Quick question: If you had the opportunity to promote one salesperson on your team, how would you choose the person? You'd base it on their sales performance, right? What if you weren't tracking individual sales per employee? How would you know who performs best?

If your sales team makes a sale without knowing how the customer heard about your product, does it really matter? Yes, it matters. You've lost an invaluable chance to learn critical information that could help your team immensely.

Forrester reports that 82% of marketers think that data from their inbound sales calls show "costly blind spots" in their sales process. Yet 60% say their companies don't track the data they need to convert prospects and customers. Analyzing call data is much easier with the help of call tracking. 

Sherlock Holmes once said, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." While he may be a fictional detective, he is absolutely correct. He is essentially saying that theories without facts to back them up are just assumptions.

This can be dangerous in sales. With millions of dollars in both expenses and revenues at stake, launching any sales initiative by merely assuming you understand your target customer and their wants, needs, and pain points is risky.

Better lead qualification. Faster sales velocity. Improved relationships. These are just a few of the benefits of lead management.

In a business world dominated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology, it can be easy to forget one simple and incontrovertible truth. People want to buy from people. Customers want to build a solid business relationship with a salesperson to be comfortable with their investment. 

Recently, CarEdge reported a mind-blowing fact about the automobile industry that has big implications for auto dealer marketing. For complete clarity, I'll quote the entire statement here:

Today's sales teams face unique challenges in a very competitive global marketplace. If you’re in sales, you know how hard it is to communicate your differentiation, especially when  technological advances and shifts in consumer behavior move at the speed of light. For example, 67% of the B2B buyer's journey is digital. Research shows that 35% to 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first.

To be competitive, sales teams must be more than skilled. They must continuously improve and find new ways to connect to customers. Effective sales teams constantly evaluate and enhance their performance, adapt to changing circumstances, and focus on delivering value to customers. Sales coaching software can be transformational for a sales team, leading to a more results-driven and adaptable sales force. 

"Good salespeople are not born, they are trained," according to 35-year sales development industry veteran Dave Kurlan.

There is data to back this up. Studies have shown that companies with a formal sales coaching and training process reach 91.2% of their sales quota. Also, organizations with a coaching program see 7% greater revenue year over year.  

In the dynamic landscape of sales, where customer interactions and relationships are pivotal, conversational analytics has revolutionized how sales teams understand, evaluate, and enhance their processes. Why? Because customer service is critical to success. According to a study by Microsoft, 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether to do business with a company. 58% will change companies due to poor customer service.