How to Start a Career in Tech Sales

Guest Blog By Matt Jennings, Sales Professional.

If you want to learn how to get into tech sales, you’ve come to the right place.

Tech sales can be a fantastic career whether you are a recent college graduate or looking to make a change in your career. The tech sales industry is booming, with thousands of tech companies cropping up daily. As long as you have the determination, you’d be sure to find a job in tech sales. 

Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for a tech sales job to offer over $100,000 per year in salary and commission. So, if you’re searching for a more exciting career that pays well, consider a career in tech sales.

However, it’s a good idea to establish a solid understanding of tech sales employment before you start bombarding every tech business with your CV.

In this post, I’ll discuss what tech sales are, why tech sales roles are in demand, and provide some concrete steps on how to enter the field.

Tech Sales Defined

Tech sales involve selling technology products and services to businesses and consumers. It’s a broad industry that covers anything from enterprise software to consumer gadgets.

There are two main types of tech sales: business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C).

B2B tech sales involve selling products and services to other businesses. In contrast, B2C tech sales directly sell products and services to consumers.

The steps involved in making a sale are similar regardless of whether you sell B2B or B2C, but the product knowledge required and the sales process can vary greatly depending on what you’re selling.

For example, B2B tech sales often require a deep understanding of the product and how it can be effectively used to solve specific business challenges.

B2C tech sales, on the other hand, tend to be more transactional and require less product knowledge.

You can think about four specific areas of specialization when considering how to get into tech sales. These areas include:

Hardware Sales

This type of tech sales involves selling physical products such as laptops, smartphones, printers, and other types of hardware.

I started my career in photocopier sales, which was highly lucrative but also challenging as the product became commoditized and the market overly saturated.

The key to success in hardware sales is understanding the features and benefits of the products you’re selling and effectively communicating these to potential customers.

You’ll also need to be familiar with the different types of hardware available on the market so that you can advise customers on which type of hardware best suits their needs.

Software Sales

This type of tech sales involves selling software products, such as operating systems, productivity suites, and security software. Today, the most common form of software sales is in the form of SaaS – a software-as-a-subscription service model in which software is sold as a subscription service. These services are often hosted in the cloud making it easier to deploy and scale.

Customer Relationship Management, of which Salesforce is the largest, started this trend in the year 2000. Now even Windows, Adobe, and other business software such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Conversation Intelligence Tools such as Rafiki.ai, Gong, etc are all sold using this model. 

With the SaaS business model, you sign up with a credit card and often pay on a user basis per month. As a tech sales professional in the SaaS industry, you’ll be someone who exhibits a strong understanding of how the tools work within the customer environment and fit into their business model. 

You will also be responsible for tracking the trial process, engaging the prospect throughout the sales cycle, and closing the business online. 

Cloud Sales

This type of tech sales involves selling cloud-based products and services, such as cloud storage, cloud computing, and cloud-based security.

Most software products are hosted in the cloud these days, so if you’re interested in software sales, it’s essential to understand what being in the cloud actually means and how it works.

Selling cloud solutions is great in that they are easy to deploy and can be scaled quickly to meet the customer’s needs.

IT Service Sales

IT service technology sales is another in-demand tech sales area. IT service sales involve selling service-centered solutions such as managed services, IT support, and consulting.

As an IT service sales rep, you’d often sell the expert knowledge of the company you represent rather than a physical product.

Consequently, it’s critical to have a thorough understanding of the services you’re selling and communicate the value of these services to potential customers.

Whatever area of tech sales you decide on, it’s important to understand that no tech sales role will ever be the same. Each position will present unique challenges and benefits, making a career in tech sales rewarding.

Tech sales specialists need to master the following skills, depending on the type of products they sell:

  • Knowing what products a customer needs and providing the best solution while complementing the product’s features and directly addressing the customer’s problems.
  • Putting together software packages that meet the current and future needs of the specific client.
  • Closing deals, executing contracts, booking, invoicing, and managing business with great care and accuracy to the customer’s requirements.
  • Making use of CRM software and other sales-supporting tools effectively.
  • Maintaining order, efficiency, and attention when managing multiple prospects at once at various phases of the company’s sales funnel.
  • Connecting and following up with prospects and consumers using technology solutions.

Four Reasons to Work in Tech Sales

As mentioned earlier, now is a fantastic time to consider a job in tech sales. There is money to be made, and there are plenty of jobs available at a time when other sales jobs are on the decline.

Compared to retail sales or advertising sales jobs, tech sales jobs offer a much higher salary. The median base pay for a tech sales job is USD 85,000 annually.

The above reasons aside, here are four other reasons why you should consider a job in tech sales:

You don’t need a degree.

Unlike other jobs that require years of schooling and thousands of dollars in tuition, you don’t need a degree to enter the field of tech sales.

While some companies may prefer candidates with a degree, many are more interested in your ability to sell and your understanding of the product.

You can learn on the job.

Not only do you not need a degree to get into tech sales, but you can additionally discover all there is to know on the job.

While it helps to understand basic sales skills like how to leave an effective voicemail and how the software works, you don’t need to be an expert to sell tech products.

Many tech sales jobs will provide you with the training you need to be successful.

And if you’re selling cloud-based solutions, plenty of resources available online can help you understand the product and how to sell it effectively.

You can work your job in tech sales remotely.

Another great thing about working in tech sales is that you can often do it remotely.

Since you’ll be selling over the phone or over video conferencing, you can usually do your job from anywhere in the world.

So, if you’re seeking employment that will allow you to travel or work from home, tech sales is a great option.

There’s an excellent opportunity for career progression.

Finally, working in tech sales is a great way to start your career in the tech industry.

Many people who work in tech sales go on to have successful careers in more senior tech sales roles, such as account manager or sales director.

These roles give you more responsibility and challenges, leading to even higher salaries.

Best Advice for Landing a Tech Job Sales

The hardest part about getting a tech sales job is getting your foot in the door and getting a company to give you a shot. Fortunately, hundreds of tech sales jobs are available. So, your ability to break into tech sales will depend on your determination and desire to get a job in this space.

You’ll find it easier to get into tech sales if you come from one of the following backgrounds:

  • Software background engineer or developer
  • Product management.
  • Customer success or customer support.
  • Business development or sales in a non-technology sales role

While having a background in tech to get a job in tech sales is not necessary, it will provide you an advantage over your rivals.

Also, when it comes to selling, it’s more about your ability to push through objections, be persistent, and have grit. Finally, if you come from a sales background in any industry, you’ll likely find it easier to get into tech sales.

Distinguish yourself from other candidates for a prospective tech sales job with one or more of the following tactics:

Learn everything you can about your industry.

The best way to make yourself an attractive candidate for a tech sales job is to be knowledgeable about the industry.

Many candidates for tech sales jobs make the mistake of thinking they only need to know about the product they’re selling.

However, to be a successful tech salesperson, you need to understand the industry as a whole.

That means keeping up with the latest news and trends, understanding the competitive landscape, and knowing who the major players are.

The more you know about the tech industry, the better your chances of getting a job in tech sales.

Research the company you’re applying to.

When you’re applying for tech sales jobs, it’s essential to do your research on the company you’re applying to.

You ought to be quite familiar with their products, their target market, their competitive landscape, and their sales strategy.

The more you understand the business., the better your chances of impressing them during your interview and landing the job.

Additionally, when researching the company, look for any red flags that might make them a less-than-ideal employer.

For example, suppose you’re applying for a job at a company with a history of poor treatment of their employees. In that case, you might want to reconsider whether or not you wish to work there. You can look on sites like Glassdoor or even reach out to past or present employees of the company you are thinking of working for to get the inside scoop.

Some companies are better than others to work for in tech sales, so it definitely pays off to do your research!

Get some sales experience.

If you don’t have any sales experience, you can do a few things to get some.

One option is to look for internships or entry-level jobs at tech companies.

Many tech startups are looking for interns to help with sales, so this is a great way to get your foot in the door.

Another option is to look for jobs in other industries that require sales skills.

For example, jobs in retail or customer service can be good options. The more sales experience you have, the better your chances of getting a job in tech sales.

