pricing.  They may tell you that they’re considering other alternatives. If so, list all the core benefits plus any additional support or consulting you offer.  Be sure to highlight the impact – both good and bad. If they push for a discount, try to start at a higher price point.  But never offer one upfront. 3. Competitor comparisons can be an opportunity – use them well. You have to dig deep when clients bring up competitors.  It could be a renewal or a fresh proposal.  You know how good your product is relative to the competition.  You have provided quantifiable data and testimonials to build your case.  Now it’s time to take it up a notch. Ask, “On a scale of 1-10, how well is Product XX working for you?  Listen closely to what they say. There could be areas of concern you can capitalize on.  If yes, ask “What would need to happen for it to be a 10?” Use the clients’ own words to describe the problem and segue to how your product solves them. Confirm they understand by asking: “Can you see how our product solves this problem? “Would rate us higher on this metric?”  Discuss any other concerns that might come up. 4. Lead with a Mutual Action Plan (MAP) A MAP literally ‘maps’ out who needs to do what to close the deal.  It can help set clear expectations for all involved.  This approach reduces risk for the buyer too. But be sure to highlight three things: The estimated timeframe for closing the deal What it’s going to cost – both to you and them. (due diligence, contracts, compliance) The number of people will be involved on either side. Slip it in that it will take 3X to 4X the time with other vendors they may be considering. This is a surefire way to know if they’re ready to move forward with you. Either way, email them a summary of the discussion and ask them to confirm.  This will help you build credibility with the client even if they don’t close. 5. Use ‘the word ‘we’, not ‘you’ You may have been given plenty of advice on how to build rapport. Pace and match the client Find common experiences But there’s something much simpler you can do to get the same results- replace ‘you’ with ‘we’.  Say it enough times and you’ll collapse the barrier between buyer and seller.  It makes clients think you’re on their side. “We’re both interested in helping you reach XX goal. I’ll do what I can to get you what you want.” 6. Get them to do the Yes Set A Yes Set is a series of 3 yeses you want the client to give you.  You ask 3 questions that have obvious ‘yes’ answers, conditioning the client to agree when you finally ask them the big question. 7. Be assumptive when asking them to close This is quite similar to the yes technique.  It involves the use of language that implies that the deal is done.  For example, “Do you want to sign up for our Starter Plan or Enterprise Plan?” A word of caution: use it only when you think the prospect is ready to buy.

What is Salesforce Duplicate Management? RevOps 10 min Salesforce duplicate management is a cause of worry for most businesses. It fills up the CRM with untrustworthy data. And the insights drawn from that data become questionable. Duplicity in Salesforce is when customer data is entered multiple times in the system leading to confusion, inefficiencies, and inaccurate reporting of leads. Sales duplicity management is an issue that leading companies of the world are dealing with.  Duplicate data in Salesforce describes a situation where two or more records in your database describe one unique real-world entity. For example, suppose you possess a contact named Ariana Grande, but your CRM comprises several contact entries representing Ariana Grande, each with some differences (A. Grande, Ari Grande). Duplicate data often results in lead ownership and sales commission confusion. The customer, on the other hand, gets conflicting messages and redundant calls, causing a negative impression of the organization.  The problem of duplicate data in Salesforce is huge, with most CRMs having 15-30% duplicate records. New records coming from integrations are almost 80% duplicate on average! How Duplicate Data is killing your Salesforce Effectiveness Let’s have a detailed look at how duplicate data might be hindering your Salesforce CRM’s effectiveness.  1. Poor customer experience Imagine receiving identical emails twice or having to repeat your issue to customer support because they are looking at different records. Such experiences can be frustrating and hamper the customer experience, which Salesforce aims to provide seamlessly. Duplicate records in Salesforce create the opposite effect, disrupting the smooth customer experience and undermining customer satisfaction. 2. Wasted sales opportunities Duplicate data in Salesforce can lead to wastage and frustration for the sales team. For instance, if a salesperson contacts a lead that another salesperson is already engaging in, it can result in wasted time, added frustration, and a poor experience for the lead.  An excessive number of duplicates can also erode salespersons’ trust in the data in Salesforce. Consequently, they may either extensively verify each contact before reaching out or skip checking background data altogether. 