Sales Technology Trends 2024

By TechDogs Editorial Team

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Overview

The Office was known for its unique take on the humorous side of an office setting. While everyone shares jokes at the workplace and often plays funny pranks with their colleagues, The Office managed to club numerous such happenings gracefully!

What’s more is that the characters were unique in behavior, personality and mindsets - but still managed to work together and achieve their primary goal – making sales! While the UK version ran from 2001 to 2003, the US version began in 2005 running through 2013, meaning neither version of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company used much modern technology.

You could imagine how ecstatic Jim Halpert would have been at the availability of automation technology, while a disgruntled Dwight Schrute would express his lack of trust in emails created using AI. Maybe Pam Beesly would finally be able to put her designing interest to use through low-code/no-code platforms and we bet Micheal Scott would spend his day playing immersed in the Metaverse!

We may witness such an office if the show were to be rebooted. However, businesses and offices in the real world have already enhanced their processes using the latest technologies to stay ahead of the competition.

If you want to be one of them, explore this list of the top 5 Sales Technology Trends of 2024!

While Dwight Schrute, Jim Halpert and Dunder Mifflin Paper Company prized themselves upon maintaining a human touch when it came to approaching, interacting, pitching, selling and servicing customers, they also adopted technology to help them perform better.

They leveraged the technology they had access to at the time to enhance their daily processes, ensuring to blend it with their customized human touch. Essentially, they understood that the infusion of technology wasn’t there to replace humans but to help them perform better in selling their products.

Sales technology helps businesses work efficiently and effectively, to achieve higher sales by engaging with their potential customers and existing ones in a better way. Furthermore, it enables seamless functionality within the organization, helping professionals in the sales pipeline achieve higher productivity. They also recognize that keeping up with technology is vital to stay ahead of competitors!

Moving on from the Top Sales Technology Trends of 2023, let’s look at what’s going to be trending the the sales sphere this year – read on to discover the top Sales Technology trends for 2024!

Trend 1: Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Will Be At The Center Of Sales

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It’s no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) continues as a trend this year, just as it did last year. In fact, AI has been revolutionizing almost every industry, as it helps automate tasks, generate marketing text and images and streamline processes. Furthermore, the blend of AI and ML (machine learning) helps enhance predictive analytics, improves lead generation, personalizes interactions and even facilitates quick interaction with prospects using AI-powered chatbots.

HubSpot Blog’s State of AI 2023 Report surveyed 1,350 professionals across a variety of business departments and found that AI helps the average professional save 2.5 hours per day. Out of this, 63% of marketers say generative AI content performs better than content made without its help.

Ahead of this, Gartner predicts that 30% of outbound messages from large enterprises will be generated using such technologies. The sales game will see Gen AI integrate with CRM platforms to quickly build personalized messages at scale. According to Dan Gottlieb, a senior director analyst in Gartner’s sales practice, “Generative AI is on course to change the way sales organizations do business … AI will empower B2B sales teams to easily produce highly relevant content, creating better messaging to engage a higher number of buyers in a deal faster.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway: One of the most important things sales teams need to do is identify the right tools to be used. For this, they should consider investing in an AI suite or connecting with experts within the organization who can understand which processes can benefit from AI. Businesses also need to train their sales executives and other employees on how to use AI tools effectively before integrating the tools into their processes. Finally, businesses can also explore the idea of developing custom AI models to match the voice and tone of their brand. To do this, they must also ensure to adhere to ethical considerations to steer clear of biases and data privacy concerns in creating tailored AI models.

Trend 2: Extended Reality Will Enhance The Sales Experience

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Coming in as a new trend this year, extended reality or XR, is helping businesses provide their customers with direct personal experiences by blending the capabilities of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). This is especially true of companies that rely on visual cues to sell their products and services. Hence, the technology will enable businesses to conduct remote sales by meeting prospective customers in the metaverse or alternate virtual spaces in 2024, making it a major Sales Tech trend.