Some tech companies also offer training programs for people who want to transition into tech sales. These programs can be beneficial, but they’re often very competitive and not always available.

If you’re interested in a specific company’s training program, be sure to do your research and see if it’s a good fit for you. For example, some companies have very rigorous training programs that last several months. In contrast, others have shorter programs that last a few weeks.

Either way, these programs can give you the skills and experience you need to break into tech.

Learn the way the company you want to work for sells its product.

When applying for tech sales jobs, it’s important to learn how the company you want to work for sells its product.

Each company has its own unique sales process, and you need to be familiar with it if you want to be successful.

The best way to learn about a company’s sales process is to talk to someone who works there and find out if there are any specific methodologies they might follow. Examples of sales process methods include:

Challenger Sales

Spiced Sales Framework

MEDDIC Framework

Spin Selling

Agoge Sales Sequence

Once you know about the company’s sales process, you can start tailoring your resume and cover letter to match their needs.

When preparing for your interview, ask the interviewer about the company’s sales process. This will show them that you’re interested in the position and willing to learn.

Conclusion

When landing your first job in technology sales, researching and getting some sales experience under your belt can go a long way.

Additionally, learning about the company you want to work for and its sales process is essential to success in the role and standing out from your competition.

With a little effort, you can set yourself apart from other applicants and increase your chances of getting into tech sales, creating an opportunity for more significant earning potential and flexibility in your career. All the best for your first sales job!

———-

Author Bio

Matt Jennings is a Sales Professional with over seven years of experience across outbound, full-cycle account and business development management, sales management, and sales operations. His sales experience has had him working in Document, SaaS, and Financial Services vertical markets and booking some of the world’s largest companies exceeding multiple billion dollars in turnover. In addition, he has experience selling across APAC, EU, UK, and US regions. Matt now heads up Sales Operations at Sales Science and writes sales-focused educational content. You can read more at matjen.com.

The MEDDIC Sales Process: All you need to know

Qualifying prospects is an integral step of every sales process. However, spending too much time on just this step might not be the most productive use of your reps’ time. This is where a sales methodology like MEDDIC helps. 

What is the MEDDIC Sales Process?

The MEDDIC sales process is based on a simple and universal concept – 

“Your conversion will multiply if your reps target qualified prospects.”

MEDDIC takes care of the qualification part in the above formula. It stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, and Champion. 

The MEDDIC process was devised by John McMahon, Richard Dunkel, and Jack Napoli in the 1990s at PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation). Using MEDDIC, the team was able to identify the right set of customers and boost their sales from $300 million to nearly $1 billion in a span of 4 years!

What sets it apart?

Unlike other sales methodologies(say Sandler Sales Methodology), MEDDIC is extremely easy to implement in your organization. The short acronym makes the framework simple to remember and easy to apply during the actual qualification process. 

Also, it is unique in that it completely relies on attaining knowledge about the customer instead of relying on any sales hanky pankies. This makes it a worthwhile investment for your sales team, who gets better and better in qualifying prospects as time passes by.  

By using the MEDDIC sales methodology, you also start getting a firm grasp of your ideal customer profile. You’ll instantly know whether a prospect is worth investing your time in or not. This will speed up the entire customer qualification process, and your reps will never hold a sales pipeline with unwinnable prospects anymore.

The six-step MEDDIC qualification process

#1 Metrics

The first step is all about understanding what your prospects expect to get by subscribing or purchasing your product. Importantly, the expectation should be a metric or, in other words, quantifiable. It shouldn’t be something like ‘increase sales’, ‘improve margins,’ or ‘reduce costs’. It should be more like – 

  • Tripling the funnel of qualified leads within 6 months
  • Reducing the time of onboarding customers by 50% in the upcoming quarter
  • 2X increase in revenue in the next 3 years

When you identify these ‘quantifiable expected results’, your sales reps can speak in a more convincing language(in terms of ROI) to the prospects. They can demonstrate the actual benefits of the product and show how it will genuinely solve a pain point.

#2 Economic Buyer

This is the person who holds the key to the coffers of your target organization. They are the ones who make the final decision whether to buy your product or not. In all probability, they will be someone who is at the top of the hierarchy in that organization. 

This makes it very important for you to understand their needs and priorities. You must make sure that they see value in your product; otherwise, they will not go ahead with the sale. You must always try to speak to the economic buyer rather than the one you are presently talking to. 

#3 Decision criteria

The next step is to understand how your target company makes decisions about purchasing similar products as yours. There are high chances that your prospect’s company is already comparing multiple vendors based on different parameters. These parameters are your decision criteria. 

A myriad of factors fall under the decision criteria, including price, ease of use, integration options, ROI, etc. It is important to find out what those factors are as it will help you tailor your pitch accordingly. 

#4 Decision process

This is simply a continuation of the previous step and applicable only if the prospect is evaluating your product for purchase. In this step, you try to understand everything about the company, timeline, and the onboarding process of the prospect to prevent any internal delays. 

For instance, your prospect is comparing your solution with your competitors and wants information about possible integration with a third-party tool. You can immediately provide all the necessary information and speed up the decision-making process. 

This is the stage where you have to ask the prospect – Is there anything I can do to help you finalize the deal?

#5 Identify Pain

In this step, you identify the actual pain points of the prospects and showcase how your product can solve them. Some of the common pain points include low revenue, too much marketing spending, etc. 

While discussing these pain points with the prospect, it is important to be specific and not abstract. Also, talk to them about the consequences of not taking any action to address the pain point. Give them some popular case studies and testimonials from other companies who are suffering because they didn’t take any action. 

#6 Champion

The last step is to bond with the champion in your prospect’s organization. The champion is an influencer. They might not be the decision-maker, the economic buyer, or even someone higher up in the hierarchy. Rather they are well-respected in that organization and can influence the decision-makers.

You need to bond with them in such a way that they will recommend your product to everyone in their organization. But take their help only if it is needed. Sometimes talking to too many people on the client’s side simultaneously can backfire. Talk to them only if your deal has become stagnant and you need a push. 

Pros and Cons of MEDDIC Sales Process

How to adopt the MEDDIC sales process in your organization?

Implementing a new sales methodology in a workplace is always daunting. There will be definite resistance as everyone has to make that extra effort to learn and adapt to the new process. So make sure to walk through the benefits of this process to all the important stakeholders, including reps and sales managers.  

While it may be the reps who identify opportunities, conduct discovery calls, and pitch, it is the managers who direct the entire show. Unless they believe that MEDDIC can be a useful addition to their team, they will not move out of the status quo.

While discussing the new framework with the team, compare and review your existing qualification process and show them how the existing bottlenecks can be addressed using MEDDIC.

Once you have gained support from all the stakeholders, train the reps on how to use MEDDIC in their qualification process. Give particular attention to handing sales objections. Objections like price conflicts, lack of trust, etc., might arise during the MEDDIC qualification process. The team must know how to handle them. 

How can Rafiki help?

A key tool that can help in fine-tuning the MEDDIC process in your organization is Rafiki. It does this by – 

Metrics – Rafiki can capture key metrics about your calls such as talk-to-listen ratio, interactivity, patience, number of host questions, etc. 

Economic Buyer – Rafiki helps you track what topics your reps and decision-makers are talking about using the latest AI technology. It parses the conversations and offers you rich topical insights to help you frame the perfect pitch that can convince the economic buyer.

Decision Criteria – With Rafiki, you can train the reps to handle the decision criteria of your target organization by tracking the ‘Objection’ topic and comparing the metric.

Decision Process – Rafiki can positively impact the decision process and reduce customer churn by tracking and analyzing customer conversations.

Identify Pain – Sales conversation topics can be detected by Rafiki, and snippets can be generated for a quick overview. The pain points can be sent to prospects as a follow-up, and solutions proposed.

To know more about Rafiki and to get a peek into its wonderful AI engine in action, sign up for a free trial now.

The Challenger Sales Model: An Explanation

Are you one of those who always reach the end of a deal, only to see it fall through unexpectedly? In all probability, this could be because you were following the wrong sales model in your organization.

