Highspot Blog

The cutting edge can be a lonely place to work. While sales enablement has been around for years, we’re now inventing the future of this category thanks to incredible technology and methodology advances. This means many of us in the enablement community are feeling both the thrill of new horizons and the challenges of trailblazing. This rollercoaster means that we’re banding together like never before, creating a swell of demand for community events that elevate the art and science of enablement.

It’s no wonder that the Sales Enablement Soirée has gone global. Developed in partnership with Sales Enablement PRO, the Sales Enablement Soirée is the only industry event designed specifically for this ever-growing community. What began as a way to unite and encourage networking has grown to an event that draws thousands of attendees across three major cities spanning two continents.

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Research from SiriusDecisions’ 2018 Global Chief Sales Officer Study found that fewer than 50% of sales reps are hitting quota and that at 70% of companies, barely 30% of reps are meeting quota. These statistics illuminate an unsettling fact — the majority of sales teams are ineffective.

With less than half of their sales team hitting quota, it’s easy to understand why sales leaders often focus their time and energy on top performers in the hopes that they inspire the rest of the team to keep up. However, this only exacerbates the issue. Neglecting core performers who, on average, make up 60% of the sales force, is a huge missed opportunity. Core performers, or “B reps,” are actually a company’s most valuable revenue driver.

Why is that?

Research done by the Sales Executive Council found that a 5% increase from the middle 60% of performers yielded 80% more revenue than a 5% increase from just the top 10%. If sales leaders want to increase quota attainment, they have to start by improving the effectiveness of their core sellers.

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Most people love free catered lunches, ping-pong tournaments, and team outings to the ballpark — but these perks aren’t the workplace differentiators they used to be. Competition for talent is fierce, and modern companies are pulling out all the stops to attract and retain the best people.

While I enjoy kombucha on tap as much as the next person, these types of benefits were not at the top of my priority list when I began my job search last November. Zooming out from the minutiae to the big picture, I was looking for a company that would elevate me personally and professionally.

Where could I go to make a real impact? Which company had an environment that sparks creativity and a culture that encourages employees to bring their full selves to work every day?

I found the answer at Highspot — and what a ride it has been so far.

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The phrase “if you’re not early, you’re late” is one of the most familiar pieces of advice passed down from generation to generation and mentor to mentee. So much so that the phrase has over 1.4 billion search results on Google — which is understandable when you consider how often the advice is applicable. From job interviews to product differentiation, it’s always beneficial to stay ahead of the competition.

Sales Enablement PRO recently published the 2019 State of Sales Enablement and the report clearly echoed a similar sentiment — companies without an established sales enablement function are behind the curve and risk falling prey to their competitors.

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We’re here to help sellers and marketers wherever they are. That’s why we continue to invest heavily in Highspot Everywhere, a technology integration program with more than 50 cloud, on-premises, and mobile integrations. Highspot Everywhere makes it easy for sellers to engage with buyers and close deals faster, more efficiently, and in more ways than ever before.

Today, we’re extending our integration investments with a new, comprehensive integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Building on our prior Dynamics 365 integration, we now offer the full suite of Highspot capabilities directly within Dynamics 365 — meaning your reps can use the industry’s highest customer-rated sales enablement platform without having to leave their existing workflow.

Let’s dive deeper into four key benefits.

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New Release for Microsoft AppSource Delivers AI-driven Content to Improve Buyer Engagement Across Entire Sales Process

SEATTLE, June 11, 2019 – Highspot, the highest customer-rated sales enablement platform, today launched a new integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, which is available on Microsoft AppSource. Joint customers can now leverage Highspot’s full suite of capabilities directly within their Dynamics 365 environment to elevate buyer engagement and ultimately, further accelerate revenue growth.

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Sales leaders are constantly focused on attaining revenue goals, which naturally shifts the bulk of their attention to top performers. After all, they’re the breadwinners who consistently achieve quota and drive revenue. The general perception is that keeping top performers successful will increase everyone else’s performance as they try to keep up.

This is flawed thinking. Core performers, or “B reps,” are a company’s most valuable asset. How is that possible? Get familiar with the 20-60-20 theory. This approach of grouping sellers finds that 20% of a sales team are top performers, 20% are struggling, and the other 60% are somewhere in the middle.

Research done by the Sales Executive Council found that a 5% increase from the middle 60% of performers yielded 80% more revenue than a 5% increase from just the top 10%. If sales leaders want to increase quota attainment and optimize pipeline generation, they have to start by improving the effectiveness of their core sellers.

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The last mile of the customer journey is critical — it’s the final stretch that decides if a deal is won or lost and if a relationship is forged or broken. The deciding factor at this critical juncture is simple — conversation.

Human-to-human conversation creates a connection and is the cornerstone of customer experience. And today, when you can get anything with the click of a button, experience is a key differentiator.

Every business-to-business company faces the challenge of delivering incredible customer experiences. Solving the challenge begins with people-centricity. At Highspot, putting people first is in our core. It’s why our sales enablement platform is the highest user-rated technology in our category. It’s why hundreds of companies use our platform to have compelling conversations that lead to lasting relationships. And, today, it’s why we’ve reached another important milestone — we’ve closed our $60 million Series D.

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Technology Leader in Burgeoning Sales Enablement Category Is More Than Doubling Across Key Business Metrics

SEATTLE, June 4, 2019 – Highspot, the highest customer-rated sales enablement platform, today announced it has secured $60 million in Series D funding. ICONIQ Capital led the round, with participation from new investor Sapphire Ventures and all existing investors including Madrona Venture Group, OpenView, Salesforce Ventures and Shasta Ventures. The investment will fuel Highspot’s global expansion and further extend its technology leadership in the sales enablement category. Highspot’s revenue, customer base, existing customer expansion and employee count are all more than doubling year-over-year. Hundreds of companies are using the Highspot platform to empower customer-facing teams and partners, elevate the customer experience, and ultimately, accelerate revenue growth.

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In the past 100 years, the face of tech has undergone a radical transformation. Long before the industry became synonymous with men in hoodies, women like Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper were inventing the machines and programs that made the tech-driven world we live in today possible.

But by the 1970s, women had become all but invisible in the fields they helped pioneer. Today, they only account for 30% of employees across major tech companies despite comprising more than half of the total workforce.

This imbalance is something we are passionate about changing. And as Highspot’s Head of People, advocating for these causes is central to my role. But our commitment goes deeper than that. Creating an environment where a plurality of people feel empowered to do their best work is in Highspot’s DNA — and our goal is to ensure that this is evident in all our interactions, whether inside or outside Highspot.

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