
Sales Technology
5 Sales Technology Trends That Will Rule 2021
By TechDogs Editorial Team

Overview
This iconic quote by Vulture, the fictional super villain from the movie Spider-Man: Homecoming, is now becoming an unspoken truth in the real world. The Covid-19 pandemic brought about drastic changes globally and shifted the societal paradigm faster than we hit snooze on a lazy Sunday morning. Everything changed - our daily routine, lifestyle choices, goals and much more. We needed to adjust to this new normal swiftly.
The sales and marketing functions of businesses were no different. Salespeople realized it was necessary to readjust to the shifting consumer behavior. We mean, who would've guessed that roller skates' sales would skyrocket by 800% during a global pandemic! Sales leaders needed to identify emerging trends sooner and adopt technologies and strategies that would help them keep pace with customer demands. From integrating Artificial Intelligence to providing a personalized multi-channel experience - Sales Technology is evolving for the better in 2021.
So, here's a look at 5 Sales Technology Trends that will rule the world of sales in 2021.
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Advancements in technology have always affected the business landscape. Think of email or GPS or even cloud storage - they were complete game-changers, right? Organizations that adopted these technologies early on were much ahead of the curve later. That's because they understood the law of the wild: it's not the strongest that survives; it is the one that is the most adaptable to change.
In 2021, the primary motivation for salespeople will be to put the law of the wild into action. Businesses relying on sales will embrace the latest technological trends that help predict emerging consumer trends, streamline sales efforts and fine-tune their sales strategies. To quote the merciless, insatiable Dunder Mifflin salesmen, Dwight Schrute, "Sales is a battle, so figure out your strategy."
That's the real agenda for sales in 2021. Keeping that in mind, let's dive in and check out the top 5 Sales Tech trends that will rule in 2021!
Trend 1: Video Format Will Play A Vital Role In The Sales Sphere

What's common among social media platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram? Yes, sure, they are all limitless voids where an hour feels like 8 minutes but that's not the point. We're talking about videos! Call them Snaps, Stories or Reels - videos are ubiquitous on social media and will be a massive trend for sales in 2021.
This year, sales will move away from traditional text blogs, articles, emailers and newsletters towards video format. What's fuelling this trend is that videos can be implemented into practically any platform – social media, business or entertainment. Video tracking will be the most significant benefit, as it will reveal how much of the video a viewer has watched, which sections they skipped or rewatched. Not just pre-recorded videos, video-based communication will also dominate in 2021. With the rise in video sales approaches, Cisco's Visual Networking Index forecasts that videos will account for 82% of all internet traffic by 2022.
Tibor Shanto, Chief Value Officer at Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., says, "Videos are just going to continue more and more as 5G comes on. I look at my strategy and it takes me a lot less to do a vlog (video blog) than to write a blog." Naturally, not everybody likes reading newsletters or emailers; however, everyone watches videos – the easiest format to consume. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million!
TechDogs' Opinion: As video tactics for sales grow, so will the analysis of video performance metrics. Video tracking will allow businesses to identify which section of the video is not working as expected. This will enable better-personalized communication to consumers, which in turn, will convert leads faster.
Trend 2: Artificial Intelligence Will Be Used To Analyze Sales Data

Forecasting and analyzing sales data is one of the most crucial aspects of the sales cycle. Analysts study sales data to evaluate their current performance and develop future sales strategies. Most analysts rely on dedicated software to analyze their sales data and derive business insights.
In 2021, however, sales analysis will become simpler, more precise and significantly less time-consuming by letting Artificial Intelligence (AI) take over the grunt work. For example, using AI to analyze sales data will enable businesses to deliver a personalized experience based on consumers' past interactions and buying behavior. AI forecasting will provide a precise view of consumer behavior and the trends that will influence it. Now, Gordon Gekko from Wall Street may have been a money-hungry crook but he was spot on when he said, "The most valuable commodity I know of is information."
Gartner's Future of Sales report for 2025 states that around 60% of B2B businesses will transition to data-driven selling in the next five years. Integrating Artificial Intelligence to analyze sales and consumer data will be a critical ingredient in the adoption of data-driven selling - like mozzarella to a Margherita pizza!
Are you hungry or is it just us?
TechDogs' Opinion: AI integration in sales will pave the way for better business insights and a new sales strategy - guided selling. AI will use sales data to recognize correlations between actions and outcomes, allowing sales teams to pinpoint what has worked best for them and emulate it for other sales campaigns.
Trend 3: Conversational Experiences Will Augment The Sales Cycle