There was a time when relationship-building and problem-solving models were popular. However, as time progressed, the Challenger sales model became more effective in closing a deal.

In this post, we’ll discuss the Challenger Sales Model and the best way to adopt it in your organization. 

What is the Challenger Sales Model?

The Challenger Sales Model is a sales methodology that focuses on taking control of a sale by educating the customer and encouraging them to consider new opportunities. This enables the sales reps to offer an alternative way forward. 

The idea for the Challenger sales model was conceived by two executives from the Corporate Executive Board Inc. (CEB), Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. They first introduced this concept of sales strategy in their book The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of Customer Conversation in 2011. 

The fundamental idea behind this concept, as they claim, was that the customer does not know what they want; you have to dig deeper and make them understand their need. The book also identified five different profiles of B2B sales reps- 

  1. The hard worker – They put in the extra effort
  2. The relationship builder – They emphasize harmony
  3. The lone wolf –  They follow their own instincts and not rules
  4. The problem solver – They narrow down the details
  5. The challenger – The push for the status quo

Of these, the Challengers were found to be the clear winners. According to Gartner, around 40% of star performers in sales were usually Challengers. That number shot to 54% in a complex sales situation. 

This roaring success can be attributed to challengers having a deep understanding of the customer’s business and using the knowledge to create constructive pressure on their instincts. 

Working on Challenger Sales Model

In the Challenger Sales model, the sales rep begins the conversation by “These steps will solve your pain point <pain point>” instead of asking, “What do you think is causing the <pain point>?”.

This former has a greater impact on the customer, and they start engaging with the rep actively. At a certain point, the rep can pitch their product as the most effective solution to the pain point. This way, the customer is educated about what is not known to them and has a solution in their hands.

Key concepts and Assumptions of the Model

Concepts

  • Giving valuable information to the prospects and dissolving any preconceived ideas they might have. 
  • Focus on the salesperson’s expertise instead of building a personal relationship with the prospects
  • The sales process in the Challenger model works via insight-led conversations and not through product-based interactions. 

Assumptions

  • The customer does not know everything he/she wants to know. 
  • Customers do not have time to answer questions or patiently listen to a product and its features.

Where can the Challenger Sales Model backfire?

Despite being a very successful sales model, the Challenger model can backfire in two particular instances. They are – 

#1 When the customer hasn’t realized that a problem exists

Customers will engage in the buying process only when they are confident that a problem exists in their business and it needs a solution. The Challenger model backfires when the reps go on and on about the solutions when the customer has not actually convinced themselves that their business is in trouble.

#2 During the vendor selection stage

In this situation, the customer has accepted that they have a problem and has already researched the solutions and the potential list of vendors offering it. Disrupting the customer’s thinking with multiple new opinions and thoughts in a unidirectional conversation might actually backfire. The customer might even drop the idea of purchasing from you and move on with a competitor. 

Why is the Challenger model unique?

  • While most sales models focus on closing deals, the Challenger sales model focuses on giving an unforgettable sales experience to the customers. 
  • This is the only sales model where the customer is educated about the product, the market, and above all, the existing problem in his own business. 
  • It tailors the entire sales conversation through information about the customer’s business and their economic capability.
  • It helps to take control of the sales process by offering money value and making them think of your product or service as the best solution to their problem.

Who is it most suited for?

This model is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s best suited for complex B2B environments where there is scope to probe into the customers’ thinking spots, establish two-way communication and finally offer the best solution. If your sales team has the following characteristics, then the Challenger sales model could be a great option for you- 

  • Consistently captures information about the market
  • They have great communication skills
  • They care to gather in-depth knowledge about the customer’s line of business.
  • They are creative and have the capability to generate ideas to solve customers’ pain points.
  • They have complete control over the financial aspects of the sale
  • They have the ability to push the customer to decide

Should you follow it?

The Challenger model is undoubtedly one of the most successful sales models today. It is extremely adaptable and can survive even in difficult environments. It lets your sales reps be aggressive and fully control the sales process. However, like any other model, the model might not work under all circumstances and for all types of sales teams. It is best suited to reps who already have great business and market knowledge. In other words, it becomes imperative for your reps to have a substantial understanding of how your clients make money, their core operational strategies, and their expected sales results. Without this in-depth knowledge, the Challenger sales model is bound to fail. 

How to make the Challenger sales model work?

The best way to make the Challenger model work in your organization is by using a call intelligence tool like Rafiki. Using it, you’ll know where your sales reps are lagging in terms of business knowledge and need training. Rafiki monitors and measures how effectively your reps are performing in calls and helps you determine whether they’ve become challengers already or if there is a long way to go for them.

To know more about Rafiki and to get a peek into its wonderful AI engine in action, sign up for a free trial now.

Top 7 benefits of AI in sales: How does it impact a sales person’s life?

Blade Runner, Ex Machina, I Robot, Her, 2001: A Space Odyssey…

These are the names that often come to our minds when we think of Artificial Intelligence. 

Hollywood has successfully (but incorrectly!) ensured that a commoner’s definition of AI revolves around robots, the mass extinction of humans, flying cars, and other preposterous myths. 

In reality, AI is anything but the above. The advantages of artificial intelligence are endless, and you can find them in everything around us. And this includes sales! 

Yes, you heard it right. AI, over the years, has become an indispensable asset for sales teams and businesses across the globe to carry out their everyday sales operations. 

And in this post, we are going to discuss some of the most popular benefits of Artificial Intelligence in modern-day sales.

Top 7 artificial intelligence benefits in sales

Undoubtedly, sales is a rewarding career, but it comes with its inherent challenges. Competition and customer expectations are on the rise. Beating other players and luring customers to your business is not easy anymore. 

This is where AI can help. By integrating AI into your sales processes, you can gain a significant competitive advantage in your sales cycle in the form of quick decision-making. 

On that note, here are the top seven advantages of AI in your sales process –

Automates everyday tasks

AI frees the sales reps from mundane day-to-day tasks that are uncreative, unattractive, and time-consuming. By embedding AI into their everyday operations, you can automate most of their routine tasks. Thanks to this, the sales reps can efficiently and effectively prioritize and manage their work. Some of the functions that can be automated include managing workflows, data entry, research, answering repetitive questions, and more. 

AI-enabled platforms like Rafiki (https://getrafiki.ai/) take it one step ahead. It records all your reps calls and meetings, transcribes them, captures key topics and moments, and finally generates notes by topics – All this with no human intervention. Remember – Transcription and notetaking are two of the most time-consuming activities for a sales rep, and Rafiki frees them of those tasks entirely during the meeting, so they can focus on the customer and edit the notes later from the transcript or the generated notes. 

Automates everyday tasks

Aids in lead generation

Effective prospect engagement is often the driving force behind the lead-generation process. AI helps to draw these potential customers into your sales pipeline by intelligently engaging and delivering additional value to them. Growthbot by Hubspot and Conversica are two of the most popular AI-based lead generation tools in the market presently. 

AI also helps sales reps identify ICP (Ideal Customer Profiles) by unifying multiple data sources across the organization like CRM, social media, and more. Adding to this, it comes up with actionable insights and prescriptive suggestions regarding the medium and communication channel to use, which aids quick closures.

Helps in optimizing the pricing model

Pricing is another critical component of a deal. Optimal pricing models reduce the negotiations period and increase the chances of conversions manifold. Along with keeping up with customer expectations, a good pricing model makes sure that the expected margins are not compromised. 

Rafiki smartly parses the conversations between your reps and customers and points out the pricing topic in the entire conversation. Tools like Incompetitor and Wise Athena use AI and ML to determine the best pricing model for your product.

Helps in optimizing pricing model

Expands business horizons with lookalike modeling 

Lookalike modeling, powered by AI, is an excellent way to reach and explore newer audience groups for your business. Here’s how it works –

AI filters out the winning audience profiles from your primary customer segment. It then identifies the highest-value audience in that list. Finally, it applies the criteria to the lookalike segment for better targeting and improved growth prospects.

The best part is, the model keeps on evolving as new data gets fed into it. This dramatically improves the performance of the model in the long run.

