How are things in the field of sales tech right now?

Two weeks ago, there was another Dealcode, Sales Coffee. This time, however, not only with Dealcode but with a special guest. Janine Will, Director of Sales at Facelift, answered questions from Dealcode Founder in an interview.

Titled "Sales - Tools in practice and what meaning they have", - Janine gave some exciting insights. We have summarized four compelling questions and answers in this article.

Assessment of the benefit of sales tools

A recent survey by Gartner found that about 75% of salespeople say that current sales tools do not help them to work more effectively and productively. Is that a number you can confirm or say you understand where it's coming from?

Absolutely! So anyone who works in sales knows that sales tools are a burden. We don't like using them, as you all know, because a tool is only as good as the person who enters or evaluates the data there. And many tools are not connected to phone systems or just an AI, so they always create extra work and more work. Therefore they are not as well maintained. In the sales leader role, drawing evaluations from that does not really make it easy. So I would have estimated the number higher as well.

Challenges in sales

What do you see as the biggest challenges in sales, also with regard to technology, that you encounter?

I think the biggest challenge for a salesperson is always to keep motivation high. As the saying goes, "Sales is an iron man, not a marathon." It would be best if you had the motivation to turn on the computer every morning and think, who am I calling now? Why am I calling this person? And do I call this person or do I instead write an e-mail? In doing so, the question arises, "What's the point for me or the company?" And that's also the limit of every tool I know. Unfortunately, they're all not yet that intelligent that they can tell me, "A wonderful good morning, here are your 50 customers that you should call today and by the way, you also have 3 offers that have expired." Maybe today is the day they come." That's the kind of thing, even tech-wise, where we have high hopes for Dealcode in particular as well.

Tools for Sales Reps

We've noticed that tools used in sales are often just made for management and less focused on the sales reps. But the bottom line is that individual reps need to be successful, and that's how they move the company forward. Do you know of any tools that are made for sales reps?

Wow, that's a very, very exciting question. I think I once looked at it from that perspective myself as a sales rep, but not for a long time. No, I can't think of a tool that is built for the Sales Rep. Period!

Implementation challenges

Following that, what might be the challenges of implementing sales tools? Some statistics show about one out of every two CRM licenses goes unused.

I think the biggest challenge is adoption. As soon as you come around the corner with tools in a sales organization, it's initially similar to processes. "I was able to do that before. I don't need to. I could do that before." There is a fear of control, of too high or potentially pointless specifications, and of losing time and productivity.

For this reason, you clearly have to start with awareness. Then it's also about added value. What can the tool bring to each individual and me? And the added weight can only be there for the whole company. For example, suppose you say that an employee no longer has to fill out 30 Excel spreadsheets every Monday morning but enters it into a tool to be evaluated at the management level at the push of a button. In that case, that is also added value for the company.

The solution ?!

Dealcode is close on the heels of solutions to these problems. Today, we can already show sales teams the hottest deals and recommend what activities to do next. With data-driven win probabilities and risk levels, we're no longer aligning sales based on gut instinct and taking sales teams to the next level. That's why you should definitely check out Dealcode! To get acquainted, here is a quick tour.

Feel like watching all of the Sales Coffee topics? Check out our website for the whole recording.