Q: What do sales leaders, meteorologists, and economists all have in common? A: Their jobs all depend on being able to accurately answer the question, ‘What’s going to happen tomorrow?’ It’s a tough ask, and in many ways, sales leaders have the most difficult time of them all when predicting the shape of tomorrow. Unlike meteorologists or economists, their industry doesn’t use data as the bedrock of forming their forecasts. This has to change. Accurate sales forecasting is one of the most important skills sales leaders and sales organizations as a whole can have. Correctly predicting the deal ..read more

As anyone who works at ZoomInfo will tell you, we move fast and with purpose. So it’s no surprise that less than two months after acquiring Chorus, a conversation intelligence platform, we worked quickly to upgrade the integration between the products.  These upgrades focus on three areas: Easier access to Chorus’ Momentum Insights feature Automatic transcription of calls from ZoomInfo Engage More accurate data feeding into Chorus  The integrations help revenue teams develop stronger prospect and customer relationships, make better decisions, and win more business.  Steven Br ..read more

Lead response time can make or break your sale.  Need proof? Consider the data: According to HBR, if you don’t respond in 5 mins, the probability of establishing contact decreases by a whopping 400%. InsideSales says that you’re 100x more likely to actually speak with them if you engage within 5 minutes of them indicating interest. On average, an SDR takes about 42 hours to get in touch with their prospect — but that doesn’t have to be you.  You put a lot of effort towards getting your buyers to even visit your site in the first place, so once you have them there, there’s no time ..read more

SaaS, and business in general, is full of terms that sound similar but carry different meanings, the kind of terms that newcomers (and sometimes those who should know better) are prone to trip on. You can add “business development vs. sales” to that long list. Sales is, well, sales: bringing your product to individuals in your predetermined target market segment. Business development can concern anything your company does to expand its market reach. Some finance and operations professionals use these two terms interchangeably. You’ll even see sales rep positions advertised online under the ti ..read more

You’re scrolling through a website, and bam — there it is. That little chat pop-up in the corner that’s calling your name (literally). This piece of AI technology is revolutionizing the buyer journey today. Is it time to add chatbots (or live chat) to your demand engine? Chances are you’ve probably encountered your fair share of chatbots as a buyer. Whether it’s to access fast customer support, resolve a technical issue, or simply connect to a sales representative, more and more companies are adopting chatbots and conversational marketing platforms to their websites. For some, chatbots are th ..read more

The way people communicate has been transformed significantly. The modern buyer is now accustomed to real-time, instant communication through the WhatsApps, Slacks, and Facebook Messengers of the world — and they expect the same always-available communication in their B2B buying journey.  Chatbots, conversational marketing, live chat, etc., enable marketers to offer 24/7 customer-centric communication for the buyer journey. Chat platforms are currently at the front end of adoption, but there are other numerous options available. Choosing the right solution for your company is n ..read more

In sales, as with any other field or practice, sometimes you need to think outside the box to come out on top. Knowing the rules for a sales call is vital; so is knowing when to break those rules. That’s all the more important during this tumultuous post-pandemic period. Our research has shown how much sales calls have changed in the last year. There are more touchpoints per closed-won deal. Longer sales cycles. More C-level participation on calls. The old rulebook has been thrown out the window, so it’s time to make some of your own rules. Our research has also shown how ..read more

One of the many benefits of conversational marketing is its ability to accelerate your sales cycle. After all, it is built for and used by both your marketing and sales teams to drive pipeline and generate revenue. So knowing how to use the two in coherence with one another is critical. Regardless of whether you’re using automated chatbots, your sales development reps (SDRs) as live agents, or a combination of both, it’s important to identify who your qualified prospects really are. Elsewhere, we’ve classified the prospects that visit your site into six high-level categories. Each one has a d ..read more

The sales and marketing landscape has changed dramatically over the last year. At least 25% of you are reading this article from your smartphone—on the go or from your home office. You’re selling from your home office, too.  With hybrid or fully remote models now the norm for you and your customers, the need to stay “mobile” and flexible is more imperative than ever. ZoomInfo’s Mobile App for sales professionals puts the convenience of instantaneous access to actionable, high-quality B2B data in your back pocket. Whether you need to access contact information before a call or meeting, wa ..read more

No business can survive for long without a healthy sales pipeline. It’s what keeps your sales team organized and focused on managing opportunities to close deals. It helps you forecast revenue and business growth and provides insight to drive new initiatives. Unfortunately, many B2B organizations suffer from ineffective sales pipeline management. The symptoms are almost always the same: Sales teams waste time delivering demos to unqualified leads. No one follows up with promising opportunities. High-value deals get stuck. The outcome is always the same, too: low close-won rat ..read more