Digital Sales Platforms

A market map with 10,000 companies is impossible to prioritize. These are the 300 to know. I was a VP of Product in sales tech. And I was frustrated with the maps I found. So I've been studying the space and speaking with experts. Here's the players you need to know: — ONE - Core: Revenue Operating System This is your CRM, your system of record - where your sales operation begins. I break this into 3 segments: Enterprise Platforms → Built for large organizations with complex workflows and high-volume deals → Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP Growth-Stage Solutions → Designed for growing businesses that need scalable tools but with flexibility to adapt → HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, SugarCRM Modern CRMs → Startups and fast-scaling companies looking to move fast without rigid systems rely on modern CRMs. → Attio, Affinity, Close.io, Copper, Freshsales. — LAYER TWO - Engagement & Intelligence These tools power outbound outreach, automate sequences, and provide real-time data on prospects: → Outreach, Salesloft, VanillaSoft, Groove Engagement tools ensure your team hits the right prospect at the right time. — LAYER THREE - Revenue Acceleration These platforms shorten deal cycles: → Gong, Salesloft, Chorus.ai, Ebsta With real-time feedback and actionable insights... — LAYER FOUR - Data & Enrichment Your outreach is only as good as the data backing it. These platforms ensure you’re reaching out to right prospects. → ZoomInfo, Apollo.io, Clearbit, Lusha, Hunter io, Cognism — SATELLITE CLUSTERS - Modern GTM Stack These tools enhance parts of the GTM journey. AI-Enhanced Tools → Automate and personalize content creation at scale. → Writer, Grammarly, CopyAI, Jasper Product-Led Motion → Identify sales-ready leads through product engagement. → Pocus, Intercom, Breyta Sales Enablement → Equip sales teams with training, resources, and playbooks to perform at their best. → Seismic, Spekit, Allego Conversational GTM → Convert prospects directly through real-time chat. → Drift (now part of Salesloft) — SATELLITE CLUSTERS- Emerging Categories These are adjacent categories sales teams often still use. Product Analytics → Track user behaviors post-sale for better upsell and retention opportunities. → Amplitude, Mixpanel Customer Success → Ensure long-term customer retention and success beyond the initial sale. → Gainsight, Catalyst, Totango Workspace Integration → Enable seamless collaboration across sales and operations. → Notion, Slack, Airtable, monday.com Revenue Orchestration → Connect workflows across different systems to streamline revenue operations. → NektarAI, Tray.io, Workato, Boomi — This took a lot of time. Reshare ♻️ if you loved this post. What tools would you add?

I almost fired our best SDR last year. It wasn’t personal. He was a good guy, worked hard, and always showed up on time. But month after month, his numbers weren’t improving. Emails went unanswered. Calls never connected. Demos? Non-existent. We were both frustrated. I started to wonder if he was the problem. Maybe sales wasn’t his thing? Then one afternoon, we grabbed coffee. Instead of talking numbers, we talked openly. I asked him straight-up: “Why isn’t it working?” He took a deep breath and replied: “I’m following our playbook. I send hundreds of emails, but honestly, I’m just guessing. I don’t really know who’s ready to talk, so I try everyone.” It hit me like a ton of bricks. We’d built a system based on volume and hope, not precision. It wasn’t him. it was us. We’d given him the wrong tools, the wrong strategy. So instead of letting him go, we completely changed how we did outbound. We stopped guessing. We started paying attention to signals: Who’s visiting our LinkedIn profiles? (Tracked via Teamfluence™) Who’s engaging silently with our posts? (Tracked via Clay) Who’s spending serious time on our website? (Tracked via RB2B) Suddenly, our SDR wasn’t sending cold messages. He was following signals that said, “Hey, I’m interested. Talk to me.” Within a month, his reply rate doubled. In two months, he became our top performer. Today, he leads our outbound team. It wasn’t about effort. It was about timing and having a system that showed him exactly when to reach out and who to reach out to. Outbound isn’t about sending more messages. It’s about knowing exactly when and how to engage. If your SDRs are struggling, ask yourself: Are they failing you or are you failing them? It might change your perspective. It certainly changed ours. #Outbound #SalesLeadership #SDRlife #RevOps #LinkedInSales #SalesLessons #GTMStrategy #B2BSaaS #SmartSelling #GTMEngineering #AIOutbound #Teamfluence #Clay

