How To Build A Sales Tech Stack For Your Org

Last updated on April 9th, 2024

There are many reasons why you should consider building or re-evaluating your sales tech stack.

You might be dealing with:

Inefficiencies in your sales process
Lack of consistency across reps
Struggles scaling your manual sales processes
Budget cuts

Or, you might just flat out be trying to maintain a competitive advantage in today’s market.

And, like it or not, your choice of software plays a larger role than ever.

Which is why we’re going to go over:

What Is A Sales Tech Stack?
What To Avoid When Building Your Sales Tech Stack
How To Build An Effective Sales Tech Stack
Tools To Strongly Consider For Your Sales Tech Stack
All-In-One Software Vs. Speciality Software
FAQ About Building A Sales Tech Stack

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What Is A Sales Tech Stack?

Your sales tech stack is the combination of software tools that you use to execute your sales operations.

Usually, software in your sales stack helps you streamline, automate, and optimize your processes across a sales cycle.

These tools support anything from sales intelligence and lead generation to sales management and after-sales service.

What To Avoid When Building Your Tech Stack

Here are some general tips if you’re trying to re-evaluate your sales stack or know what to avoid.

Don’t overcomplicate things – More tools don’t necessarily mean better performance. Avoid using too many overlapping tools that serve the same purpose because it can lead to confusion, inefficiencies, and a larger bill.
Don’t ignore integrations – If you’re not using an all-in-one sales software, make sure the software you choose can integrate with each other. This will help you avoid data silos, leading to lost information and fragmented processes.
Don’t forget ease-of-use – If a tool is too complex and not easy to use, your team will struggle and dread to adopt it. This may lead to low adoption rates within your team. Prioritize tools that offer a user experience that’s easy for everyone.
Don’t fall for trendy gimmicks – Just because a tool has the latest buzz or is heavily advertised doesn’t mean it fits your needs best. Focus on functionality and fit rather than hype.
Don’t overlook scalability – Always consider the future growth of your organization. Choose tools that can scale up or down with your needs and won’t become a risk to your business as you scale.
Don’t skip training – Introducing a new tool without proper training can lead to misuse, inefficiency, or rejection by the team. Ensure everyone is trained and comfortable with new additions to your stack.
Review and update your current software – Technology and business needs change over time. Regularly review your sales tech stack to ensure it remains relevant and effective.
Don’t forget about strategy – Implement tools with a clear understanding of what problem they’re solving. Always align your tech stack with overarching business goals.
Don’t resist change – Sticking with outdated tools (like spreadsheets) because “it’s the way it’s always been done” can hinder progress. Be open to exploring new solutions that better fit your evolving needs.

How To Build An Effective Sales Tech Stack For Your Company

Too many companies and sales teams purchase software on a whim.

However, the tools you adopt need to be carefully thought out for them to work and be cost-effective for your sales process and team.

You might consider building your own software to address your needs. Outsourcing software development could be a helpful option to save your team time.

Step #1: Determine your specific needs and pain points.

Where are there inefficiencies in your sales process?

Do an audit of your sales process:

Identify when deals fall through
Identify why deals fall through
Identify what makes a deal more likely to close

Then take notes of your findings.

Step #2: Identify possible software that fixes your pain points

What software can fix your current problems?

We’ll review different software types for various problems later in this article.

Step #3: Score Software Based On Their Compatibility With Your Business

Just because you think everyone uses software, doesn’t mean you need to.

There are usually at least dozens of software for you to choose from that can all solve the pain you have.

So take into consideration:

Cost – Does this software fit your budget? Also, keep in mind leaving the budget for the other tools you might need.
Security – Does this software meet the security requirements needed for your business?
Scalability – Will this software become too expensive if you need to scale down, or will it be able to grow with your company?
Integrations – If you decide not to go with all-in-one sales software, does each of your software have the ability to integrate?
Your team’s technical ability – If you’re looking for sales software for a less-technologically-able team, then you should consider software that’s easy to use.
Implementation & support – Adopting new software isn’t easy, so make sure you ask your software provider about best practices for implementation and feel out how they handle support inquiries.

Step #4: Check Reviews And Ask For Recommendations From Peers

You can save your company thousands of dollars by thoroughly reviewing customer reviews for the software you’re considering.

This will help you catch red flags before you invest (which would be costly afterward).

You can also ask for recommendations from your industry peers. They might have already solved a pain like yours using software.

