Sales productivity with Gong's ears!

The reverberance of revenue!

Mar 13, 2024

You’ve assembled a solid sales team, set clear targets for them, and have given them autonomy to do what it takes to chase those targets, but the targets are getting more elusive by the quarter. What do you do?

The knee-jerk reaction might be to expand the team, assuming that more hands would mean better results. This approach is essentially just throwing money at the symptom without identifying the problem and fixing the root cause. While hiring might temporarily ease the pressure, it is not likely to yield sustainable improvements in performance. What’s worse, it could actually harm the team because once the temporary fix wears off, the team members will be left with low morale and confidence.

So, what could be the possible solution here? Should we not hire more personnel, but instead use that money we spend on overheads towards something else? Maybe invest in tools that could help the existing team analyze what they are doing right and where they are going wrong?

Absolutely! Because sales is no longer solely reliant on the charm and persistence of Sales Development Representatives (SDRs). It’s important to understand the clients’ needs on a deeper level, and for that, SDRs must use the right tools to analyze and respond to those needs.

Solving the sales productivity sudoku

Sales productivity is the engine that keeps a sales team running smoothly. It's all about finding the right balance between getting things done well and getting them done quickly.

It’s like solving a Sudoku. You aim to efficiently place the numbers in the right positions without taking too much time to complete it.

A productive sales team:

⛽fuels the bottom line: When your sales team kicks into high gear and works efficiently, it's like adding rocket fuel to your business's money-making engine! If SDRs are doing a great job, it helps your company grow.

😊sparks smiles in the office: When SDRs feel that their hard work contributes to the company's success, they're more satisfied with their jobs. This boosts morale, reduces turnover, and creates a positive work environment, which again supports revenue generation.

The converse is true too. When the sales team underperforms, the company’s revenue takes a hit, potentially leading to its downfall.

An SDR’s compass

Research by Gong.io has found that only 4% of emails get replies. This isn’t surprising, considering only 25% of buyers feel sellers understand their role in the business and only 13% of buyers feel outreach messages truly address a challenge relevant to the organization.

Understanding the significance of revenue in sales productivity, it's crucial to grasp the technology behind analyzing their correlation, or what we call revenue intelligence.

Sales professionals need data to make smart choices and that's where revenue intelligence steps in.

What if you overestimate your sales pipeline and end up short on money? Or if you underestimate it, putting too much pressure on your team? With revenue intelligence, you can avoid these problems by having a clear picture of your sales process.
It's like having an advanced system analyze all your sales data. It helps you understand your sales team, and your customers, and even predicts how much money you'll make.

In fact, without revenue intelligence, you're almost flying blind. You might think you know what's going on, but you're missing out on important details that could make or break your business.

Revenue intelligence gives you insights that help you make better decisions. Whether it's figuring out which customers to focus on or predicting how much money you'll make next month, revenue intelligence stands by you.

Now, let's see how revenue intelligence can refine every step of the sales process:

Customer Interactions: Today, making each customer feel special is highly important. With revenue intelligence, you can totally change how you talk to customers.
Deal Execution: Knowing who's involved in the sales process and when to bring them in can make a big difference. Revenue intelligence helps you make smarter decisions about how to close deals.
Coaching: With revenue intelligence, sales leaders can see what's working and what's not, so they can help their team improve.
Forecasting: Revenue intelligence helps you make accurate forecasts by analyzing all your sales data.

Listening with Gong.io

(Image Courtesy: Gong.io)

“An average sales rep conversation with a prospect is 6000 words, yet the average number of words that make it into a CRM entry is 30.” - Craig Hanson, Senior Director, Market Strategy at Gong

Gong.io is a platform that harnesses the power of AI to change how businesses track, listen to, and analyze customer interactions. It's specifically designed for business-to-business (B2B) companies, offering invaluable insights into customer profiles, sales strategies, and team performance.

So, how does Gong.io work its magic?