3. Unnecessary costs Businesses that utilize physical marketing materials like brochures, sample kits, and direct mail might suffer financial losses by sending the same materials to a person twice. This practice is not only wasteful but also harmful to the environment.  Moreover, certain software licenses are tied to the total number of records. Removing duplicates can minimize the number of records and associated costs. 4. Inflated forecasts The process of forecasting involves evaluating the number of prospects that are likely to progress through the marketing and sales funnel. However, inflated numbers caused by duplicates in the data can result in overly optimistic forecasts, which may be unattainable.  For example, if two sales representatives work on the same opportunity and enter the same data into Salesforce, the opportunity will be counted twice in the forecast. When there are multiple records for the same customer or prospect, it can be difficult to get an accurate view of the customer’s history, preferences, and needs. This can lead to misinformed sales strategies and missed opportunities. 5. Bad decision-making Effective decision-making begins with a unified view of the customer, consolidating all customer data into one view. This view can comprise various types of data, such as click data, transactional data, and contact information, and can enable cross-channel marketing and other capabilities. Measuring the impact of actions across all channels is crucial for making informed decisions. However, duplicates in the database can prevent a comprehensive analysis of specific customers and make the aggregated data unsuitable for analysis. With duplicity in Salesforce hurting organizations so viciously, companies are trying to find solutions to this common problem. One such solution is – Automation.  Automation in Salesforce can be used to prevent duplicates by implementing data quality rules, identifying potential duplicates, and automating routine data management tasks. This can improve data accuracy, reduce the risk of errors, and ensure consistency in customer data. What are the various ways in which Automation can mitigate the issue of duplicate data in Salesforce? Let’s have a look.  How Automation Can Resolve the Problem of Salesforce Duplicity Management What are the various ways in which automation can mitigate the issue of duplicate data in Salesforce? Let’s have a look.  1. Automated data entry instead of manual work Automated data entry can help prevent duplicate data in Salesforce by reducing the likelihood of human errors that often occur during manual data entry. With automation, data can be extracted from various sources and integrated into Salesforce without manual intervention, thereby minimizing the risk of creating duplicates. Automation can also check for duplicates in real time, and if detected, the system can either merge or delete the duplicate record automatically. 2. Audit before importing data Auditing data before importing it into Salesforce can identify and eliminate potential duplicates before they are introduced into the system. This involves thoroughly reviewing existing data and cross-referencing it against the new data to be imported. By doing so, businesses can identify any existing records that match the imported data and take the necessary actions to merge or delete them. 3. Implement validation rules to enforce data standards  Implementing validation rules in Salesforce can help prevent duplicate data by enforcing data standards and ensuring that new data being entered meets specific criteria. These rules can be set up to validate different types of data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. For example, suppose a validation rule is set up to prevent the creation of multiple contact records with the same email address. In that case, any attempt to create a new record with an existing email address will trigger an error, preventing the duplicate record from being created. This can improve data accuracy, reduce the risk of errors, and ensure consistency in customer data. 4. Proper validation on all CRM-connected forms Implementing proper validation on all CRM-connected forms can help prevent duplicate data by ensuring that new data being entered meets specific criteria before it is added to Salesforce. This

An Artificial Intelligence Layer is Only as Good as the Data Underneath It 2025 saw the rise of more tools and consolidation in the sales tech market. With this, there has been some debate about what the future might look like.  Will companies continue to invest in point solutions?  Or will the customers prefer an “all in one” tool that takes care of most of their needs? Well, only time will reveal what the landscape will look like.  But what is clear is customers prefer technology that helps them close more revenue, and address gaps that exist throughout the customer lifecycle. The entire customer journey, from lead to opportunity to revenue is riddled with complexities.  Tools that help drive a unified visibility across the funnel and align teams with clean and complete data will be successful in coming times. And an intelligence layer is what can take companies closer to their revenue targets.   