Tools like LiveRamp let businesses move beyond Facebook and LinkedIn to conduct cross-channel lookalike prospecting on the internet.

Pinpoints upselling and cross-selling opportunities

Upselling and cross-selling are among the top focal points of salespeople. With the help of artificial intelligence, they will have enough customer intelligence to come up with suitable recommendations. 

Usecases of AI in Sales

AI has always been the key ingredient in building recommender systems based on collaborative and content-based filtering. By segmenting and clustering the prospects based on their psychographic, demographic, and geographic profiles, AI can recommend the right product (or solution) to the right customer at the right time. This increases the likelihood of yet another conversion for you!

Analyses and predicts customer churn

The acquisition cost of new customers is abnormally high compared (25 times according to an HBR study!) to the retention cost of existing ones. Therefore, to decrease CAC(Customer Acquisition Costs) and increase the adoption rate in the long run, the companies must minimize their churn rates.

AI helps forecast the churn risk by crunching voluminous amounts of data from multiple sources. Through deep analysis, it defines the complexity of behavior changes and the reasons for customer churn. It also offers helpful insights and restorative actions, thus empowering the sales rep to re-establish a churn-less business.

Through its robust AI engine, Rafiki helps you understand the reasons why customers are leaving you. It intelligently records, transcribes, extracts, and segments topics and uses them to identify churn signals.

Deal Risks

Facilitates better coaching and guidance

Coaching is an ever-evolving process. When your sales team is spread across geographies and time zones, it becomes practically difficult for you to impart guidance and accurate knowledge to your team. 

AI helps you with individualized observations and evaluations for one-on-one training of the reps. It helps you design sales programs that will help team members stay connected and upscale their skills consistently and collaboratively.

AI-driven platforms like Rafiki promote self-coaching.  It helps the reps to manage their calls and deals better by learning from their peers. For example, your reps can review their call metrics, compare them with their teammates’, identify where they are going wrong, and finally correct them.

Facilitates better coaching and guidance

And the best part – Rafiki is 100% cloud; this means your reps can access the tool 24X7 from any part of the world.

Wrapping Up

Businesses are transforming rapidly, and this leaves key stakeholders with shorter decision-making windows. Luckily, AI comes to their rescue. Not only does it help in making decisions quickly, but it helps them drive top-line growth and stay agile in this data-driven world.

Considering sales is a high-touch profession involving intelligent conversations and persuasions, AI is not going to completely replace sales reps any time soon. Tools like Rafiki will augment the effectiveness of your sales process by infusing it with agility and scalability. This leaves enough room for your sales rep to innovate and create highly personalized customer experiences.

To know more about Rafiki and to get a peek into its wonderful AI engine in action, sign up for a free trial now.

AI vs ML: Key Differences

Unless you were living under the rocks, the chances of you not hearing about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are slim.

These two disruptive technologies are found everywhere today, right from your banking website all the way to your smartphone. 

Often, these two buzzwords are used interchangeably; Although both seem similar, they’re both vastly different technologies. 

They both have their own utilities and uses when it comes to designing solutions for modern-day consumers. 

In this post, let us understand the key differences between them.

Machine Learning

Machine learning is the practice of using algorithms that allow computers to identify patterns and find solutions through the analysis of large data sets. 

Machine Learning enables computers to find these patterns through the accumulation of experience – very similar to how humans find patterns in objects by repeatedly using them in real life. For example, humans, with practice, can quickly identify the difference between different varieties of apple – Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, etc. 

Machine learning aims to educate and enable computer systems

Machine learning aims to educate and enable computer systems to be able to find similar patterns across large data sets, much larger than the different types of apples that humans can analyze on their own. 

Machine learning is touted as a subset of Artificial Intelligence. Remember – by itself, machine learning is not designed to mimic human intelligence. It’s designed to learn, identify patterns, and perform analyses on large data sets – often using statistical methods. 

Types of Machine Learning

Depending on the kind of learning that’s permitted for ML systems, there are different types – 

Types of ML

Supervised Learning

This type of ML is the use of well-defined datasets created by humans to learn a pattern and perform analyses. Once the system understands what the pattern is, the algorithm can find new patterns in those new datasets. 

Unsupervised Learning

These are the machine learning algorithms that analyze and group unstructured and unlabeled datasets. These algorithms are used to discover hidden patterns and information without the need for human intervention. 

Here, the goal is to find hidden patterns that are not noticeable to human perception. The reason could be the inability of humans to easily discern, or simply the datasets are too large for them to make any accurate predictions. Unsupervised learning often doesn’t have a set idea of what the end goal will be when the algorithm completes analyzing the dataset. 

Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning is a type of machine learning where the algorithm is rewarded whenever it makes a certain type of a decision, such as winning a chess game or capturing a target in a virtual environment. 

Reinforcement learning helps algorithms find pathways designed to maximize the idea of a reward. Machine learning typically uses the sample datasets to discover the pattern and uses new data to rediscover the pattern in the new dataset. At the same time, the new data can also be a source for self-correction and self-learning. 

Applications Of Machine Learning

You don’t have to go very far to understand the application of machine learning.  An application that most of us could easily relate to is search recommendations on Google. After understanding the pattern of your searches, Google will adapt and alter its search recommendations based on your interests. 

Another common application of machine learning is the auto-tagging feature on photos that you can find on social media platforms like Facebook. Through the use of existing data sets, the machine learning algorithm can identify the difference between your face and your friend’s face, making suggestions on the fly as you’re tagging the photo. 

Artificial Intelligence

In simple terms, Artificial Intelligence uses computers and machines to mimic the decision-making and problem-solving capabilities of human beings.

You can find great examples of AI in most of the software around us such as Google’s AI Voice Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and so on. 

AI is the superset of Machine Learning as it can work with structured, semi-structured, and completely unstructured data, while ML usually deals with only structured and semi-structured data.

Based on the type of method used by Artificial Intelligence to learn, they can be categorized into the following. 

Types of AI

Weak AI

Weak AI is also called Artificial Narrow Intelligence (AN)I, or simply Narrow AI. Currently, this is the only type of AI that we’ve been able to successfully realize. Weak AI is designed to be goal-oriented toward a singular task such as speech recognition, facial recognition, automated driving, etc. Such a type of AI is very good at completing the task it’s programmed for. 

While an application employing weak AI may seem intelligent, they’re only able to operate intelligently within its particular constraints. They cannot replicate human intelligence because once you take them out of their predefined parameters, they’ll be unable to produce any meaningful output. 

Examples of weak AI include IBM’s Watson, Google’s RankBrain page ranking algorithm, Microsoft’s Cortana, Amazon’s Alexa, and modern email spam filters. 

Strong AI

Strong AI  is more commonly referred to as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This is the concept of a machine with a more generalized intelligence and behavior. Strong AI will mimic human intelligence and behaviors, with the ability to learn, adapt, and apply this intelligence to solve problems that are presented before it. Strong AI is meant to act exactly like humans in any given situation. 

Currently, researchers haven’t achieved strong AI yet. That’s because of the complexities involved in modeling an AI after the human brain, which is the goal behind strong AI. Strong AI uses the mind AI framework, which is the ability to discern the nuances of other intelligent entities. 

Artificial Superintelligence

Artificial Superintelligence is a hypothetical concept that goes beyond mimicking human intelligence. ASI is also where machines and computers become self-aware and surpass the capabilities of human intelligence and ability. As of now, ASIs remain strictly in the realm of science fiction. But the ideation of ASIs brings interesting questions, such as self-preservation, co-existence with other intelligent beings, and more. 

How do AI and ML differ from each other?

To understand the difference between ML and AI, we need to dive a little deeper into their work. In this present era, Deep Learning using Neural Networks has come to dominate the way the computer learns from data. A Neural Network is simply a computer system that is designed to work by classifying information in the same way a human brain does. 

Thanks to this, AI is more capable of understanding nuanced patterns, complex classification, and advanced decision-making. This is often demonstrated in advanced applications such as voice transcription, advanced language understanding with question answering, text summarization, medical diagnostics, playing chess, or learning any new game with superhuman abilities.