Calendar Integration: Gong seamlessly syncs with your company's calendar system. Once connected, Gong's AI scans your scheduled meetings to identify sales calls, demos, or team meetings to record.
Recording: During your meetings, Gong's "Gong bot" records the audio and screen sharing in the background, without any disruption.
Transcription: After the meeting, Gong automatically transcribes the audio into text. This allows you to analyze the conversation in detail, from the language used to the key information exchanged.
Analysis: Gong goes a step further and presents you with valuable insights on your dashboard, helping you identify new sales strategies and areas for improvement.
Past Recordings: You can upload recordings from previous meetings to the Gong.io platform, where they are stored and transcribed, just like real-time meeting recordings.

Gong's sales team's not-so-secret weapon

We’re talking about ANALYTICS

According to Gong’s sales team, tracking the right metrics is key to success. In 2020, Gong's sales department refined its data tracking strategies to focus on essential metrics.

How did they do it?

They chose the right metrics: While many sales departments drown in overwhelming data, Gong's approach emphasized on activity, product, revenue, and conversation intelligence metrics. These are the metrics that provide a comprehensive view of the company's performance.

They made use of conversation intelligence: With this, they could uncover insights into why deals close and how to replicate successful practices. So, they started analyzing verbal themes and patterns in customer interactions.

They empowered their SDRs: Gong enabled its sales reps to track conversations and key performance indicators (KPIs) effectively. SDRs used conversational analytics to tailor their approach based on prospect needs.

They identified coaching opportunities: Employing conversation data and KPIs, they identified areas where SDRs need coaching. Identifying inconsistencies in sales rep data allowed Gong to ensure that its team members were using effective tactics.

They accessed the voice of the customer: Understanding the voice of the customer is crucial for sales success. Gong used data to study customer feedback, market trends, and messaging effectiveness, informing its sales strategy.

They used data strategically: Rather than over-monitoring rep activity, Gong emphasized using analytics insights to strengthen the sales pipeline and train reps effectively. This strategic approach optimized the time spent on coaching and decision-making.

They adapted to changes: Gong's sales team recognized shifts in sales trends and pivoted their strategy accordingly, adjusting KPIs and metrics to reflect changing business needs.

Sales Win with Gong's AI

“According to Gartner, by 2025, 70% of all B2B seller-buyer interactions will be recorded and analyzed using AI or machine learning.”

Gong now is, of course, weaving AI into its product so as to help sales teams win more deals.

Gong's research division conducted an analysis of over 1 million sales opportunities across nearly 1,500 customers.
Sales representatives using Gong’s AI-powered features like Smart Trackers and Ask Anything achieved higher win rates compared to those not leveraging the technology.
Teams using Smart Trackers had a 35% higher win rate, identifying key deal characteristics through natural language processing. And saw a 26% increase in win rates with the Ask Anything feature that enabled reps to quickly surface insights by querying accounts and deals.

Gong ensures that its AI translates raw data into meaningful recommendations and workflows for sales teams, driving adoption and business impact.
The organization’s findings align with the rapid acceleration of AI adoption across the enterprise sales sector.
AI frees up significant time for sales professionals by handling tedious tasks such as call recording reviews and email writing.
In terms of accuracy, Gong focuses on highly accurate AI outputs trained on real sales conversations, reducing biases and ensuring precise communication.
As AI becomes further integrated into sales processes, Gong expects it to orchestrate entire revenue workflows and improve productivity across various business roles.

Gong's transformative AI capabilities showcase the immense potential of employing data for actionable insights, revolutionizing sales processes. By enhancing productivity, providing deeper pipeline visibility, and driving revenue growth, Gong's AI tools have become indispensable assets for sales teams.

These benefits extend beyond just sales performance. Marketing teams can glean valuable insights from customer conversations to inform content strategies, while product teams can prioritize features based on direct client feedback. Just like turning on a bright light in a dark room, this newfound clarity can empower leaders to make more confident decisions.

Here’s hoping you’re able to get this kind of clarity in everything you do! Wishing you an amazing rest of the week. Ciao!👋