You Can’t Win Enterprise Deals Without Using Advanced Sales Tools

Your weekly pub quiz. The office bake-off. Halloween. 

All pretty competitive, right? 

If you say no – we don’t believe you. Why else did you go into enterprise sales? 

Selling to big companies has always been competitive, but recently it’s gone to another level. Enterprise sales pros are finding it harder to close than ever before: economic instability, elections, and global politics have all contributed to the tighter budgets and longer processes we’re seeing today. 

It’s tough out there – but so are you, particularly when you’ve got advanced sales tools by your side. It’s crucial to stay on top of these as an enterprise sales pro; companies that use sales enablement tools are 19% more likely to see an increase in their average win rate year over year. 

Today, we’re going to take a look at the three key areas you need to focus on when you’re selling to the big dogs – and the tools that can give you a hand along the way: 

• Understanding the Buying Committee and Correctly Identifying Decision-Makers
• Preparing for Longer Sales Cycles
• Highlighting Security and Compliance

Ready to get a head start? Keep reading: 

Understanding the Buying Committee and Correctly Identifying Decision-Makers

As you well know, enterprise deals typically involve multiple stakeholders – which means your first priority is to understand 1) who these stakeholders are and 2) who holds the most influence and decision-making power. 

In fact, there’s an average of 7-12 (yep, that’s right. 12!) decision-makers involved in the B2B buying process today. And more than 50% of the buying journey is complete before they start interacting with you – meaning you’ve got your work cut out trying to get everyone on board in the remaining 50%. 

The Solution

A sales tool like Surfe can work wonders in helping you and your team figure out exactly who is involved in the decision-making process at an enterprise-level company. By quickly and easily finding out every person’s role within a business, you’ll be able to personalize your outreach (for example, addressing budget concerns for members of the finance team and focussing on security questions for IT). 

Personalization is always important in sales – but more so when you’re talking about deals worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every member of the buying committee is going to be laser-focussed on making sure your solution serves their needs. Personalize your messaging well, and each person should feel like your solution is built just for them. 

Tip: Surfe also keeps your CRM squeaky clean by making sure you always have the right contact data for your contacts. When every message counts, you want to make sure you’re reaching the right person at exactly the right time.

Preparing for Longer Sales Cycles

Enterprise sales cycles have always been on the lengthier side; the average lead-to-close cycle can stretch to 102 days (that’s well over 3 months). That’s a lot of work to do – particularly when you consider that sales reps end up spending 70% of their time on non-selling activities already. 

Staying efficient is key to your success as an enterprise sales rep – without it, you won’t be able to juggle multiple deals of a considerable size. 

The Solution

Oh look – it’s us again! Sales tools like Surfe are your best friend when you’re working with multiple sales processes. For example, we keep your CRM bang up to date by syncing it with LinkedIn DMs. Being able to see everything in one place means you (and your teammates) will know exactly what’s going on with each member of the buying committee. Plus, you’re less likely to miss an important update and fumble a conversation as a result. 

One of our favorite things about Surfe is Job Change Alerts that it makes sure you always know what’s going on in the company you’re selling to. Sales processes of a certain size are bound to overlap with job changes and promotions – you need a sales tool that saves you the mental effort of keeping track of all of these manually.

Every time Surfe detects something new, it’ll notify you – all you need to do is hit a button to update your CRM data, and then make quick adjustments if a key stakeholder moves out of their role. We’ve all felt the pain of your champion leaving the business before the sale goes through – the best you can hope for in this situation is to have plenty of notice and time to make it right. 

Tip: up-to-date data and well-utilized notifications will help you stay on top of organizational changes, which reduces the risk of losing momentum mid-deal. 

Highlighting Security and Compliance

The bigger the deal, the bigger priority security and compliance is going to be. Companies of a certain size simply can’t afford to be lax about these things – rightly so – and they’ll have the IT experts to help them get it right. 