I interview a lot of performance marketers, and there’s one question no one till now has got it right! I ask them, "How many days should we retarget BOF audiences?" They take a deep breath, straighten up, and confidently say: 👉 "7, 14, and 30 days." Like they just cracked some secret code. So, I push further. "Why 7, 14, and 30?" Silence. A nervous smile. Maybe a generic answer like "That’s what everyone does." Most marketers run ads like they’re following a playbook, not understanding the psychology of a buyer. They apply the same fixed formula whether the product is a ₹500 lipstick or a ₹2,00,000 luxury watch. And guess what? That’s why their BOF campaigns underperform. They all know the technical side of running ads on Meta, but I often find one big gap in their thinking. Here’s the problem: BOF retargeting windows should not be fixed. They should be based on how long a customer takes to make a buying decision. If you sell a ₹499 pair of sunglasses, your customer doesn't need 30 days to decide. But if you sell a ₹50,000 camera, they’re not buying within 3 days either. The Right Way to Set BOF Retargeting Days 👇 💰 Impulse Buys (₹500 - ₹4,000) → BOF: 1-7 days 🛍️ Examples: Skincare, fashion accessories, snacks 📅 Why? People make quick decisions. If they haven’t bought in 7 days, they probably never will. 💰 Considered Purchases (₹4,000 - ₹25,000) → BOF: 3-14 days 🛍️ Examples: Sneakers, home decor, small appliances 📅 Why? Customers compare brands, check reviews, and take about a week or two to decide. 💰 High-Involvement Purchases (₹25,000 - ₹1,50,000) → BOF: 7-30 days 🛍️ Examples: Laptops, furniture, luxury watches 📅 Why? These require more research. Customers look for warranties, financing options, and comparison videos before buying. 💰 Big-Ticket Investments (₹1,50,000+) → BOF: 14-90 days 🛍️ Examples: Cars, premium gadgets, real estate 📅 Why? These are major financial decisions. Customers take months to decide, so BOF retargeting needs to run longer with trust-building content. Lesson for Performance Marketers 🚀 There is no one-size-fits-all approach in BOF retargeting. Every product category has a different buying cycle. If you’re just applying the same 7-14-30 day formula to every business without understanding the logic, you’re leaving money on the table. Next time you set up a BOF campaign, ask yourself: 1️⃣ How expensive is the product? 2️⃣ How long does the customer take to decide? 3️⃣ What objections do they need help with? If you get this right, your retargeting ads will convert better and your clients will notice the difference. #PerformanceMarketing #MetaAds #D2C #Retargeting #MarketingStrategy #HonestMarketing #bottomfunnel #digitalmarketing

Unlocking Sales vs Delivery Insights with Smart Data Modeling 📊 Ever wondered how to track not just when sales happen, but when they actually get delivered? Here's a powerful data modeling technique that transformed how we analyze sales performance: The Setup - We have a sales fact table connected to TWO calendar tables: • 📅 Calendar Table #1 → linked via Sale Date • 📦 Delivery Calendar Table → linked via Delivery Date The Magic - When you build a matrix visual with: • Rows → Weeks from the Sale Calendar • Columns → Weeks from the Delivery Calendar • Values → Sales Measure You get a powerful cross-analysis showing - ✅ When sales were booked (rows) ✅ When those sales were actually delivered (columns) Why This Matters - • Spot delivery delays instantly • Understand your fulfilment patterns • Identify bottlenecks between order and delivery • Make data-driven decisions on inventory and logistics This is the beauty of role-playing dimensions in action! Same date logic, different business contexts, massive analytical value. Have you used multiple date dimensions in your data models? What insights did you uncover? #PowerBI #DataModeling  