On the other hand, ML uses statistical methods and software for broader pattern recognition that mirrors the data but often lacks in performing very nuanced classification or understanding that humans possess.

Machine learning in the past has been used for simpler pattern recognition, such as spam detection, clustering, sentiment or anomaly detection, image classification, etc.

How does Rafiki use AI and ML to empower sales teams?

Rafiki is a self-coaching sales platform that uses AI and ML to bolster your sales process. Thanks to its powerful AI and ML engine, Rafiki is able to transcribe with the highest accuracy (85+ accuracy for any accent), diarize i.e. detect speakers and the parts they speak, and apply voice biometrics to know who is speaking. Transcription, Diarization, and bio-metric (using voice patterns) all use state-of-the-art advanced Deep learning AI algorithms that are continuously upgraded as it learns more from data.

At the same time, it also tracks sales topic signals automatically and groups transcribed content into meaningful sales topics using natural language processing and AI-based topic extraction and detection techniques. It also allows one to extend/add topics of interest such as product names, industry lingo, and competitor mentions and personalize the transcription and conversational search to suit their business needs.

Rafiki AI team works with the best in the AI and cloud computing industry to bring the latest technology to the sales and customer-facing teams at an affordable cost using run-time optimization to run on less expensive machines. Rafiki uses these advanced algorithms and techniques to drive down costs that result in its ability to offer one of the most affordable conversations and revenue intelligence platforms to all fast-growing businesses. 

If you’re interested in knowing more about artificial intelligence and machine learning, check out Rafiki’s blogs on these topics. Or, if you are ready to infuse the power of AI and ML into your sales process, contact us now.

Sales Coaching: Smart Guide to Boost Your Team Performance

Ever wished for your sales performance to increase perennially?

Ever wondered what it takes to boost your team performance? 

The answer you are looking for is sales coaching. 

Studies show that sales coaching and mentoring play an essential role in improving the performance of frontline managers, according to 74% of leading companies. 

With times changing and constant upskilling in every organization, investing in sales team coaching is the wisest decision. The reason – they drive productivity within the organization, maximize sales performance, empower reps, and help you meet the required goals. Studies prove this. Companies that invested in dynamic sales coaching programs achieved 28% higher win rates and 7% greater annual revenue growth. 

Here is a guide on sales coaching with tips and tricks to boost sales performance, along with a  BONUS list of actionable tips and free tools. So, let’s get started. 

What Is Sales Coaching? 

It is a series of teaching methods an organization uses to improve the performance of sales reps and achieve their goals. It is inclusive and hands-on, where the manager works closely with their sales reps. 

However, sales training and sales coaching fall under different buckets. While the former focuses on everyone, the latter focuses on individual reps. Sales training uses structured methods, while in sales coaching, leaders need to recognize their sales reps’ weaknesses to help them develop new strengths. CSO insights reveal what sales managers spend their time doing. 

Sales Managers Spend Time For Training

Image Source: https://www.salesreadinessgroup.com/blog/the-why-behind-sales-coaching

Some standard sales coaching techniques & tips 

Different organizations use different sales coaching techniques according to their goals and needs. Companies with dynamic sales coaching programs have 28% higher win rates. Let us look at the popular sales coaching techniques. 

  • Reviewing calls or videos:
    Sales reps can analyze the call recordings or videos to get a better sense of what they could do well. They can identify their weaknesses and make improvements. 
  • Offering inside training and tips:
    Organizations provide inside sales coaching tips to their reps. It also includes reviewing selling techniques and tools which can benefit the organization. 
  • Scheduling check-ins:
    Another technique includes scheduling check-ins. You can do these check-ins weekly to discuss objectives and areas of the sales processes with the reps. It also builds their confidence. 
  • Shadowing calls:
    Organizations indulge in shadowing calls where the sales teams shadow; or listen to the potential client calls or meetings. 
  • Reviewing emails:
    Another coaching technique involves reviewing email conversations with prospects through different stages in the buyer’s journey. 

These are a few sales coaching techniques that organizations use to coach their salespeople into sales champions. 

Here’s a bonus for you. Listed below are seven actionable sales coaching tips that your sales reps need. They are: 

  1. Use client interaction data to figure out where sales reps need help 
  2. Use visual data to highlight performance 
  3. Review call recordings 
  4. Have hard conversations 
  5. Play an active role in the coaching session
  6. Learn the motivational factors for your team 
  7. Have a definite plan of action

Keep these encompassing tips in mind. Seek and experiment with new coaching practices, give more positive than negative feedback, share your vision, use incentives effectively, give personal rewards, and leverage your entire sales team. 

Why has sales coaching become an essential element for every organization? Is it because of its various benefits? Let us find out.

How Does Sales Coaching Software Help Your Sales Team?

Sales Training Outcome

Improve Employee Retention Rates

Sales coaching helps every organization increase its employee retention rates. Increased rep turnover rates have been an underlying problem in the sales industry. Today, growth opportunities attract more reps than a fancy show of salary and appraisals. Harvard Studies reveal 80% of the workforce saw an increase in their productivity after coaching.

Share Best Practices

Ever notice a sales rep attracting success and using a strategy that is getting the desired performance? Use this strategy to teach the rest of the team this strategy and improve your sales performance coaching. 65% of those who undergo coaching are highly engaged. 

Maximize Sales Coaching Investment

Sales managers can achieve dynamic sales training through consistent and long-term enforcement. It maximizes your sales coaching investment—organizations with strong coaching report 34% higher revenues

Top 3 Sales Coaching Tools 

Rafiki

A leading conversational intelligence tool, Rafiki has taken massive steps in sales coaching in recent years. Rafiki uses AI transcription, which helps you instantly analyze the rep calls and track customer objections. It enables you to understand how customers engage with sales reps in conversations. With instant conversion and organizational intelligence, it allows you to get the best out of your team. In short, it helps you build a predictable winning organization. 

Gong

It is another conversation intelligence tool that provides a unique outlook into rep interactions with potential customers. It is an apt tool for sales managers to implement their sales strategies effectively. You can also use Gong to assist the sales reps when they require your directions. Its conversation intelligence abilities allow you to review conversations your sales reps have with potential prospects at meetings. 

Chorus.ai

With this app, you can build, implement and measure the success of your sales coaching tactics and alter them to hit higher goals. This software’s artificial intelligence features allow you to pull your essential information from real-time rep conversations on calls, videos, or meetings. 

Conclusion

Sales coaching is the most effective way to boost your team’s performance. It is also a fundamental element of sales management. Rafiki is your one-stop solution for coaching your sales team. It integrates with your calendar, transcribes and analyses the calls, and provides 360-degree insight into the call. 

Never miss customer interactions and grow your sales team with Rafiki. Contact us and request a demo

14 Steps to a Successful Sales Call – Sales Checklist Every SDR Should Have 

Here’s something interesting:

The average SDR (sales development representative) tackles 265 leads per month. 

And SDRs who make 12 contact attempts instead of the average of 8 contact attempts perform 16% better! 

The quality of the calls made by SDRs matters just as much as the number of leads handled or the number of contact attempts made. 

There should be a process in place to ensure that SDRs ask smart questions during a call or have a strategy to qualify or disqualify a lead so that they hand high-quality leads to account executives (AE) to complete the sale.

SDRs don’t close deals–in most companies, their role involves:

  • Inbound sales prospecting –  they reach out to leads who have shown an interest in the product/service and/or outbound sales 
  • Outbound sales prospecting – they contact potential customers who are not aware of the company’s product/service 

Let’s start with a quick overview of sales calls and their types:

What is a sales call?

A sales call is a pre-arranged face-to-face meeting (or video call during COVID times) between an SDR and a prospect. 

The goal: to make a sale.

What does the prospect expect – the SDR listens to them, gives them relevant information, gives them timely responses, and is invested in the success of their business.

The better the SDR is at actively providing value to the prospect, the better the sales call goes. 