Step #5: Demo The Software

Requesting a demo before you buy can also help you dodge bullets early.

Demos can help you identify software vendors with better support and adoption, which will make implementing any new tools much easier.

This is also a good time to ask about customer stories and testimonials they might have with similar companies like yours.

8 Tools To Strongly Consider For Your Tech Stack

Your sales tech stack should be designed to fit your business.

So we’ve compiled 8 different types of sales software you should consider with a list of use cases that they can help you with.

1. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

CRM is the single most important software you can have in your sales stack.

Why?

It’s the platform you use to track all of your sales deals and customers throughout their lifecycle.

In other words, it allows you to maximize your revenue by not allowing important data to slip through the cracks.

Many small businesses might start out using a spreadsheet as a CRM, but as your operations grow, this will cause your data to be siloed and human error to wreak havoc.

Typically, CRM allows you to:

Track deals using a visual sales pipeline.
Manage leads throughout the sales process.
Manage all of your contacts so you never lose a deal.
Analyze sales metrics so you can identify inefficiencies and places that need improvement.
Have a centralized, single source of truth for your customer data.
Streamline your sales process using standardized workflows.
Easily communicate with leads, customers, and other team members.
Segment your contacts so you can automate personalization at scale.
Forecast sales for business planning.

You can also choose all-in-one CRM software that gives you the majority of the sales tools you need. We’ll discuss all-in-one software later.

2. Sales Intelligence And Prospecting Tools

Are you struggling with finding leads that fit your ICP (ideal customer profile)?

Who you target with your sales messaging can make or break your overall sales effectiveness and efficiency.

In fact, 40% of sales reps say prospecting is the most challenging part of their job.

Sales intelligence and prospecting tools provide sales teams with actionable insights, data, and automation capabilities for identifying, engaging, and converting potential customers.

These tools enable you to find and target the most qualified leads BEFORE reaching out, saving you the time and resources often spent on unqualified leads.

This enables you to be more relevant and personalized in your communication with leads and therefore helps you shorten the entire sales process.

In other words, sales intelligence and prospecting tools allow you to:

Identify high-potential leads by analyzing data from various sources.
Segment leads based on demographics, behavior, and purchase intent.
Deliver personalized outreach, addressing individual pain points and needs.
Track prospect interactions across multiple touchpoints, gaining insights into their journey.
Prioritize leads based on engagement levels and buying signals.
Automate repetitive tasks like lead scoring, data entry, and follow-ups.
Track market trends and competitor activities to refine your sales strategy.
Improve lead qualification with AI-powered predictive analytics.

3. Sales Enablement And Content Management

Getting deals to close requires the right resources, information, and strategies to engage prospects effectively and convert them into loyal customers.

While you might be able to pull this off manually when you’re the sole salesperson in your business, when you scale, you’ll also need to centralize how you enable other sales reps in your company.

This is what sales enablement and content management software is all about.

These tools help you:

Onboard new reps.
Make reps sell consistently across your organization with unified messaging.
Arm your reps with the tools and content they need to move deals forward.
Distribute sales content within your sales team.
Quickly adapt to market changes by adjusting sales materials in a centralized location.
Improve engagement with prospects across the sales cycle.
Measure content performance and engagement to refine sales strategies.
Tailor content to specific buyer personas and stages of the sales funnel.
Personalize sales presentations and content to a specific opportunity.
Provide real-time access to competitive intelligence and objection-handling resources.

4. Sales Engagement & Communication

In sales, every conversation and connection matters.

Engaging and communicating with prospects effectively and seamlessly is crucial for making the most out of every sales interaction.

Sales engagement & communication tools streamline how sales teams interact, build relationships, and drive revenue.

These tools empower sales teams to connect with prospects across various channels, tailor interactions, and maintain consistent engagement throughout the sales journey.

In other words, they enable you to:

Reach prospects through various communication channels, including email, social media, phone, and messaging apps.
Create personalized messages for each prospect’s unique pain points and needs.
Segment and target prospects based on their preferences and behaviors.
Automate follow-up sequences and reminders to ensure no opportunity slips through the cracks.
Gain insights into prospect interactions and engagement, enabling you to optimize your messaging.
Collaborate within your sales team, enabling seamless handoffs and shared insights.
Use engagement data to prioritize leads based on their level of interest and responsiveness.
Schedule and manage meetings without the hassle of back-and-forth communication.

