The definition of the sales stack (also known as a sales technology stack) is a term for the totality of sales software (typically cloud-based) that a particular sales team utilizes. As new sales tools become available, sales reps and managers are embracing a wide variety of technologies. A sales technology stack can benefit reps by accelerating sales productivity, providing reps with contextual details about customers and automating tedious tasks. While a sales technology stack can be equally beneficial for sales managers, thanks to tools that provide insight into reps’ activities and help make smarter revenue predictions.

A Sales Technology Stack for Reps

When it comes to assembling a sales technology stack to help reps succeed, many sales leaders are investing tools that accelerate their reps’ performance during various stages of a sales pipeline. Some of these stages include contacting leads, giving demos and closing deals. During each stage, sales technologies can enhance a rep’s sales process:

Contacting/Qualifying Leads

Some tools that help reps contact leads might include:

• List building tools
• Email automation software
• Specialized dialers
• Lead prioritization engines
• Local Presence

Giving Product Demonstrations

Some tools that can help at the meeting/product demo stage include:

• Screen sharing
• Proposal software
• Contextual content

Closing

Some tools that might help at the closing stage include:

• Referral software
• CRM

A Sales Technology Stack for Managers

Just as sales tools can help reps be more successful, there are a wide variety of sales tools built to help managers do a better job of hitting revenue goals. A sales stack typically includes management tools including:

• Predictive analytics
• Real-time sales performance dashboards
• Call recordings
• Call monitoring
• Call barging

The tools that make up a company’s sales technology stack typically differ based on a business’ overall sales process. For example, a company that generates a large portion of business from outbound calling, might invest heavily in tools that enable reps to dial leads faster, connect with more prospects and log call data automatically. While companies with a lot of inbound leads may invest more heavily in tools that help reps prioritize inbound leads, route inbound calls to the right reps and qualify leads faster.