Sales Tech Consolidation Is Gaining Traction: What You Need To Know
By Sharmin Kent, content and communications manager, TinderBox
Just in the past year or so, sales tech consolidation has received increased attention as the next big thing in the sales industry. And for good reason: dozens of sales tech companies consolidated in 2015, with the clincher coming at the end of the year when Salesforce acquired quote-to-cash vendor SteelBrick.
That news caught the attention of the industry with experts predicting 2016 would be the year of sales tech consolidations. Salesforce’s acquisition had been anticipated for months, and it was one that made sense from a functional standpoint. Not only is SteelBrick a software vendor native to Salesforce, it’s also built to work seamlessly with the new Salesforce Lightning platform.
The acceleration in consolidation is not just happening in the sales tech industry. The year 2015 was called a banner year for consolidation in the transportation tech industry. And within just five years, LinkedIn acquired 15 companies, including Lynda.com in a $1.5 billion deal.
Factors Influencing The Consolidation Trend
Consolidations seem to be fueled by consumer demand as consumers are increasingly faced with complex challenges and they’re looking for comprehensive solutions. Take for instance what the Chief Marketing Officer of creative and technology agency MRY told CIO about the ad tech market: “There are a lot more ad tech [mergers and acquisitions] coming. There are so many companies out there trying to solve marketers' challenges, and challenges keep getting more complex with more money going into digital.”
In the case of Salesforce, the acquisition of SteelBrick solved a major workflow issue for salespeople who rely on Configure Price Quote (CPQ) to generate quotes in Salesforce. This type of problem solving, on the consumer’s behalf, has led to workflow optimization that’s being incorporated at different levels. Sales managers are seeking out sales tech options that can be stacked for a comprehensive solution — similar to that offered as a result of Salesforce’s acquisition.
Secret To Sales Tech Stack Success
Companies seeking to develop a comprehensive sales tech stack that resolves numerous issues are faced with a wide and growing range of sales tech options. However, navigating through those options are worth it. It can lead to workflow optimization at your company, which can significantly increase efficiencies. And the fewer layers you add to your sales tech stacks the better. That solution will prove to be easier to adopt and maintain.
That was the recent case with ZirMed, a revenue cycle management company with a focus in the healthcare industry. ZirMed was able to streamline its processes by transforming its contract creation, delivery, and closing process with a sales tech stack that combines software by Salesforce, SteelBrick, DocuSign, and Tinderbox.
With ZirMed’s new sales tech stack fully integrated and accessible from Salesforce, employees reported they were able gain new insights into prospect engagement analytics and online delivery of sales assets.
ZirMed reported several additional outcomes from its comprehensive tech stack, including the ability to gain real-time intelligence with document views, along with increased efficiency and accuracy.
The Future Of Sales Tech Consolidation
As with other industries, the move to additional sales tech consolidations seems poised to pick up steam throughout the remainder of 2016 — driven by the desire of companies, including those in the healthcare industry, to find solutions that streamline processes and lead to efficiencies. And it’s increasingly evident, that when adopting a tech stack, success lies in the ability to focus on one that comprehensively and effectively addresses numerous challenges.
Overall, these trends in the industry bode well for companies that are seeking to effectively use technology to address challenges in the workplace.
TinderBox enables sales teams to improve performance with a cloud-based sales productivity suite that powers personalized sales quotes, proposals, contracts and presentations. Sharmin Kent is the content and communications manager for the company.