Many business-to-business firms use sales engagement or marketing automation platforms. These solutions track buyers’ online behavior, and guide and automate many selling activities.
Firms marketing these solutions claim they improve sales effectiveness and productivity, but their true benefits to sales organizations remain unclear.
In new research, a team of academic researchers examine these claims in a series of studies (one qualitative and three quantitative). Their findings show that sales engagement platforms can improve the quality of salesperson–lead interactions, which in turn drives improvements in sales productivity, primarily by improving the information available to both buyers and sellers. However, these effects strongly depend on a lead’s sales cycle length, expected sales volume, and preexisting relationship with the seller.
Ultimately, they conclude that understanding sales engagement software’s impact requires a contingency view — one which rejects industry claims at face value, and verifies these solutions’ tangible impact taking into account selling context. Drawing on insights from depth interviews, the research also offers insight into the management competences, software characteristics, and opportunity nurturing activities that most improve seller-lead interactions and information quality.
This session is free to join and open to the public. Become a basic member ($0), login, and return to this page to register.