Furthermore, Ecommerce brands can display their products using a computer-generated 3D environment using VR or produce digital overlays in the customer’s existent environment using augmented reality. Combining both, businesses can provide robust product displays, enabling customers to experience the products in a more immersive manner, with extended reality (XR).

It's no surprise that the extended reality industry is growing at a quick pace. According to a report by Allied Market Research, the global extended reality industry generated $33 billion in 2021 and is slated to reach $446.6 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 30.1% between 2022 and 2031.

Taking the case of Chipotle, the chain of restaurants, that has been experimenting with extended reality for various promotional activities, including tying up with an NHL team to make it look like a giant burrito bowl was absorbed into the rink. Stephanie Perdue, VP of Brand Marketing at Chipotle said, “With the right program and partners, extended reality can drive conversion … Last year, we saw a tremendous response to our fun, culturally relevant, and insight-backed activations.” The same is expected from other forward-thinking sales businesses in 2024.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: To leverage this trend, businesses should look at building their infrastructure and creating virtual platforms to display and demonstrate their products to customers. They can also consider creating virtual stores, where customers can check in and browse products like in a supermarket and add them to their “carts” – the same shopping experience but sitting at home. Another avenue available for businesses is to create a virtual space for customers to test products, which allows them to experience it before purchasing. Lastly, at the backend, businesses can leverage the technology to train their sales teams across various locations in one go, instead of at different times, facilitating quick transfer of knowledge in a cost-effective way.

Trend 3: Low-code And No-code Platforms Will Empower Sales Teams

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A new trend in our list this year, low-code and no-code tools help businesses develop and deliver applications faster than traditional development tools. Seeing as it’s not feasible for sales teams to keep visiting IT and development teams to enhance their sales enablement platforms, marketers require a more robust solution. This will be addressed in 2024 through low and no-code adoption on the sales front.

Low-code and no-code tools enable associates with less or no technical knowledge to create visually appealing applications. Essentially, they can use these visual collaboration tools to add features and capabilities, customize applications, integrate systems and infuse the content they want. Furthermore, it will allow salespeople to use additional platforms like Customer Data Platforms, Digital Engagement Platforms, Content Management and more.

Kissflow finds that no-code tools are 10x faster than traditional application development tools and that 85% of workers feel that no-code tools add value to their lives. Furthermore, Gartner predicts that by 2025, 70% of new applications developed by organizations will use low-code or no-code technologies, coming up from under 25% in 2020.

According to Hendrik Isebaert, CEO of Showpad, a sales enablement platform provider, “No-code intelligence is immensely valuable to organizations as it puts customer-facing teams in the driver’s seat to build velocity and drive volume … Additionally, with an open and scalable sales ecosystem, customer-facing teams can more effectively team up with customers and their partners to build with ease on top of sales solutions, customizing it to meet their needs.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway: Sales-driven businesses should begin by identifying how and where such platforms could benefit their organization, teams and customers. This includes finding internal and external use cases, such as processes that can be automated, sales operations that can be streamlined and applications that can be customized. The next thing businesses should focus on is picking and evaluating a platform that suits their unique requirements, including scalability, integration capabilities, ease of use and others. The final move comes in the form of training teams across the organization to familiarize themselves with such platforms and leverage them for application development on a day-to-day level to boost sales outcomes. Yet, they must also monitor the platform to ensure adherence to legal and other compliance requirements.

Trend 4: Interactive Content Will Boost Customer Engagement

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Interactive content enters our list as a new trend this year as businesses will look to use more interactive content. This comes in the form of quizzes, polls, videos, questionnaires and others and ties in with AR and VR technologies (see Trend #2) as well as 360-degree videos.

90% of buyers prefer interactive content over traditional methods, as per FindMyCRM. Additionally, a report by Rock Content finds that 88% of marketers believe interactive content helps brands differentiate themselves from others. As to its effectiveness, the report also states that more than 96% of people who start quizzes on BuzzFeed finish them.