139,000 videos sent. One Vidyard award. Zero competitors even close. And I still don't understand why more teams aren't using video. It is truly the most under utilized tool in sales (not just propsecting) My teams at PatientPop sent more one-to-one videos than anyone I know. Not generic marketing videos. Not AI. Personal, one-to-one prospecting and post sale/mid sales cycle videos. 139,000 in 18 months. Vidyard literally gave us an award for it. And here's what kills me: Most sales teams send maybe 10 videos a month. Total. It. f'n works. Execs get 10 cold emails a day. 10 cold calls a day. They get 2-3 videos a month. MAYBE (execs chime in here, how many do you get?) You do the math on where you can stand out. But it's not just about being different. Video lets you control everything: - The tone (enthusiastic, not desperate) - The pace (fast, not rushed) - The humanity (real person, not automation) You become human in 30 seconds. It also lets you show, not just tell. Email: You tell them you noticed something. Video: You show their actual website while explaining what you noticed. Email: You tell them you're excited. Video: They see your energy, your research, your preparation. Email: You tell them about your product. Video: You show them exactly what matters to them. See the difference, ya'll? Here is the exact framework that we used for videos. **K** - Know: "Here's what I know about you..." **P** - Problem: "Here's the problem you're probably facing..." **I** - Impact: "Here's what that problem is costing you..." **C** - Connect: "Here's why I'm reaching out..." **C** - Call to action: "Here's what I'd like you to do..." Under 60 seconds if you've never talked. 90 max. Up to 3 minutes if you've spoken before. A lot of people also overthink video in a big way. We had one key rule. End it and send it. Stumbled? Send it. Dog barked? Send it. Said "um" three times? Send it. No redos. No perfection. No overthinking. The stumble makes you human. The dog makes you real. Perfect videos feel like marketing. Imperfect videos feel like people. One last key tip here. The email/msg has to sell the click. Nobody cares that you sent them a video. They care about what's in it for them. Your subject line, your email, your link text - everything should scream value, not "watch my video." Tell them WHY to watch. What they'll learn. What problem you'll solve. The video isn't the value. What's IN the video is the value. Here's my challenge to you. Pick 5 prospects tomorrow. Send them each a personal video: 1. Show their website/LinkedIn while you talk 2. Use KPICC structure (60 seconds max) 3. End it and send it (no redos) 4. Email sells the click, not the video 5. Follow up with confidence: "Did you see what I put together?" Then call each of them 2-3x the next week & watch your connect rates triple. Because while everyone else is sending bland email templates, you're showing up as a human. And humans buy from humans.

If your sales cycles are longer than 4 weeks you should do this: Get yourself a digital sales room. 4 reasons why: 1️⃣ It immediately signals whether they are serious about an evaluation. If you position a collaborative workspace to make it easier for them to evaluate software and they say "no", it shows that they are likely not that serious about an evaluation. Focus on the 20% that are. 2️⃣ Buyers are crazy busy. Buying software is a time-intensive project (let's not forget they are also putting their reputation on the line). Make it as easy as possible for them to buy by giving them a single place to see and share decks, proposals, business cases etc with the team + ask questions. 3️⃣ 90% of any sale happens without you as a salesperson in the room. Digital sales rooms gives you a "look under the hood". It allows you to see what assets / materials that you've shared they are spending time on. This shows you where you need to likely focus the 10% of time you have together and shows you were things are likely to get de-railed. 4️⃣ Mutual Action Plans keep things on track Related to #2. Having a mutual action plan and an agreed upon timeline makes it easier to keep an evaluation on track and your buyers accountable. Being organized and having a plan also signals your professionalism and what being your customer is going to look like. Here's a sample digital sales room I built in Aligned. Feel free to use it: https://lnkd.in/gJEMNKiK

If more of your store sales start on TikTok lately, you might wanna read this. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦. The checkout happens in-store. But the sale happens everywhere else. Here's the reality: This year 60%+, and in 2027, 70% of retail sales will be digitally influenced. I can't emphasize this enough; here's what most brands miss—digital influence isn't just about online sales. It's about shaping every moment before the customer even walks into your store. L'Oréal cracked this code: 100M+ AR try-on sessions driving real conversions. 31 brands orchestrating seamless experiences across 72 countries. No.1 in beauty influencer marketing (29% market share), 20-80% higher conversion rates through enhanced digital experiences. The new customer journey isn't linear—it's layered: - They discover you on social - Research you through reviews and UGC - Try your product virtually through AR - Get retargeted with personalized content - Finally purchase in-store (feeling confident they're making the right choice) Every touchpoint matters, and every interaction influences the final decision. The brands winning today aren't just selling products—they're orchestrating experiences across owned, paid, and earned media that guide customers from curiosity to checkout. Digital discovery is increasingly pay-to-play and shoppers are paying attention. ++ Tactical Recommendations for CPG / FMCG Brands ++ 1. Beyond just having perfect, high SOV product pages, create discovery ecosystems. - Optimize for "zero-moment-of-truth" searches. - Activate shoppable content at scale. - Leverage user-generated content as social proof. Brands that do these see a 35% higher conversion rate from digital touchpoints to in-store purchases. 2. Connect digital engagement directly to retail execution. - Geo-target digital campaigns to drive foot traffic - Create "store-specific" digital content CPG brands using geo-targeted social ads see a 23% higher in-store sales lift in targeted markets. 3. Most important one; stop flying blind—measure digital influence on offline sales. - Implement unique promo codes for each digital touchpoint to track conversion paths. - Use customer surveys at point of purchase. - Partner with retailers on shared data insights Brands with proper attribution see 15-25% improvement in marketing ROI within 12 months. 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 ecommert® 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟰,𝟲𝟬𝟬+ 𝗖𝗣𝗚, 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘁® : 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. #CPG #FMCG #AI #ecommerce Procter & Gamble PepsiCo Unilever The Coca-Cola Company Nestlé Mondelēz International Kraft Heinz Ferrero Mars Colgate-Palmolive Henkel Bayer Haleon Kenvue The HEINEKEN Company Carlsberg Group Philips Samsung Electronics Panasonic North America