What is an Intelligence Layer? An intelligence layer is the key that unlocks the data and exposes patterns that have long been trapped in databases and applications.  This layer knows how to make use of data that is continuously streaming into systems and has the ability to provide insights at the time of need. This layer also is intelligent enough to know that it needs to continuously evolve and adapt to keep itself updated.  In that way, it has the ability to marry historical context with the continuous oncoming of data about accounts, opportunities and prospects. And offers predictive signals into what can add value to the buying journey at any given point in time.  Image Source These signals can open up the possibilities of real-time predictive engagement. This makes it proactive, rather than reactive. It is the battle for this system of action that will win the sales tech game.  Revenue leaders are asking – “Which solution can deliver the best insights in a single User Interface that serves as a rep’s point of decision and point of action?” Whether it’s deciding who to reach out to, which deal to go after this week, or which deal to revive, an intelligence layer shares a predictive list of actions that pushes your teams towards deal closure.  These insights are highly valuable as it produces signals to ensure customer-facing teams are always focused on the highest-value and most-likely-to-convert accounts at all times. The Real Story: It’s Not Just About the Algorithms While this intelligence layer will definitely be the winner in coming times, the usefulness of it will depend on the data underneath it.  Because AI requires meaningful data to recommend improvements that help improve revenue outcomes. In short, building an intelligence layer requires business to have a solid data layer underneath it.  Otherwise even the best of breed cannot undo the effects that bad data has on revenue. Unfortunately, most businesses are still struggling with data quality.  A recent survey by Modern Sales Pros along with Buzzboard revealed the following: Only 6% of respondents reported being highly confident of their data. 58% of respondents reported data accuracy as the number one reason impacting their ability to collect quality data. 37% said poor quality data leads to poor conversion rates. Clearly, data quality is a challenge for organizations currently.  The questions revenue leaders must ask are: What will be my data source when I deploy generative AI apps?  Do I trust the quality of my data? Is my data clean and accurate to drive reliable insights for my business? For a business that is unsure of the quality of data it has in its systems, adding even the most advanced generative AI solution to their tech stack won’t improve their revenue outcomes.  It will add more tech debt to their business. Such data inefficiencies prevent an intelligence layer from delivering its true potential.  Bad Quality Data Leads to Poor Conversions Incomplete and inaccurate contact data has a direct impact on conversion rates, and hence revenue.  In a survey, 37% of revenue professionals said poor data fuels poor conversion rates.  Without the right data and insights at their disposal, demand generation and sales teams are unable to: Get the right leads into their sales funnel.  Nurture those leads down the funnel. Identify the most viable prospects to engage with. Run highly personalized campaigns and outreach This is where the intelligence layer (AI) has to converge with data to help organizations meet their current gaps in revenue generation.  Accurate, rich and complete account data is foundational to build an AI driven sales organization.  And those who don’t invest in a strong foundation may not be able to withstand the rapid pace and changes in today’s sales environment.  Characteristics of Good Quality Data The quality of your data rests on a number of characteristics that it must meet. Data quality is considered superior when it is: Accurate Automated Complete Timely All of these characteristics come together to determine data quality – the basis for making good decisions.  A quality dataset is crucial to support successful AI, as models are only as good as the data you put in them. This idea of data quality is an important part of having a solution that delivers consistent results.   Checklist to Assess Your Data Quality If you think you have good quality data in your systems, ask again. Here is a checklist of questions we have that can help you assess your current data quality status. Top of the funnel: Is your data accurate and timely to maximize buying group intelligence to opportunity conversion? Does your data allow you to increase your speed-to-lead ratio? Can you identify your high intent leads? Does your sales and marketing team have actionable visibility into account based execution? Do you have access to lost contacts and relationships? Does your data capture partner activities? Middle of the funnel: Do you have confidence in your pipeline numbers? Do you know which deals to prioritize in the pipeline? Do you have data about your buying group and their engagement? Are your reps able to multithread with the right accounts? Do you