You surely do your research on the web before buying furniture or an expensive gadget; yet there's nothing like talking to a sales representative who can patiently answer all of your queries - even if you ask the same thing six times! Businesses invest a lot of resources in training such agents who thoroughly understand their products. This will change in 2021 through the adoption of chatbots and live chat features.
In 2021, businesses will augment sales channels with live chat features and chatbots. This will allow companies to reach out to their customers via chat and vice versa. Kayako, a company that offers customer service and help desk software, says 52 percent of customers are more inclined to make repeat purchases if the company provides support via live chat.
The rise of conversational customer experience (CX) is closely connected to the rising popularity of using Artificial Intelligence (Trend 2) in sales. Chatbots use the data analyzed by AI to personalize communication. Even businesses offering live chat will use AI to analyze information in real-time to provide top-notch service to the consumer. According to Finances Online and McKinsey, 76% of B2B buyers find it helpful to speak to someone when they want to purchase a new product or service. Chatbots and live chat functionality will be at the forefront to engage with consumers.
TechDogs’ Opinion: Businesses will soon deploy chatbots to answer recurring customer queries or resolve specific issues, reducing the need to train sales agents. Furthermore, AI-powered chatbots will be available round the clock to process low-priority or high-volume queries, helping sales teams balance the workload on human agents. However, businesses must ensure that chatbots do not replace human engagement channels (sales agents), as humans will always be vastly superior at connecting with humans.
Trend 4: CRM Software Will Join Hands With Social Media For Better Customer Insights

Salesmen (and saleswomen) are bona-fide geniuses when convincing someone to buy their product or service. Take Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street; although a con artist and scammer, his sales talks were legendary. It was said that he could sell ice to an Eskimo! However, most salesmen are not Mr. Belfort. To be convincing, sellers must first understand their consumers' likes, aversions and expectations to build a good rapport. If your client enjoys baseball, talk about the Yankees, not the Lakers - simple as that!
In 2021, social media will join hands with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms to build “Social CRM” tools. Businesses will gain valuable insights from social media to understand brand perception and response to specific sales campaigns. Social CRM will assist in building a better rapport with customers, which will lead to higher customer engagement. According to Nucleus Research, a technology research firm, customer retention can increase by up to 26% with social CRM. With the pervasiveness of social media, social CRM will be a big win for businesses wanting to modernize their sales strategies. Who else is going to tell you that your client is a Yankees guy, not a Lakers guy!
TechDogs' Opinion: Social CRM tools present a considerable advantage for sales employees as they will allow quicker insights on what consumers are doing, what they're currently attracted to and when they are most likely to buy. It will enable sales teams to automate and optimize their outreach strategies accordingly.
Trend 5: Sales Will Become A Personalized Multi-Channel Experience

Buyers are no longer tied to a single channel. They use different channels and enter the sales funnel at different stages of buying - awareness, interest, decision or action. Salespeople need to take this channel agnostic behavior into account in 2021 and adjust their tactics accordingly.
Buyers use different channels because they have distinct buying preferences, which means the same approach won't work for every channel. Mark Schaefer, executive director at Schaefer Marketing Solutions, asserts that businesses need to provide relevant and unique content on every channel. "You can't keep putting the same stuff on all these channels, or it's going to get annoying. We need to be everywhere but we need to continue to surprise and delight our customers in a relevant and consistent way wherever they are."
In 2021, sales will need to evolve beyond traditional approaches and personalize consumers' experiences across various channels. If businesses don't tailor and personalize content for different channels, customers may not be sold on whatever they're trying to sell.
TechDogs' Opinion: Using a social CRM tool (as mentioned in Trend 4) will allow businesses to collect and organize all interactions with an individual across multiple channels, including social media. This will help companies personalize each individual's experience based on channel-specific insights. Bottom line; if your users are constantly confronted with content that they don't care about, they'll leave for businesses that offer personalization.
ABC Of Sales – Always Be Closing

It wouldn't be wrong to call sales a competitive profession. As Dwight Schrute said, "Sales is a battle..." and one cannot win a battle without technological innovation - or a fierce battle cry.
Yes, guys, a battle cry is a must!
The battle cry for salespeople throughout 2021 will be "Adopt to Adapt." Adopting these five technological trends will help automate and digitize sales interactions, optimize customer relationship management and enhance customer personalization for sales. The key to business continuity and survival is adapting to the ever-changing consumer behavior.
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