Tackle’s sales team shares their hands-on experience with Tackle Prospect and advice for driving revenue efficiently using data
In the current economic climate, the new watchword for software companies is efficiency. ISVs are buckling down, cutting budgets, and looking for ways to operate and scale more efficiently as, across the board, CFOs are taking a hard look at how their companies do business.
Yet dollars are still flowing through the clouds. As companies spend more with the Cloud Providers — expected to grow 20% in 2023 despite budget cuts in nearly every other area of business — they can burn down that committed cloud spend by making software purchases through the Cloud Marketplaces and getting more out of their pre-committed dollars.
In fact, in 2022, Tackle saw the number of new Marketplace buyers increase 200% from Q1 to Q4, with more than half of that growth happening in the second half of the year, even as the economy continued on a downward trend. That’s a clear sign to us that the potential for sales teams to drive revenue by identifying and reaching buyers who are ready to buy software in a way that actually benefits their bottom line is still there.
Yet in order to reach those buyers in the most cost-effective way possible, companies must adopt a Cloud go-to-market strategy with buyer data at the forefront. Doing so helps companies reduce costs and drive growth — both important considerations regardless of the economy’s health. What’s more, a Cloud GTM strategy also provides the sales team and its leaders with the necessary tools to operate more efficiently.
Learn more: Infographic: The Dawn of a New Go-To-Market Age
In the process of helping our customers, we’ve processed billions in Marketplace transactions, facilitated thousands of co-sell engagements, and analyzed even more pipelines, giving us unique visibility into enterprise buying patterns and behaviors. At the same time, we believe in drinking our own Champagne. That means our teams, like sales, finance, operations, and partners use Tackle products — including Tackle Prospect, Tackle Co-Sell, and Tackle Offers — to drive our own Cloud GTM strategy.
Here, five of our sales professionals share their insights into how Cloud GTM and technology have aligned to help them become more efficient and productive sellers.
Data is the cornerstone of Cloud GTM efficiency
According to Tackle’s State of Cloud Marketplaces Report, data is the missing link for both Marketplace and co-sell success. In particular, survey results indicated that sellers need to understand which accounts in their pipeline are most likely to buy through the Cloud Providers so they can build momentum focused on these best-fit accounts.
Leveraging our vast data set and proprietary AI/ML-trained model, Tackle launched Tackle Prospect last year to provide sales reps with critical intel on which cloud each opportunity has the most affinity for and the best path to closed-won. Particularly powerful in combination with other buyer intent data, these insights means sellers can identify the right deals for Marketplace and co-sell, run highly targeted campaigns, and, ultimately, drive revenue from high-value accounts—getting sales teams even closer to those in-market accounts and zeroing them in on the best-fit deals.
“Data allows me to hyper-focus on areas that will have the most meaning to revenue,” said Tina Michalowski, Renewals Manager. “Tackle Prospect data gives me the ability to identify accounts of those likely purchasing in specific Marketplaces so I can work efficiently and not spin my wheels in unfruitful areas. With that data, I can also focus on having conversations with the right representative at the Cloud Provider where budget is being spent and drive a mutually beneficial co-sell motion with them that results in a Marketplace transaction.”
Tackle Prospect provides cloud buyer intent data and includes multiple factors such as Marketplace purchase history, cloud investments, and scores showing the likelihood to purchase through specific clouds.
“You can list in Marketplaces all you want, but you can’t get to where you need to be without data.” — Aimy Pham Callahan, Corporate Account Executive
“Selling through the Marketplaces needs strategy behind it, the listing itself is not going to drive revenue,” said JV Melo, Senior Corporate Account Executive. “Data allows you to have the right conversations earlier in the sales cycle, which then helps us secure a transaction through Marketplace. Part of my account mapping process with the cloud reps begins with Prospect, finding out which cloud potential customers may be in or transacting in.”
Read More: Leveraging Tackle Prospect to Identify the Right Buyers
“It’s extremely useful for me to know early in the sales cycle if an account has purchased through Marketplace before, what they are spending with the clouds, and how mature they are on that journey,” said Everette Adams, Enterprise Account Executive. “Prospect gives me insight into that. Having insight early in the sales cycle helps me get the right people involved, and that makes me a more efficient salesperson.”
Integrations save time, and time = money
We’ve previously covered the importance of ecosystems and integrations. By its very nature, an integration will breed efficiencies — when technology shares data and “talks” to related technologies, people spend less time hopping back and forth between applications or hunting down needed information. That’s why Tackle Prospect data is accessible through the Salesforce application, where our own sellers and the vast majority of our customers’ sellers are spending their time.
For Tackle sellers like Aimy, “it saves the sales rep a lot of time and takes away a lot of friction around things that aren’t generating revenue,” she said.
JV noted that having Prospect data in Salesforce cut out time that would normally have been spent tracking down information (or finding someone who can provide it) to conduct account mapping with cloud counterparts. “I don’t have to go through a spreadsheet or report, the information is conveniently right there in Salesforce,” he said. “That empowers sellers and takes away the middle man to get results. Instead of having to submit a report, send emails or Slack communication to get what I need, it’s all where I need it, when I need it.”
Perhaps most importantly, integrated data helps the sales team craft more relevant and effective conversations on the fly. “Having that data right there in Salesforce helps me hone my own messaging,” said Tyler Harless, Sr. Emerging Account Executive. “If I see that a potential customer is on AWS, for example, I can include AWS language in my discussions.”
Fishing where the fish are
Revenue leaders and sales teams at software companies are well aware of the importance of creating an efficient route to revenue — and Cloud GTM can go a long way toward clearing that path.
“Right now, budgets are tight,” said Aimy. “But Cloud GTM promotes efficiency and a path to budget. If a company wants to hit their numbers, and they’re not on Marketplace and don’t have a path to that budget, how are they competing? A customer might go with a competitor because they can only purchase via the cloud.”
“Sales leaders love the idea of honing in on who has budget,” said Everette. “The data obtained through Prospect helps sales managers reap the value of a Cloud GTM strategy much faster. But beyond that, I’m also able to teach our customers how to use it while showing them how I use it. I can show them where those cloud budgets are, as well as cloud consumption with specific clouds. My customers can teach their sellers how to use Prospect data and, in effect, the student has become the teacher.”
For Tyler, incorporating Prospect data into sales conversations has led to some unexpected efficiencies for his own clients. “I was recently on a call with a VP of Sales,” he said. “He said they were thinking about adding a new alliances team member, but Prospect data showed him that they can probably do more with their current team and potentially generate more revenue by digging into the data, and save the cost of hiring another team member. That’s a good validation for how data can inform and guide decision-making.”
“I think everyone wants to work smarter, and Prospect gives us the opportunity to do that,” said Everette. “It helps you fish where the fish are, and that’s what makes sales leaders happy.”
Want to see what Tackle Prospect can do for you? Contact us for a complimentary evaluation of 250 prospects.