📊 Sales Performance & Profitability Dashboard | End-to-End Analysis 🚀 Project Overview Developed an interactive Sales Performance Dashboard using a 53K+ row transactional dataset to analyze revenue growth, profitability, discount impact, regional performance, and product efficiency. The project focuses on transforming raw sales data into actionable business insights for strategic decision-making. 🔑 Key Business Insights • Generated $2.30M in total revenue with $286K profit, achieving a 12.47% profit margin • Strong year-end sales growth, but profit growth lags due to high discounting • West (38%) and East (32%) regions lead profitability, while the South region underperforms • Technology category drives the highest revenue, but Tables consistently generate losses • Average discount of 15.62% significantly impacts margins beyond safe thresholds • Standard Class shipping delivers the best revenue-to-cost balance 📈 Dashboard Highlights ✔ Monthly Sales & Profit Trends ✔ Category & Sub-Category Profitability Analysis ✔ Discount vs Profit Impact Analysis ✔ Region-wise Profit Contribution ✔ Shipping Mode Performance ✔ Top & Bottom Performing Products 🛠 Tools & Technologies • Excel – Data cleaning, calculations & dashboard design • SQL – KPI aggregation, trend analysis & business queries • Power BI – Interactive visuals, DAX measures & storytelling 🎯 Business Value This dashboard enables businesses to: • Optimize pricing and discount strategies • Improve regional and product-level profitability • Shift from volume-driven to margin-driven growth • Make data-backed decisions with clarity and confidence 📌 Always open to feedback, collaboration, and data-driven discussions. #DataAnalytics #PowerBI #SQL #Excel #BusinessIntelligence #DashboardDesign #DataStorytelling

"Just checking in on that proposal." I sent this email the other day. My 4th "check-in" to this prospect. No response. Frustrated, I called my sales amigo: "I don't get it. Great demo, they loved our solution, but now they've gone dark." He asked a simple question: "What content have they engaged with since your demo?" I had no idea. The truth hit me: I was flying blind. I sent PDFs, presentations, and pricing. But had zero visibility into what they actually viewed. Were they showing it to others? Did they have concerns? Was anything resonating? I had no clue. Last week, I tried a different approach: After a promising demo, instead of attaching files to an email, I created a digital sales room. Inside: - Everything they needed to evaluate us - Organized by their specific priorities - Clear calls-to-action for next steps The difference was immediate: Day 1: The main contact viewed the ROI calculator twice Day 2: They shared it with their CFO (who I'd never spoken to) Day 3: The CFO spent 30 minutes on pricing information Day 4: They downloaded our security documentation Day 5: The main contact viewed implementation timeline 3 times I picked up the phone: "I noticed you've been looking at our implementation process. Any questions about that timeline?" Their response: "How did you know? Yes, actually, we're concerned about..." The objection surfaced BEFORE it killed the deal. Old school selling: Send content. Cross fingers. Guess what's happening. Modern selling: Share content. Watch engagement. Address concerns proactively. The hard truth: 90% of buying happens when you're not in the room. Are you still pretending those blind "check-in" calls are a strategy? Or are you watching how prospects actually consume information when you're not there? Stop asking prospects to update you. Start building systems that show you what's really happening. Agree?