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Data is a powerful tool and a valuable commodity, especially in business. Everywhere you look – and even without looking in some cases – you’re using data or seeing it being used. Whether it’s monitoring traffic levels, checking on stock or giving you access to the Internet on your smartphone; data is an incredibly important tool in all walks of life, and especially business.

Whether you’re looking at turnover, the number of sales or enquiries you’ve had in a given time or the value of your shares, data is vitally important to all business in all sectors but it is often being under-utilized. Sales intelligence is a prime example and something we certainly couldn’t operate without here at Clarity Stack.

Many will have never heard of sales intelligence and might consider it “just another buzzword”, but to us it’s a method of using data to inform our clients of the best growth opportunities available to them that could lead to some significant growth in terms of their finances, staff levels and overall reputation within the sector. Essentially, it could completely transform a business!

Sales intelligence explained and defined

According to Wikipedia, sales intelligence “refers to technologies, applications and practices for the collection, integration, analysis, and presentation of information to help salespeople find, monitor and understand data that provides insights into prospects’ and existing clients’ daily business.”

We prefer to look at sales intelligence as the process of combining technology and expert analysis to collate, interpret and present information that customers can use to inform their next business decision.

Essentially, the insights that we are able to provide can be used in a variety of different ways from uncovering growth opportunities that are genuinely attainable to unearthing data that can be used to develop an internal new business team.

There are learnings that can be taken relating to performance, and procedures that can be adapted by reducing the amount of legwork involved in the lead generation process and enabling them to focus on what they do best – pitching their brand, product or service and winning that business.

Using data throughout the purchase funnel

Internal sales teams rely on a number of different techniques in order to make a sale ranging from cold-calling and using their experience to persuade a prospect to make a purchase to reaching out to their need with a product or service that helps them overcome that hurdle.

Sales intelligence can be used throughout the purchase funnel from the initial awareness phase to consideration, right through to the final purchase. Sales data can be taken and adapted to suit customers at each stage ranging from identifying a gap in the market that a tool, product or service could help them fill through to suggestions to help them catch and pass the competition.

It is then down to the internal sales team to find the all-important argument in favour of the product or service you’re selling, helping the prospect to understand the data in a way that makes sense to them and their business, based on the sales intelligence made available.

New information and growth opportunities

From the side of the customer or client, sales intelligence can throw up a whole new world of opportunities and information.

It might be that you genuinely believe that there are no growth opportunities available to you because of market conditions or a sector that is struggling from startup to international levels; but with sales intelligence platforms like Clarity Stack it’s possible to see the woods from the trees.  

Our own sales intelligence platform identifies a range of different new business opportunities based on specific criteria including geographical location, demographics and budget to name just three. We can then tailor the opportunities that we deliver to our clients, ensuring that they meet these criteria making them genuine prospects as opposed to industry-wide opportunities that certain businesses within the sector could only dream of winning.