How the UK went all-in on sales tech

How do sales leaders keep up when buyers decide that they prefer virtual purchase journeys? What do they put their faith in when face-to-face meetings and handshakes are no longer on hand to build trust?

LinkedIn’s new State of Sales report for the UK delivers a resounding answer. Sales organisations in the country have gone all-in on sales technology as their response to the pandemic – and the revolution is only just getting started. 

Half of all sales organisations in the UK say they’ve responded to the pandemic by increasing their investment in sales tech, with even more (52%) saying they will grow investment next year – and roughly a third anticipating an increase of 50% or more. At least 40% of sales professionals now use virtual collaboration, CRM and sales intelligence tools, roughly a third now use sales planning, sales engagement and sales enablement tools, and around three quarters expect to increase their use of every type of tool over the next year.

The rise and rise of sales intelligence tools

The lion’s share of the extra tech investment is being channelled towards sales intelligence, with three quarters of sales organisations planning to increase their investment in these tools going forward. Sales intelligence tools provide the data and insights that sales professionals rely on to prioritise opportunities – and reach out in an informed way that can persuade remote buyers to engage. They also provide the strategic insight and market data that sales organisations depend on to plan their way through changing market landscapes. This has driven a spike in usage over the last year, with 71% of sales professionals describing sales intelligence as critical for closing deals.

Interestingly, top performing salespeople who exceed their quota by 25% or more place even greater importance on sales intelligence tools than their peers do. They’re more than twice as likely to describe them as extremely critical to getting deals over the line. In doubling down on their investment in intelligence, businesses aren’t taking a step into the unknown. They’re learning from the salespeople who have adapted most effectively to the virtual selling transition – and rolling out similar tech-powered methodologies across the rest of their teams.

Sales intelligence is becoming the foundation of virtual selling. It’s also becoming synonymous with LinkedIn. Two thirds of salespeople (63%) now use LinkedIn as their source of sales intelligence, which is over 50% more than any other platform or tool. Half of all sales professionals in the UK use the specialist sales intelligence tools of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which is itself more than any other sales intelligence platform. Over half (51%) of sales professionals now choose LinkedIn as the best source of unique data for informing sales strategy.

Investing to make data the differentiator

Sales organisations have recognised the value of data as a differentiator and a source of competitive advantage. They’ve also realised that leveraging this advantage involves adding new skills to the sales organisation. LinkedIn hiring data shows that the number of sales operations roles has grown 2.7x faster than traditional sales roles over the last year. In the UK, 56% of sales organisations are planning to hire more sales operations experts over the next 12 months, with 23% expecting to hire significantly more.

The rise of sales operations as a core capability is helping to expand how sales data is applied. At least a third of UK sales organisations now take a data-led approach to defining the buying committee, selecting accounts and industries to target, and evaluating patterns from closed-won and closed-lost business. At the same time, data is encouraging new approaches to tracking pipeline and sales performance. Activity quota and customer lifetime value are now the most important metrics for measuring salespeople’s performance, overtaking individual quota.

Using tech to support the sales transition

The future of sales is tech-enabled, playing out in a landscape where remote buying and self-directed purchasing have become the go-to option for B2B decision-makers. It’s an environment where salespeople need to lead with challenging perspectives and informed customer advocacy that provide a value buyers can’t generate for themselves. Sales intelligence, a data-led approach to planning and a more sophisticated view of how salespeople create value all have a vital role to play in this transition. However, taking full advantage of the potential of sales technology also involves embracing a new philosophy of sales, focused on putting the buyer first.

Any change in methodology represents a challenge for sales organisations. Embedding a new approach across a sales team that’s working remotely is even trickier. Sales coaching technology offers to help smooth this transition – and it’s no surprise that this is currently the fastest-growing sales tech category. Sales professionals in the UK reported minimal use of coaching tools a year ago. Today, 28% use them – and those evolving their skills this way are significantly more likely to exceed quota. Among top performers surpassing targets by 25% or more, 39% have sales coaching tools.

Download the full State of Sales report for the UK to explore the full implications of the shift to virtual sales – and why tech-enabled sales offers such an important competitive advantage:

• How virtual selling has become the preferred option for buyers, with decision-makers claiming it’s made purchasing significantly easier
• Why top sales performers are almost twice as likely to say they put the buyer first – even ahead of the needs of their own organisation
• The importance of challenging buyers’ thinking – something 80% of buyers want from salespeople, but only 10% experience very often
• How customer referrals became the most important outreach tactic

The UK’s State of Sales has changed for good. Download the full report to make sure that change works for you.

If you'd like to discover more of LinkedIn's 2021 State of Sales findings, why not catch up on our webinar discussion. Where we discussed the key findings from our global survey with sales experts from across the globe.