Even as businesses evolve, two things remain the same: Sellers want to become more productive, and B2B buyers wish to make purchases that help them solve business challenges. Technology that accelerates sales helps sellers achieve both by driving efficiency and streamlining buyer engagement.

So, what is sales acceleration? This guide will cover the basics of sales acceleration, why it matters and what sales acceleration technology your organisation can use to increase revenue.

First, let’s start by defining “sales acceleration”.

What is sales acceleration?

Sales acceleration is the strategic use of content, analytics and resources by go-to-market (GTM) teams to deliver meaningful buyer engagements that increase deal velocity. They implement certain content, analytics and resources that are relevant to their target audience to form a meaningful connection and entice them to learn more.

The Sales Acceleration Formula 

Surprisingly, the sales acceleration formula is a new standard for businesses. It was first introduced to most companies and widely popularised by the book called The Sales Acceleration Formula. Written by Mark Roberge and released in 2015, The Sales Acceleration Formula provides predictable sales acceleration strategies and new approaches to building a sales team to increase revenue. The book is worth a read, but here are the key points to know:

Hire the salespeople that are best for you

While some candidates may have objectively better resumes than others, that doesn’t mean they’ll be better for you. Every salesperson has their own unique skill set, and no two individuals will have the same approach to selling. It’s essential to hire salespeople with skills that complement each other and your company’s style. 

Train sales reps to understand their audience

It’s common for businesses to have new hires study the methods of a sales manager, observing things like demos, walk-throughs and assessments. However, this method doesn’t instil effective knowledge or skills across a team. Sellers need to complete a training programme in order to be aware of your organisation’s specific buyer journey, sales process and personas.

Make agreements and hold teams accountable

“Service Level Agreements,” as Roberge referred to them, create a well-defined framework for both the sales and marketing teams to reference between the transferring of leads and other resources/information. Laying down these measurable expectations regarding what is owed between the two groups is essential to getting them aligned.

Improve efficiency with technology

Much of the tech sales teams use is geared toward the sales leaders rather than the salespeople. Sales teams accomplish more when technology is deployed with the sellers in mind. However, they would greatly benefit if you leveraged said technology for their needs. It allows them to better track engagement with different content and prospects. These tools also provide teams with greater data and insights that they can then use this data to optimise sales.

Why does sales acceleration matter?

As mentioned earlier, sales cycles have changed significantly as sellers and buyers adapted to digital-first selling motions. Sellers who were previously accustomed to in-person meetings, business travel and client dinners suddenly found themselves at home, staring at a screen. Sellers need to build relationships with customers through highly relevant, personalised content experiences in digital-first sales cycles. Adopting sales acceleration technologies can support go-to-market teams navigating increasingly complex deal cycles.

Digital-first sales motions are the new normal. In fact, McKinsey found that 75% of buyers prefer to continue digital interactions. 97% of buyers are willing to spend up to $50,000 in virtual environments, and 15% are willing to spend $1 million without meeting face-to-face.

To capitalise on these opportunities, sellers need to be equipped with the right content for the right buyer at the right time. Empathy and trust also help accelerate deals. But, in order to build trust, sellers need to understand buyer needs and identify content that will address their business challenges.

Sales enablement solutions simplify these tasks, freeing up time for sellers to focus on building relationships and supporting the buyer.

How can businesses increase sales acceleration?

By now it’s hopefully clear that sales acceleration is quickly becoming a key component of an organisation’s success. So when it comes to increasing sales acceleration in your organisation, there are several best practices to consider. Investing in the right sales accelerator tools and using the following best practices can work wonders for your sales team.

Align go-to-market teams

Sales acceleration starts with GTM alignment. When sales and marketing are on the same page, it streamlines buyer engagement. By enabling them to better communicate and share necessary information and resources via a clearly defined framework, you can also improve alignment and efficiency.

Deliver ongoing sales training

Sales reps need to be equipped with knowledge and skills to do their jobs effectively. And while sales onboarding is crucial to delivering this information, organisations also need to ensure they provide sellers with continuous sales training that equips them with the tools and information they need to keep accelerating deals. 

Provide personalised coaching

It’s not enough to just train sales reps during the onboarding process. The sales process constantly changes and evolves, so sellers need constant coaching to stay up-to-date with the best sales strategies.

Review sales insights and data

To optimise the sales and advertising processes, a company must invest in sales acceleration software that can help them obtain, track and store relevant insights and data. With this information, they can optimise their processes based on what content garners more engagement with different audiences. Sales enablement solutions driven by artificial intelligence (AI) give sellers intelligent, insights-driven content recommendations that boost sales acceleration. 

Invest in the right sales enablement platforms

The last key component to effective deal acceleration is investing in the right sales acceleration and sales enablement platform. Software like Seismic provides all of the tools and capabilities you need to optimise your sales enablement and make your team’s sales process as smooth and efficient as possible.

Types of sales acceleration solutions and tools

There are a variety of sales and marketing technologies that enable sales acceleration. Organisations with well-integrated GTM tech stacks generate vast amounts of data that allow them to make insights-driven content decisions. Some of the sales enablement technologies they use to support sales acceleration include:

Analytics: Content analytics enable GTM teams to track content from when it’s created to when it’s shared. Tracking content usage and performance gives marketers insights into the content sellers use and how it performs with buyers.

Sales content solutions: Sellers can’t use content they don’t know exists. Investing in a dedicated content management system allows marketers to upload, categorise and tag content in a way that simplifies discovery for sellers.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software: Sellers are more likely to leverage sales enablement technology when it integrates with the tools they already use. Integrating CRM with sales enablement technology allows sellers to personalise content using context-rich insights.

Email: Connecting with buyers by email is more important than ever. Sending personalised notes that include relevant, resonant content helps sellers remain top-of-mind while building relationships at scale.

Learning and coaching: Sales teams that want to create a consistent training programme that’s scalable and efficient can do so with training and coaching software. This ensures everyone is onboarded, trained and coached for improvement.

Marketing enablement: GTM alignment is the most impactful way to accelerate sales. When marketing and sales are on the same page, they can partner to produce the right content to address customer needs.

Predictive content: Sellers are more productive when intelligent content recommendations are at their fingertips. Sales enablement technology allows sellers to easily discover and personalise the most relevant content based on context-driven insights.

How does Seismic enable sales acceleration?

Seismic is the industry-leading sales enablement solution. Our software helps align and empower GTM teams to deliver engaging buyer experiences that drive growth. Our platform enables marketers to share content across all channels so that sellers can deliver personalised, meaningful content experiences to prospects at every stage of their buying journey. And by combining key features into a single, unified solution, organisations can comprehensively view, manage and improve all of their go-to-market efforts.

By understanding what works, GTM teams can leverage their findings from the Seismic platform to scale best practices across the organisation. Seismic also offers AI-guided selling solutions that further enable sales acceleration. Ready to see how we can help your organisation accelerate deals and drive revenue growth? Click here to get a demo!