NOTE: Download the latest Market Map here.
First released in 2018, the Tenbound Sales Development Market Map is now in its eighth release and continues to expand. This version is accompanied by The Tenbound Sales Development Directory, a handy tool for tracking all the companies on the Market Map.
Meant as an overview of all the tools and services available to Sales Development Pipeline Leaders and Reps, and can now be augmented with a full Tools and Services Directory here.
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Observations on Market Map Version 8
Video Prospecting – now generally accepted in the SDR tool stack
We have seen the development of prospecting beyond phone and email to include physical mailings and now, video prospecting is becoming ubiquitous. In the era of Zoom meetings, prospects have become accustomed to video so it’s no surprise that SDRs are finding success using it in their outreach sequences. More providers are entering the space, and the delivery of the videos and metrics sounding its effectiveness continues to improve. Look for a move to the metaverse as prospects become more accustomed to that channel.
Revenue Operations – gaining momentum as the ultimate dashboard for SDR team success
Combining the disciplines of Sales Operations and Marketing Operations into a cohesive Revenue unit has become a common practice to support Sales Development teams, and managing applications to drive Sales Development success continues to rise in sophistication. Key players are emerging with heavy venture capital investment. Look out for more consolidation in this space and greater sophistication and adaption as Sales Development matures as a practice.
Sales Enablement – Bridging The Work-from-home gap in SDR sales skills
With Sales Development Reps working at home, the usual office learning, tribal knowledge, and banter are now missing to support their development. Companies are struggling to find new ways to keep SDRs engaged, trained and motivated. As a result, we’re seeing the Sales Enablement category continue to evolve in new and more advanced ways to meet that need. Look for growth in this area as companies move to use AI and machine learning to understand how voice tone, timing, word choice, and other factors affect pipeline production.
Once Again – Zoominfo (ZI) Eating the World
Zoominfo continues to lead on many fronts and is essentially becoming the overall Sales Development Operating System. Its strategy is clear; to become a one-stop-shop for your Pipeline and Sales needs, from Data to Enrichment, to Targeting, to Execution, and beyond. They call it the Total Platform, and according to ZI it “Aligns Your Marketing and Sales Tech tack into a unified platform” including Contact Data, Company Data, Technographics, Intent, Conversation INtallentce, Sales Intelligence, Prioritized Targeting, Conversational Marketing, Enrichment, and Audience solutions (AMB). At an (as of today) $23B Market cap and legendary Henry Schuck at the helm, we expect continued success and an overall trend of market consolidation in the SDR tech space.
Email Deliverability – The next Market Map quadrant?
SDRs are spending a lot of time personalizing emails to fit their prospect’s pain points hitting send, and hoping for the best. Alas, the email goes straight to spam or some other purgatory where it never even reaches the inbox of the prospect. How much time is wasted? In response, a whole new crop of tools is being developed to ensure this specific problem is solved. On the flip side, we’ve seen one tool which requires you to donate to charity in order to get your email delivered. Revenge of the Prospects!
Ready to learn more? Attend the upcoming Tenbound Virtual Sales Development Conference to meet the key people and tech providers in our industry. Register here. All the major players in Sales Development are represented at Tenbound Conferences and can be available to demo.
What did we miss? What would make the Map and Directory more useful?
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