Does Sales & Marketing Intelligence Democratize Sales Growth? with Katie Bullard [Episode 543]

Katie Bullard, Chief Growth Officer at DiscoverOrg, joins me on this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Katie says one of the single biggest challenges that sales reps face today is figuring out how to prioritize. We have an overabundance of information, signals, and noise.

There is extraneous noise, as well. Katie suggests gathering personal insights about buyers. Spending too much time gathering, limits time left available for engagement.

Pre-internet days, reps still needed to find background information on prospects. Are we using the tools we have today to elevate our productivity? Having the data is just the beginning of the story.

Andy asks listeners: If we were to normalize individual sales rep productivity over the last 20 years, has the productive capacity of a rep changed at all, during this time? Katie believes we know better, by priority, whom to engage.

Given the data points, are we selling more or less than we did 20 years ago? Katie reports on one very successful startup that disrupted an industry. It is harder for older companies to hold on to market leadership against startups.

Does a higher fraction of startups succeed today than 20 years ago? Katie says the behavior of startups has changed. The traits of the individual salesperson haven’t changed. The tech available, and the channels to connect are different.

Andy has an acronym for the BALD truth about sales: Be present, Ask great questions, Listen without judgment, and Deliver value at every touch. Katie says to focus on fundamentals while leveraging tech advancements.

DiscoverOrg has a new ebook on sales and marketing intelligence. Katie explains how the proliferation of intelligence democratizes growth, leading to industry disruption. The new data tools give a great head start.

Startups fail due to premature scaling, according to a study by Berkeley and Stanford researchers. Companies go to market with a great product, not knowing their value in the market. You have one chance to make a good first impression.

Many companies claim they lack account data intelligence. There is no shortage of companies that provide data, but some of it is bad. That was Henry Schuck’s the motivation to start DiscoverOrg.

‘A players’ are making the best use of the available data that they can. All reps can model how the ‘A players’ use the data on leads. Katie explains what DiscoverOrg found on the use of data ‘A players.’

‘A players’ get it, and use it well, but the vast majority of reps do not apply the data intelligence in a way to move the needle. Katie sees a consistent upward trajectory in a team when supplied with better data.