Sales calls can be categorized into four types:

Cold call/introductory call/prospecting call 

SDRs call prospects without prior appointments and try to find out their pain points and requirements. Cold calls have an average success rate of 1-3%

Warm call 

SDRs call prospects after initiating prior contact in the form of email campaigns, trade events, referrals, or meetings. Prospects are ready for the call, so the rate of conversion is higher than that of cold calls. 

Sales appointment call 

Sales reps (quota-carrying salespeople) and prospects have a business discussion about the offerings either on the phone or at a face-to-face meeting. 

Hubspot’s 2021 Sales Enablement report found that 19% of buyers want to talk to a rep during the awareness stage of the buying process, 60% during the consideration stage, and 20% during the decision stage. 

Follow-up call/service call 

SDRs follow up with prospects to check their status on the customer journey towards their offerings. Service calls allow reps to nurture prospects. 

Regular follow-up calls are important because 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls and 60% of customers refuse sales requests before saying yes!

How do I make a sales call that converts lead to customers?

SDRs are the face of the company. 

To be successful at setting up quality meetings and appointments, they must have a working knowledge of the prospect’s industry, an understanding of the sales process and the competition, and excellent communication skills.

Remember that people don’t want to be pressured into making a purchase, so develop a strategy to engage with the prospect and communicate the benefits of the product/service without being aggressive. 

In the words of Tiffani Bova, Global Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce,

“How you sell matters. What your process is matters. But how your customers feel when they engage with you matters more.”

Here are some tips to turn cold calls into warm ones:

Prepare, prepare, prepare

Research your prospect before the sales call using social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter. Understand your prospect’s interests, likes, and dislikes through the information he/she shares publicly.

Research your prospect’s industry

Read up on the latest market trends and news items in the relevant industry. Your prospect is looking for a well-informed SDR to help him/her find solutions, not a parrot repeating a fixed script.

Make it personal

Use the prospect’s name, mention information that you’ve found through LinkedIn, and indulge in some small talk. Be human! You’re more likely to build a connection with your prospect in this way rather than being purely business-like.

14 steps to a successful sales call 

How to make a sales call that increases the likelihood of conversions? 

Follow this checklist to ensure you have a sales call strategy that yields positive results, is repeatable, and can be easily learned. 

Bear in mind that you shouldn’t have a set script for a sales call that you mindlessly repeat by making a few tweaks to slot in prospects’ names and other details. Instead, what you should have is a blueprint for engaging your prospects.

Rafiki Sales Call Checklist

Start sales call with a powerful opening

Don’t use the apologetic “Is this a good time to talk?” to begin your sales calls. This will undoubtedly set a negative tone for the conversation even before it starts. Instead, begin with a sunny “Hi Beth, How are you?” and state your reason for calling. You have the first 5 seconds of the call to buy yourself 5 more minutes of talk time. So make the best use of it. 

Other powerful openings you can use:

  • “I was wondering if you could help me out for a minute?”
  • “Thank you for taking my call!”
  • “I must have caught you in the middle of something, but here’s why I’m calling…”
  • “How have you been?”
  • “The reason for my call is…”
  • “I noticed you used to work at [past company]. How did you find the…”

Don’t talk trash about your competitors

It displays you in a bad light and makes people think you’re insecure, unprofessional, and desperate to make sales. If you must compare yourself to a competitor, stick to the facts and focus on the qualities that differentiate you from others.

Also, prepare well for objections as prospects are bound to have some. Learn to deal with things like “Can we talk after a week?,” “Sorry, I don’t have time now,” or “Why don’t you send a detailed email?” by asking relevant questions, demonstrating value, or trying to book an appointment.

Be genuine with your compliments

Offer a genuine compliment to your prospect such as “It is a pleasure to do business with you,” and he/she will strive to match up to it. Being disingenuous will get you nowhere; it may even lose you the prospect.

Set an agenda

You should have an agenda in mind to prevent the conversation from veering off into unwanted directions, save time, and achieve the outcome you need.

For instance, your agenda may look like this:

  1. Powerful opening line
  2. Introduction to self
  3. Reason for calling
  4. Communicate value proposition
  5. Ask leading questions to qualify the prospect
  6. Close by booking a demo/next meeting or handing off to an AE

Speak confidently

Mumbling, hesitating, appearing underconfident, or being unnecessarily apologetic makes it 40% less likely that the prospect will ask for a demo call. 

If you are an existing Rafiki customer, then you can easily listen to your conversation to understand where you are going wrong. Also, Rafiki intelligently captures and displays negative-sounding comments or anxious responses in your call using the “patience” factor. This gives you an excellent opportunity to correct yourself in subsequent calls. 

Rafiki Sales Calls

Simplify options. Reduce information overload

Too many options is a bad thing–it confuses the prospect thereby delaying decision-making. Focus on a few of the best features of your product/service instead of describing a laundry list of all the features. Talk about additional options only when the prospect isn’t satisfied with the ones you’ve presented.

Position your product smartly

Position your product/service as a solution that addresses your prospect’s problems to convince them to buy it. Understanding consumer behavior will help you close the call and book the demo meeting.  

For instance, you could say, “We work with [customer type] in [industry] with [pain points/goals.] Our customers usually want to [reach goal/find solution]. Does this sound like you?”

Since you’ve prequalified your prospect through research and relevant questions, he or she will say yes. 

Then you can say something like, “I’d like to know more about it” to encourage them to talk about themselves. This gives you information to build your pitch. 

Use the power of emotions

Don’t discount the power of emotions in influencing a purchasing decision. People are not convinced only on the basis of cold, hard facts–there’s often an emotional angle involved. 

Try to discover the emotional trigger that will persuade your prospect to move forward — sentimental attachment, nostalgia for the “good old days,” and so on.

Offer a targeted value proposition.

Your goal in the sales call is to convince the prospect about the value of your product/service and book a meeting with an AE to take the sale forward. 

Clearly communicate both the quantitative value and the emotional value of your offering. 

When emotional triggers are not enough to push your prospect forward, articulate the quantitative benefits to convince him/her that the price is more than worth it.

 Make prospects feel empowered by involving them in finding solutions

Do not think, for even a minute, that you can trick or manipulate your prospect into purchasing your offering. It can backfire spectacularly and you can end up losing an entire revenue stream.

Instead, involve your prospect in the sales call, empowering him/her to find solutions but remember to guide him/her toward your value proposition.

Research the right time to call potential customers

HubSpot’s research shows that the best times to call prospects are 8 am – 9 am or 4 pm – 5 pm. Depending on your industry, the best time for you to call a prospect may be different. So do your research before you make your sales call.

 Use business intelligence tools to prepare for calls.

Rafiki Analytics

Nowadays, there are plenty of business intelligence tools to help SDRs profile a prospect before calling and pull relevant data that they can to discover pain points and opportunities.

Rafiki captures intelligible insights from your sales call and organizes them in an easy-to-access manner. It also offers an instant analysis of your calls to help you track customer objections and pinpoint key topics that triggered the most conversations. 

As a result, you’re able to overcome objections in real time while improving your offerings. You can also train or upskill based on key points in conversations.

 Listen to your prospects

When your prospect talks extensively about his/her issues, you know that you’re off to a good start. Listen carefully, make notes, and adapt your messaging to suit the prospect’s needs. 

Listening well will show that you are empathetic toward your prospect and it will make the conversation memorable. It will also demonstrate value to the prospect, making it more likely that he/she will agree to book the next meeting or demo.

 Undergo training to improve your skillset and build trust with clients

Selling does not come naturally to everybody but it’s a skill that can be learned. As an SDR, never stop upskilling yourself to improve your performance, and always strive to make prospects feel you are a trustworthy person.

What’s Next?

Now that you have seen how to make a sales call that leads to greater conversions? It’s time to get into action and what better way to enhance your sales call experience than using Rafiki’s AI-driven revenue intelligence tool?

Contact us to book a demo today!

A Guide To Sales Coaching Software

Sales coaching software helps sales managers train their teams in a more efficient, sales-driven manner. The entire goal of software sales coaching tools is to enhance the rep’s performance and the return on investment. Considering that each individual has their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to sales, the software helps them reach and exceed the overall individual/team quota.

