As Head of Sales Operations for a digital technology company, Tone Sarjanen knows that a tech solution is only as effective as the data behind it. That’s why she’s clear about the number one priority for her role.

“My first priority has been making sure that we have a consistent set of data that we can roll up at group level to learn what to do more of, what to do less of, and give a sense of direction,” she says. “I advise all sellers to go to where the data is freshest, and that’s LinkedIn. I’ve worked with LinkedIn and Sales Navigator in three different companies and I know how powerful it can be when you use it right.”

Making the right use of fresh, high-quality data comes down to a culture of collaboration within the sales team. “The best sellers at landing new logos are those that can build relationships,” she says. “They tend to be the sellers who are really good at collaborating internally, leveraging the whole organisation to get what they need, in order to deliver what the customer needs.”

That internal collaboration depends on pooling insights from across a sales organisation, “not hiding anything in the drawer but declaring all your leads and opportunities,” as Tone puts it. Helping generate insight from across those opportunities is one of the most exciting applications she envisages for AI. “It’s a big game-changer, but it’s not going to replace people buying from people,” she says. “The exciting thing is when it can suggest the collateral for a seller to use, based on the conversation they’ve had, or point them to another customer we’ve done something similar for, and another team in the organisation that can support them. It can unlock the insights in your CRM.”