Sales Teams Investing in Predictive Analytics, Salesforce Research Shows
When Salesforce Research asked 2,300 global sales leaders which new technologies they plan to adopt in the next 12 to 18 months, predictive analytics emerged as the clear winner with a projected growth rate of 135%.
Sales teams are investing in data science to gain a competitive edge, the Salesforce research showed.
In fact, high-performing sales teams are 4 times more likely to use predictive analytics than underperforming teams, according to the “2015 State of Sales” report.
“Data science is transforming the sales industry,” said Dave Elkington, CEO and founder of XANT. “Self-learning systems, powered by predictive analytics, can now accurately predict who’s most likely to buy and prescribe the best time to call or email them and the most relevant message to share.”
Separating the best from the rest
Not surprisingly, the top teams also reported a higher level of confidence in their ability to use predictive analytics to improve sales performance.
High-performing sales leaders were 8 times more likely to rate their predictive analytics capabilities as “outstanding” or “very good” than their underperforming peers.
“The gap between the very best sales teams and all the rest is widening,” said Ken Krogue, president and founder of XANT. “It’s no longer about throwing big bucks at top sales talent. The difference now boils down to technology and how well you use it to improve the performance of your people.”
OutboundEngine’s sales leaders are early adopters of predictive analytics technology. They used it to build a model that separated their best leads from their worst leads.
By redirecting their sales reps’ efforts to the leads most likely to convert into sales, OutboundEngine achieved a 24% increase in revenue.
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