For example, businesses like Google and AWS require vendors to demonstrate robust security measures like the ISO 27001 certification. You’ll also (obviously) have to show that you’re hot on data security and take GDPR seriously. 

The Solution

Your own tool should adhere to all security and compliance requirements – but it doesn’t stop there. Whenever you’re checking out an enterprise sales tool, you need to make sure that it’s on board too. Otherwise, you could be putting your business – and by proxy, the sale – at risk due to compliance. 

We can use our journey at Surfe as an example here. When we started trying to land enterprise clients ourselves, we knew we had to have an ISO 27001 certification – so went out and got it. The results? Clients like Google and AWS… (yep, humblebrag, not even sorry). 

We also knew we had to make sure that the Surfe tool and all the tools our team used day-to-day met the same standard, too. With that in mind, if you’re looking for a sales tool for something as important as prospecting we’d recommend Surfe 😉 Prioritize security from the get-go, and you’re sending all the right signals to your prospect. Not to mention the fact that your business actually will be safer, too. 

Tip: don’t wait until prospects ask to see certifications and compliance achievements – show them off from the very beginning. If you bake them into your sales process, you’ll start building trust straight away and get ahead of any questions or queries from latecomers to the buying committee.

Let’s Wrap It Up!

Coming out on top may not be essential to life, but it certainly makes it a lot sweeter. 

If you want to win at enterprise sales, you’ve got to have a handle on the buying committee, be comfortable managing longer sales processes, and show you’re hitting every security and compliance requirement out there. That’s a lot for any sales pro to handle – good job you’ve got advanced sales tools like Surfe to help you along the way. 

FAQs About Winning Enterprise Deals With Advanced Sales Tools 

What Are Advanced Sales Tools, And Why Are They Essential?

Advanced sales tools are software solutions designed to make the stages of the sales process faster and easier. They help sales teams with tasks like managing contacts, tracking communications, and analyzing performance metrics. These tools are essential because they allow sales pros to focus more on selling and less on admin tasks, improving productivity and efficiency. For enterprise sales, advanced tools are key as they support complex processes and offer insights into buying committees, stakeholder engagement, and compliance. 

How Do Sales Tools Help Identify Decision-Makers In Enterprise Deals?

Sales tools simplify the process of identifying and reaching the right decision-makers by providing detailed insights into organizational roles and hierarchies. Many tools integrate with platforms like LinkedIn, allowing sales reps to track stakeholders and customize their outreach based on each contact’s position and influence level. This functionality is particularly useful in enterprise sales, where understanding the buying committee and addressing each member’s specific concerns is crucial. By targeting the right people, sales teams can build stronger connections and move deals forward more quickly. 

What Sales Tools Can Streamline Long Enterprise Sales Cycles?

The right advanced sales tools can help manage lengthy enterprise sales cycles by keeping all data and interactions in one place. A tool like Surfe syncs platforms like LinkedIn with your CRM making sure that sales reps can access the latest updates on each lead. Notifications and automated updates also help teams stay on top of job changes or organizational shifts within target companies. Streamlining these details helps reduce the manual workload and allows sales reps to stay engaged with prospects, maintaining momentum in long sales cycles.

How Can Sales Tools Ensure Compliance With Security Requirements?

Sales tools that adhere to industry security standards, such as the ISO 27001 certification, help ensure compliance in enterprise sales. These certifications demonstrate a commitment to protecting client data and meeting strict regulatory requirements. When using these tools, sales teams can confidently discuss their security protocols with prospects, building trust and credibility from the beginning. 

How Do Sales Tools Enhance Personalization In Outreach?

Sales tools enable help reps to gather detailed insights on each prospect, making it easier to tailor messages based on specific needs, challenges, and interests. The best sales tools – like, ahem, Surfe – provide information on job roles and organizational focus, allowing sales teams to address particular concerns for each stakeholder. This personalization is especially important in enterprise sales, where each decision-maker has unique priorities. By tailoring outreach efforts, sales reps can show prospects that their solution is designed to address each stakeholder’s objectives and increase their chances of closing the deal.