According to Hubspot, one of the major reasons why sales representatives quit or switch jobs so frequently is the lack of career development and opportunities to educate themselves. Additionally, studies on data generated in enterprises like OMG also suggest that sales managers don’t spend enough time coaching their people well enough. 

Over 70% of sales representatives emphasize the importance of effective sales coaching in their growth. However, the kind of misconceptions floating around about how sales coaching works left us speechless. But first, let’s discuss why you need sales coaching software for better revenue generation.   

Why Is Sales Coaching Software Important?

With an ideal tool, organizations can coach a larger sales team, even remotely. Moreover, it can help companies reinforce training and push sales representatives to develop better sales skills.

At Rafiki, we ensure that you make the most of your sales coaching platform by integrating your actual sales calls and their transcripts, artificial intelligence (AI) driven call analytics, topic analysis, and standardized scoring and sharing practices. With more customer call data, you can discover winning patterns and develop customized coaching activities for each rep in the team. Moreover, the software can help reps receive personalized playlists and coaching sessions to ramp them up.

Research studies and insights from CSO suggest that there is a strong correlation between quota attainment and coaching. Exceeding expectations in coaching helps at least 94.8% of the representatives to meet the quota.

While you choose among the many options for the best sales coaching software, you must consider the must-haves for an ideal tool.

Essential Features of An Ideal Sales Coaching Software

To have a greater effect on the overall coaching process, you need these five must-have features in your sales coaching tool:

1. Video-based Coaching: 

The most important aspect of sales coaching is effective communication. This is critical because people absorb and communicate information as much as possible to learn. Thus, the first must-have for these tools is video coaching technology, which works through virtual video assignments. It majorly enhances reps’ sales pitches and confidence while being on camera. Recording a video of your assignments also helps managers use it later for reference or to pinpoint the exact area where a representative needs to improve upon.

Video based Sales Coaching

2. Machine Scoring: 

Sales coaching can never be a one-size-fits-all strategy. The software that you invest in needs to have a customized way of analyzing different people. Hence, the second important aspect is how AI and machine scoring are done in the tool. Check whether the system can automatically score and analyze the key areas in a sales pitch, namely, emotions, body language, and conversational tone. Using the comprehensive data from different representatives will also help you segregate the cream of your team.

3. Text-based Coaching: 

The next important aspect of sales training is a well-versed documentation skill. Improving a representative’s written communication skills is text-based coaching (e.g., Short Messaging Service (SMS) and emails). Under text-based coaching, representatives submit text-based documents as a part of their coaching activities. It ensures that the team is prepared for writing emails, thereby maintaining consistency in any other content as demanded by the situation.

4. Screen Recording: 

Once the representatives are learning through various customer call videos, audios, and textual assignments, they improve along the way. However, the mistakes made once shouldn’t be repeated. As a result, the tool should ensure that the coaching sessions are available for watching at a later time as well. Thus, the next important aspect that must be there in your coaching tool is the screen recorder. Through this, sales managers can pinpoint the part of the session that needs to be highlighted or ask the reps to work on a specific section of their pitch.

5. Seamless Integration with Existing Sales Tools:

Another important must-have for your software is its ability to integrate with your present sales tools effortlessly. Often, your coaching resources and content require data from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to work better. Therefore, an ideal strategy for your sales team’s success requires integration with your CRM to train your reps better.

Top 7 Sales Coaching Software

Now that you’ve seen the must-haves for your software, let us go through the top 7 sales coaching software – 

  • Rafiki

Considered to be one of the top-rated sales coaching software in 2021, Rafiki is your key to smart sales coaching. It offers solutions enabling digital transformation for companies and aid in the optimization of their sales processes. Along with improving employer efficiency, Rafiki also aims to lower training costs by making instructions and coaching smarter. 

  • SalesLoft

SalesLoft is a considerably important software used in adapting sales strategy and creating better revenues for the team. It replicates success by enforcing automatic sales plays, offering a tool for sales coaching, and providing a dashboard to have sales insights.

  • Gong

The next software on our list is Gong. It analyzes customer interactions across multiple channels and can aid in sales coaching by delivering valuable insights to your sales team.

  • Chorus.ai

Chorus.ai is another conversational intelligence platform that helps in winning more business revenue and enhancing sales skills for your team. It includes video conferences and accurately transcribed data in real-time.

  • Mindtickle

Another software that leverages comprehensive data from the sales team is MindTickle. It helps you develop and improve your sales team’s performance. Moreover, it promises to enhance your business deals rapidly.

  • Outreach

This software delivers detailed insights to build a core sales team. It automatically prioritizes the customer touchpoints and assists sales reps to get into the shoes of a customer to sell better. Moreover, with its sales dashboard, you can efficiently organize meetings and meet your quota expectations effortlessly.

  • Brainshark

This software is usually picked by large enterprises. Companies use it for on-demand training and personalized knowledge sharing among sales representatives to enhance overall revenue.

Overall, sales coaching software can do wonders for your business if used the right way. As experts in conversational intelligence, we at Rafiki build the best coaching solutions for your sales teams. Our dedicated team ensures that each of your challenges is solved in the most innovative yet streamlined way. Get in touch with Rafiki experts to know more.

Zoom Vs. Google Meet –  A Complete Analysis

The global COVID-19 pandemic has driven businesses everywhere to shift to remote working, making virtual meetings and video calls a regular occurrence for everyone. A lot of productivity and video conferencing tools have become indispensable during these times. Two such tools are Google Meet and Zoom.  In this blog, we will discuss their pros and cons, and which tool fits best with your needs. 

What is Google Meet?

Google Meet is a video conferencing application from the house of Google. It is a part of the Google Workspace bundle, which was formerly known as G-Suite. Google Meet has completely replaced its predecessor Google Hangouts as the go-to platform for video conferencing. 

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a popular cloud-based video conferencing application commonly used by teams globally for conducting virtual meetings and webinars. Apart from the usual video conferencing features, it also offers functions such as chat, conference rooms, and call options. 

Core Features – Zoom vs Google Meet

Screen Sharing

Both Google Meet and Zoom allow you to share your screen during a virtual meeting. Both also offer the option to set up virtual backgrounds, so you can cover your existing surroundings with an image of your choice. Both the tools hold up well with the videos during meetings.

Captions

Businesses are going global, and it’s commonplace to have people spread across geographies collaborating to get work done. What happens when you have people on the call who aren’t native to the language you are conversing in? For this, video conferencing tools offer an option to generate captions so that everybody can understand the discussion and participate effectively.

In Google Meet, you can switch on the captions instantly within the tool. Currently, only English captions are supported. On the other hand, with Zoom, you would need to integrate third-party tools to enable captions. Zoom itself does not offer the feature, unlike Google Meet.

So, if you need captions and do not want to integrate third-party apps, Google Meet might be a better bet.

Meeting Time

We often plan meetings in such a way that it wraps up in 30 minutes. But 9 out of 10 times, it overshoots. Happens to all of us, right? But what if your video conferencing tool sets a time limit on your meetings by default, and you were unable to finish that crucial discussion that you started? Thankfully, both Google Meet and Zoom do not offer any time limits on their premium/paid plans. However, for their basic/free plans, both the tools have caps on the meeting times. 

Google Meet offers 60 minutes of meeting time, while Zoom caps the meetings to 40 minutes on their free plan. So, if meeting duration is vital and you don’t plan to buy a premium plan, Google Meet would be a better idea due to the extra 10 minutes it offers.

Participants capacity

On its Basic and Pro plans, Zoom allows 100 participants, while it permits 300 participants with the Business plan and 500 with the Enterprise plan. Compared to this, Google Meet allows 100 participants on its free plan and 300 participants on its paid plans.

If you organize virtual events and need a higher capacity, choosing Zoom would be the way to go. If not, a free plan of either Google Meet or Zoom could work for you.

Recording

With Zoom, users can record and save up to 1GB of recording using their local devices with video and audio capabilities. With a paid plan, you can even save it on the cloud without the 1GB cap. With Google Meet, if you are on the free plan, you cannot record any meetings. You would need to upgrade to the paid plan to record, which you can save on Google Drive then.

