We are living in unusual times. The COVID-19 viral outbreak is the worst pandemic in 100 years, and it is having a dramatic impact on people and businesses around the globe. 

Here in the United States, events from concerts to the NCAA playoffs have been canceled. Movie theaters and restaurants are either closed or empty. State governments are taking steps to protect citizens from contagion. 

Other businesses are also taking steps to protect their employees and their customers. Businesses are closing their doors and, where practical, are requesting that their employees work remotely. Thanks to technology, we are in a better position to not only deal with the coronavirus pandemic, but also to continue to work and support our customers at the same time.

One of the great things about selling in the digital age is business intelligence. Organizations are drowning in data generated by CRM systems, ERP platforms, online marketing, customer support, and a host of other sources. Thanks to data analytics, we know more about our customers, target markets, and SMB sales opportunities than ever before. Additional assistance from predictive analytics also helps sales teams be more productive and maximize their success more effectively than they could through their efforts alone.

Your expertise is in selling B2B technology to companies that are seeking to improve operations, smooth out their workflows, and generally power new strategies for success. But how do you use technology as part of your SMB sales strategy? Does your sales tech stack stack up and give you access to the data, insights, and analytics you need to unlock efficiencies and increase sales volume?

Titus, current MarketStar President and COO, to replace Dave Treadway who is retiring December 31, 2018

GDPR is privacy legislation that came into effect in May 2018. The aim of the legislation is to give consumers control of their personal data and its use and collection by companies.  The GDPR replaces the previous Data Protection Directive, both strengthening privacy rules and harmonizing them across the 28-nation EU bloc. Crucially, the GDPR applies not only to organizations located within the EU, but also to companies outside of the EU if they offer goods or services to, or monitor the behavior of, people in Europe.

In any business the customer comes first, which is why companies invest in customer relationship management (CRM) software. CRM platforms make it easier to take better care of customers and prospects, capturing everything you need to know about the status of any engagement and providing the insight you need to help keep the sales pipeline full. In fact, 91 percent of companies with 11 employees or more are using some form of CRM software, and as a result, revenues for CRM software sales have risen to $39.5 billion worldwide in 2017.

Technology can give companies a competitive edge. For example, consider how the web has changed the way we do business. Companies offering online services are outpacing their competitors, and those companies developing their own smartphone apps gain a different technology advantage as the world is going mobile. Technology working behind the scenes is just as important as customer-facing applications, which is why embracing sales automation should be a priority for any organization.

When developing your channel partner strategy, you need to consider what’s in it for everyone in the value chain. Channel relationships are about creating mutual value, which means not only moving more goods through your distributors and resellers, but helping them help you by providing the marketing tools and expertise to sell the latest IT solutions. Your channel is only as strong as the amount of effort you put in to support it, so when devising a channel partner strategy, you need to help partners keep current with the latest technology trends so they can stay agile, especially when you consider the rapid pace of change in the tech marketplace.

Augmenting human work with tools and technology is by no means a new concept. While machines have worked to improve human efficiency since the industrial revolution, these days, AI has become truly intelligent, as machines can recreate complex tasks. And the increasingly complex B2B sales landscape has started to leverage AI to improve the sales processes.

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