5. Analytics & Reporting

You need to understand and measure performance to make informed decisions in your sales process.

Analytics and reporting tools allow you to visualize sales KPIs so you can assess your efforts, identify opportunities, and optimize strategies.

They allow you to:

Track conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel to pinpoint areas of improvement.
Analyze customer behavior and preferences to tailor your sales approach.
Identify high-performing sales channels and allocate resources effectively.
Measure the impact of different sales campaigns and marketing efforts on revenue.
Generate visual reports and dashboards for easy comprehension and sharing.
Assess the effectiveness of lead generation strategies and lead sources.
Gain insights into customer objections and adjust objection-handling techniques.
Identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities within your existing customer base.
Monitor the success of sales reps in reaching their targets and quotas.
Utilize predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and optimize sales strategies.

6. Proposal & Document Management

The ability to create compelling proposals and manage critical documents can be the differentiator between closing a deal and missing an opportunity.

It’s easy to overlook, but mismanaging these documents can cost you deals.

This is why you should (probably) be using proposal and document management software to present deals to prospects, collaborate and finalize agreements.

Proposal and document management tools allow you to simplify the creation, sharing, and tracking of sales proposals, contracts, and other essential documents.

These tools offer streamlined collaboration, customization, and automation features, ensuring sales teams can present their offerings elegantly and efficiently.

So you can:

Create stunning proposals with customizable templates and branding elements.
Collaborate seamlessly with team members on document creation and review.
Track prospect engagement with proposals, identifying which sections they focus on.
Securely store and organize a library of approved content and collateral.
Automate approval processes to ensure efficient document workflows.
Generate and send contracts for electronic signatures, expediting the close of deals.
Integrate with CRM systems to link documents with specific opportunities and leads.
Access real-time analytics to measure the effectiveness of different proposal elements.
Customize pricing and offerings for each prospect within the proposal.
Provide interactive and multimedia elements to engage and captivate prospects.

7. Sales Training & Feedback

Continuous improvement is not just a goal – it’s a necessity.

The ability to equip your sales team with the right knowledge, skills, and insights, while providing timely feedback, can be the difference between reps that ramp up effectively and reps that never do and eventually churn.

Sales training and feedback tools help sales teams learn, grow, and excel by using tech to deliver effective training materials, resources, and feedback mechanisms.

These tools utilize interactive content, simulations, and real-time feedback to enhance skills, foster growth, and refine sales strategies.

But more specifically, they help you:

Keep sales teams updated on products, strategies, and industry trends.
Enhance sales skills through interactive modules, role-playing simulations, and practical exercises.
Offer real-time feedback and coaching to help sales professionals refine their approaches and techniques.
Ensure that your sales team delivers consistent and accurate messaging to prospects.
Expedite the onboarding process for new sales representatives by providing structured training materials.
Tailor training content to individual learning styles and needs, maximizing effectiveness.
Analyze training performance data to identify areas for improvement and track skill development.
Keep sales teams motivated and engaged through interactive and gamified training experiences.
Provide targeted feedback and coaching on recorded sales calls and interactions.
Administer assessments and quizzes to evaluate comprehension and knowledge retention.
Use gamification to increase engagement and competition among sales reps.
Track progress to recognize and reward top performers.

8. Commission Management

Motivation and rewards play a pivotal role in driving performance and reaching targets. The ability to accurately calculate and manage commissions is a matter of fairness – and a strategic necessity.

Commission management tools help you compensate, motivate, and align reps with business goals.

These tools automate the complex process of commission calculation, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and motivation for sales teams.

Here’s how they can help you:

Automatically calculate commissions based on predefined rules and formulas.
Provide sales reps with real-time visibility into their commission earnings.
Customize commission structures to align with business goals and objectives.
Calculate and track bonuses, overrides, and spiffs accurately and efficiently.
Generate commission statements and reports for easy communication and record-keeping.
Handle complex compensation plans that involve multiple variables and tiers.
Integrate with CRM and sales data to ensure accurate and up-to-date commission calculations.
Minimize disputes and conflicts by providing clear documentation of commission calculations.
Analyze commission data to identify trends, high-performing products, and areas for improvement.
Empower sales managers to set and adjust commission structures as needed.