Talking about the change in content management styles, Irinia Soriano, VP of enablement at Seismic, says, “We’ve seen a lot of movement in the content management side, not just in how content is displayed and collected but in the different ways the technology is displayed to management teams … There has been a lot of movement in how content is presented, absorbed, and shared with buyers and prospects throughout the customer life cycle.”

Another form of interactive content includes digital sales rooms (DSRs) which offer a collaborative and consolidated platform for buyers to interact with suppliers. Here, Gartner believes that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will use such channels. Another method includes answering questions and sharing expertise related to the industry, without trying to push products. This way, customers associate with your brand, when seeking solutions. Hence, these channels will address the customer demand for interactive content in sales interactions in 2024.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: Businesses need to put long-form static content on the back burner in 2024 and explore modern, dynamic styles. This means that they must make use of short forms of interactive content like quizzes, tests, polls, short videos, demo videos, competitions, memes, infographics, podcasts (audio and video) and more. To further their video and podcast efforts, businesses can bring on skilled and expert scriptwriters, content writers and video editors. Alternatively, they could tie up with content creators and social media influencers. Another tip is to experiment with emerging technologies such as AR/VR (see Trend #2) to create platforms that gamify contests and competitions, to further engage customers.

Trend 5: Sales Automation Will Continue Driving Sales

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Building up from last year, sales automation remains a trend this year. It’s no surprise, considering how automating routine tasks makes processes simpler, quicker and more efficient. You could say that sales automation tools could soon become an industry norm rather than a yearly trend. In 2024, sales automation will allow employees to focus on more creative activities and offer more personalization when interacting with prospects or customers.

Sales automation also helps remove and reduce the sales friction from incompetent agents or long-drawn-out processes, to speed up operations. This is just another avenue that’s been enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) (see Trend #1). Essentially, sales automation will help businesses automate tasks, including lead generation, email marketing, workflow management, sales management, customer management, etc. It can also integrate with several tools such as CRM systems and more. In fact, HubSpot finds that 60% of sales professionals believe automation tools are important to their overall sales strategy, while 57% agree that by 2024, most sales professionals will use them.

According to Sameer Kazi, President of Marketing and sales automation company, ActiveCampaign, “Businesses of all sizes can benefit from sales automation, from solopreneurs to mid-market companies to enterprises. Small business owners, in particular, can leverage sales automation to make the most of a lean team. Mid-market companies can use sales automation to scale that team to achieve higher revenue goals, while enterprises can use sales automation to give every single prospect and customer the same amount of attention as when they were that small business.”

TechDogs’ Takeaway: To leverage this trend, businesses need to assess specific areas that sales automation can help their organization and sales teams with. They should factor in functions such as lead generation, lead scoring, email marketing and workflow automation. Next, businesses also need to ensure they pick a tool that’s suitable to their needs after thorough research and evaluation. Sales leaders need to understand their effectiveness by conducting mock trials within the sales team before company-wide implementation. Another important aspect to consider is that any sales automation tool they implement should integrate well with their existing tools.

Wrapping It Up!

So, there you go! Sales Technology allows businesses and sales teams to enhance their sales capabilities and offer better service to prospective customers as well as existing ones. With the advancement of technology, sales teams have been empowered to provide better experiences and function better themselves.

The focus in 2024 will include using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to boost sales, extended reality (XR) to enhance sales experiences, low-code and no-code platforms to allow sales teams to customize their digital personality, interactive content to boost engagement and sales automation to enhance the effectiveness of processes. Consider where you can adopt these technologies, as they’re coming in full swing in 2024!

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Tags:

Sales Management SoftwareSales Technology Artificial Intelligence (AI) Machine Learning (ML) Extended Reality (XR) Virtual Reality (VR) Augmented Reality (AR) Low-code No-code Interactive Content Customer Engagement Sales Automation Sales Teams Automation Predictive Analytics Digital Sales Rooms (DSRs)

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