Such challenges can be avoided by integrating either of these tools with Rafiki as it not only records your meetings but also captures key topics and moments of your meetings and even generates notes by topic to get you started. 

Product Phase

User Interface

With Zoom, you could see up to 49 participants on one screen, while with Google Meet, this number goes down to 16. Both tools offer different views for users to choose from. Here they are –

Google Meet

  • Auto: Your view gets automatically chosen for you
  • Sidebar: Only active speaker or screen will be displayed on a large window, while some participants will be on smaller windows on the left
  • Spotlight: The active speaker or screen gets displayed on the whole screen
  • Tiled: Up to 16 people get displayed on thumbnails on the screen


Zoom

  • Active speaker: Displays a large window showcasing the speaker or screen
  • Gallery: Displays thumbnails of up to 49 participants on the screen
  • Floating thumbnail: Minimize the Zoom window and have a small thumbnail floating over your other applications. You can move the thumbnail anywhere on the screen too.
  • Custom: Create your layout

Integrations

Both Zoom and Google Meet can be clubbed with various meeting assistant tools such as getRafiki.ai  to bolster the productivity of your meeting even further. In fact, Rafiki is one of the few approved vendors who have integration with Zoom. Through this integration, you can perform high-quality video recording, and accurate meeting transcription, and segment them based on topics for in-depth analytics. 

Rafiki Integrations

To know more about Rafiki’s integration with Zoom, click here.

Similarly, Rafiki is one of the few tools to have a seamless connection with Google Meet that offers in-depth analytics for all your conversations. Rafiki even supports a secure single sign-on feature via one-click login into Rafiki and Google Meet.

To know more about Rafiki’s integration with Google Meet, click here.

Pricing

Here is a comparison of the premium plans offered by Zoom and Google Meet.

All prices are monthly.

Wrapping Up

Both Google Meet and Zoom come with their unique pros and cons. While Google Meet provides few exclusive features like captions and longer meeting times on the free plan, Zoom also keeps things very competitive by offering recording capabilities, and more participants.

Rafiki can be a great addition to your meeting toolkit. You can integrate Rafiki with both Zoom and Google Meet accounts for high-quality video recording, accurate meeting transcription, and in-depth analytics. One up your meeting game with Rafiki by integrating it with your favorite meeting app – be it Zoom or Google Meet.

Call Transcription: All Sales Teams’ Mantra For Success

Have you ever ended a phone call and tried to replay the conversation in your head? There may be instances where you forgot to share a valuable piece of information with the client or described a solution in a more lucid manner. Here is where call transcriptions do their magic.

They convert your calls into word-form data for future reference and better analytics.  

So, how can transcription be the mantra for success for all sales teams? First, you may wonder what call transcription is all about. 

Call transcription definition 

Call transcription is the conversion of a voice or a video call audio track into words or plain text. The audio track has to be transcribed in a conversational language. It can be live or done on past recordings. 

This feature or tool is essential for most businesses. Over the years, it has gained popularity. Text has always enjoyed far more visibility than audio tracks and hence, it’s a prerequisite for sales teams. A sales team also uses Closed Captioning, real-time speech-to-text conversion services for people new to a language. 

How does call transcription work? 

Call transcription converts the conversations that occur in actual time into words, known as speech-to-text transcription. It provides a business with scannable records of all the conversations they have had with their customers. 

Let us now look at the benefits of a call transcription software for business and sales teams. 

Benefits of call transcription

1. Keeps records of all rep-to-customer conversations

A call transcription software comes in handy when you need to store a phone call with a prospect or potential client. It allows sales teams to access it when necessary. It provides them with an opportunity to pick up with the client where they left off, based on the recorded conversations. Sales teams can also learn about the audience and communicate internally to improve a buyer’s journey and customer experience via conversations. 

Tools like Rafiki enables businesses to consolidate their sales conversations in a single cloud database. They then slice and dice through the same to get actionable insights.


Rafiki Meeting

2. Search and scan specific information 

Call transcription software allows a sales team’s search for a specific piece of information from a prospect’s conversation. They can scan and search for highlighted keywords and phrases. They can cite references for a definite bit of information when following up with a customer. It helps them guide future interactions. 

Rafiki lets you search for keywords, speakers and topics in a particular meeting and instantly zip through a meeting without having to go through the entire transcript.

Rafiki Meeting Tracker

3. Integration with business tools 

Businesses can integrate the call-recording software with other systems and sales tools like customer relationship management (CRM), so that all the data is centrally located and accessible to all. 

With Rafiki, you can not only connect with the top CRM tools in the market, but also with your favorite conference call tools, calendar and messaging platforms. The best part is it takes only a few minutes to connect Rafiki with these workflow tools.

Rafiki Integration

Here is a complete list of all the integrations with Rafiki.

4. Identifying strengths and drawbacks 

This allows reps to re-listen to their calls with prospects. It improves the quality of future conversations. Also, sales teams can review which areas need improvement by tracking conversation metrics and point out what they should continue doing. 

A tool like Rafiki helps your reps to analyze their call recordings and convert them into meaningful insights. The insights generated help them to create actionable steps for their continuous improvement.  With the help of Rafiki they can even share snippets or the entire recording of their call to important stakeholders and request their feedback.

Talk to Listen Ratio

5. Used for training newly-hired members

You can share the transcriptions among reps and throughout the onboarding process. It is like handing a ready script to a new member for what to say when conversing with a client. It helps in training new reps in suitable tactics and gaining feedback from managers.

Rafiki improves the pace of the onboarding process by analyzing the performances at an individual level and helping decide what type of training is the most effective. It also helps assess pipeline health and productivity by offering activity analysis of each rep. 

Rafiki Time Spent On Call

Now, let us understand the top 5 software tools to use for call transcription. 

Top 5 software tools to use for call transcription

There are several call transcription software tools available today. Some are strictly call transcription tools while others assist in call recording and other features. They are: 

Fireflies.ai 

This software assists meetings with the ability to record, transcribe using off-the-shelf software and search for conversations. It is a powerful tool for a sales team seeking to include transcribed conversations in live talks or audio files. It allows them to highlight particular points in the conversation that took place earlier instead of scrambling for notes.

Fireflies

Gong

Another software, called Gong, is a revenue intelligence platform. With its automatic call recording and transcription features, sales teams can completely focus on prospect calls. This software allows you to search for specific comments and mark the most fundamental parts of a conversation. It analyses call transcriptions and identifies the key topics in a conversation with your prospects.


gong

Jiminny 

It is another revenue intelligence platform made for remote teams. It automatically records, transcribes and analyses calls. Upon disconnecting the call with your client, it directly sends the call transcription to the cloud for easy access and analysis. 

Jiminny

Wingman 

It is a conversation intelligence platform that transcribes calls across dialers and audio-video meetings. It is the most suitable software for fast-growing sales teams. Powered by artificial intelligence, Wingman transcribes a call and provides insights to sales teams into what their customers want.

Wingman

Rafiki

Another essential call transcription software is Rafiki. You may wonder, why choose Rafiki, especially over others? Here is why:

Rafiki, a call transcription software, serves a dual purpose. It is a conversational and revenue intelligence platform. It allows you to plan and retrieve intelligible data insights from a prospect call. Powered by AI, it quickly evaluates the conversation patterns of the successful sales reps and shows the impactful topic of the call. Other benefits include: 

  • Allowing you to track which topics triggered the maximum conversations
  • Allowing sales teams to adopt a data-driven approach 
  • Tracking customer’s objections

Rafiki (Friend/Guide in Swahili) is the most affordable and full-featured software which helps sales reps to improve their performance. 

Rafiki

Conclusion 

Call transcription has become a vital component of business for most sales teams. Its many benefits can help your team grow, understand future prospects and effectively assist clients, improving their customer experience. 

Rafiki with its excellent full-featured software model has been in focus. With Rafiki, SBM and other fast-growing companies, you do not need to compromise on getting valuable insights. 

Know more about Rafiki and how it can help by contacting us.