The foundation of any successful sales team is customer data, but gaining a complete, 360degree view of the customer can be a significant challenge. It’s not just about the risk of working with inaccurate data, but also the time wasted by sales people gathering this information when they could be out speaking to prospects and clients.

The sales process can be a source of competitive advantage in the market, but more often it is a significant inhibitor to performance. Many are fragmented, due to organic growth or M&A activity, making it difficult to instil standardised, collaborative practices. The result: missed opportunities, disjointed activity and an inconsistent customer experience.

Every sales process is saturated with information, and the key to working smarter is how much intelligence can be extracted from this data – meaningful insight into pipeline activity, real-time management, forecasting, and automated reporting in support of KPIs – to deliver the operational transparency that will drive sales effectiveness.