TechCrunch offers up a detailed list of what is called “The Sales Stack”, actions supported by technologies for the entire sales funnel:
- Pre-Contact (Lead Generation)
- Inbound (Predictive)
- Outbound (Messaging)
- Analytics (To Measure The Health Of A Sales Funnel)
- Meetings (Demos)
- Proposal (Configure Price Quote/E-Sign)
- Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”)
- Sales Rep Hiring.
What’s missing in the list is 4a. Predictive Analytics.
Analytics by itself tends to be a visualization of pipeline data segmented by gates (ie 10% meeting, 30% demo, 50% proposal) and is not a true indicator of sales funnel health.
Predictive Analytics gives you a more accurate assessment of your sales pipeline by:
- looking at historical won/lost opportunities across a number of attributes
- applying those insights against pipeline opportunities.
The delta between a gate-derived forecast and one using predictive analytics can be quite startling. The SalesChoice Insight Engine has documented history of 85% prediction accuracy, which allows sales rep and their leaders improve forecasts, reduce deal ramp times and accelerate top-line revenues.
Here’s some useful links
Predictive Analytics for Sales Leaders PDF
Interview Q&A with Macadamian Technologies
Link to upcoming Insight Engine Demos
Here’s the Link to the TechCrunch Article