All-In-One Software Vs. Specialty Software

When deciding on the specific software you’ll choose for your sales stack, you generally have 2 options:

All-in-one software – Software that includes various sales tools mentioned in the sections above. This type of software might include some or all of the tools you need.
Specialty software – You’ll have to buy individual software for each of the tools you need.

The most likely possibility is that you’ll need a combination of both.

However, we curated a list of pros and cons to keep in mind for each.

All-In-One Software

Pros:

Unified experience – Users have a consistent interface across multiple functionalities, which can improve usability and reduce the learning curve.
Reduce data silos – Since features are natively built into the software, they’re generally well-integrated, reducing the risk of data silos or integration issues.
Cost-effective – A bundled solution can be more cost-effective than buying several separate specialty software.
Single vendor relationship – Easier vendor management and streamlined support since you’re dealing with only one provider.
Centralized data – Data is stored in one place, which can simplify reporting, analytics, and data governance.

Cons:

“Jack of all trades, master of none” – All-in-one solutions might offer many features but may not be the BEST for any specific tool category.
Limited customization – All-in-one tools may not provide the depth of customization that a specialty tool can offer.
Vendor lock-in – Relying on one vendor for multiple solutions can make it harder to switch tools in the future.
Potential for unused features – You might end up with features you don’t need, complicating the interface and wasting resources.

Specialty Software

Pros:

Expert functionality – Specialty tools are designed to perform specific tasks exceptionally well by offering advanced features and capabilities.
Customization – These tools often provide deeper customization options tailored to specific needs.
Innovation – Specialty vendors frequently push the envelope in their area of expertise, often leading to faster adoption of new features and technologies.
Flexibility – Companies can mix and match tools based on their unique needs, allowing for a tailored tech stack.

Cons:

Integration challenges – Using multiple specialty tools can lead to integration issues, risking data silos and disjointed processes.
Higher total costs – Purchasing multiple software can lead to higher overall costs compared to an all-in-one solution.
Multiple vendor relationships – Managing relationships, contracts, and support with multiple vendors can be time-consuming.
Complexity – Onboarding and training can be more complicated as employees need to learn multiple interfaces and workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions About Creating A Sales Tech Stack

What is an example of a sales stack?

Remember, the ideal tech stack may vary depending on the specific needs and size of a business.

Here’s an example of what a sales tech stack could look like:

1. CRM (Customer Relationship Management):

VipeCloud

2. Sales Intelligence and Prospecting:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator
ZoomInfo

3. Sales Engagement & Communication:

Outreach
Zoom
Aircall

4. Sales Enablement & Content Management:

Highspot

6. Sales Analytics & Reporting:

Tableau

7. Contract & Document Management:

PandaDoc

8. Sales Training & Coaching:

Gong

9. Sales Incentive & Commission Tracking:

Xactly

Is a more expensive tech stack always better?

Not necessarily. The best tech stack addresses your specific needs efficiently. Finding tools that align with your sales processes and goals is more important than opting for the most expensive options.

How often should I update or review my sales tech stack?

It’s good practice to review your tech stack annually. However, if you experience significant business changes, such as rapid growth or a shift in sales strategy, more frequent evaluations might be necessary.

How do I ensure integration between different tools in my tech stack?

Many modern sales tools offer built-in integrations with popular platforms. Additionally, using integration platforms like Zapier can help connect different tools. Ensure you know about integration capabilities before investing in a new tool.

How can I measure the effectiveness of my sales tech stack?

Look at metrics like:

Sales cycle length
Conversion rates at different stages
Time saved on manual tasks
Increased data accuracy
Improved customer retention and satisfaction

Also: Regularly solicit feedback from your sales team about tool usability and effectiveness for qualitative feedback.

Why You Should Consider An All-In-One CRM To Be The Foundation Of Your Tech Stack

Building your sales tech stack should start with your CRM.

Why?

Your CRM is the center of truth for your sales operations.

So ensuring your sales tech stack centers around your CRM is crucial.

Don’t yet have a CRM or are not happy with your current CRM?

VipeCloud is an all-in-one CRM that:

Has pricing meant for small businesses
Has 5-star customer support
Comes with communication, engagement, analytics, and sales enablement tools

VipeCloud is an affordable CRM that helps reps in small organizations have all the tools that their large-budget competition has.

Ready to try VipeCloud yourself? Sign up for a 15-day free trial.

Want to learn how VipeCloud can fit into your business? Request a demo with our customer support team today.