7 Top Sales Ops tools to boost team productivity

How do you enhance the productivity of your sales teams in today’s competitive market? Are you struggling to keep up with the evolving demands of sales operations? 

With the growing complexity of customer interactions, data management, and performance metrics, sales operations software tools have become essential for businesses aiming to streamline their processes. But with the vast array of sales tools on the market, how do you choose the right ones? 

This article will demystify the essential categories of sales operations tools, helping you boost efficiency, productivity, and ultimately your revenue.

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1. What are sales operations software tools?

Sales operations software tools refer to a suite of solutions designed to optimize the day-to-day functions of sales teams. These tools aim to automate repetitive tasks, provide real-time insights, improve team collaboration, and leverage data to make intelligent business decisions. From customer relationship management (CRM) software to sales intelligence tools, these solutions drive sales strategies forward and align them with overall business goals.

But how do you know which tools are indispensable? Let’s explore the different categories.

Key features to look for in sales operations tools:

1. Automation: Automating simple yet time-consuming tasks to improve efficiency.
2. Data-driven insights: Access to real-time reports and analytics.
3. Integration capabilities: Seamless integration with other platforms such as CRMs.
4. Scalability: A tool that supports business growth and adds new features over time.
5. Security: Compliant with data protection standards to handle sensitive customer information.

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2. Essential sales operations software tools to boost your performance

Sales operations encompass various categories of tools, each offering specific benefits. Here’s an overview of the key categories and examples of how they can transform your sales strategy.

CRM software: Your sales foundation

CRM software is the backbone of any sales operation. It goes beyond just managing customer data; a robust CRM enables sales teams to align their strategies with marketing, improve customer interactions, and normalize data for compliance. With historical sales data and personalized customer insights at their fingertips, sales reps can strategically manage customer lifecycles and drive more revenue.

Some of the leading CRM tools include:

Salesforce

Market leader in CRM with an extensive feature set and third-party integrations.‍

Hubspot

Ideal for small- to medium-sized businesses for marketing and sales alignment.

Microsoft Dynamics

Competitor to Salesforce but focused more on large enterprises.

Zoho CRM

Known for offering robust analytics, data management, and affordable solutions for SMBs.

A well-implemented CRM increases not only customer retention but also enhances the sales forecasting accuracy by aggregating real-time data.

Best practice 

Regularly update and clean your CRM data to avoid degraded performance over time.

Sales intelligence software: Making data actionable

Sales intelligence software equips sales ops teams with market insights, competitor analysis, and lead scoring. These tools convert data into actionable information that can be directly applied to sales strategies, helping prioritize leads and target sales efforts more effectively. Coupled with AI, sales intelligence frees teams from guesswork and instead focuses on data-driven decision-making.

Examples of common sales intelligence tools:

ZoomInfo

Comprehensive B2B contact data with advanced analytics for market insights.

Gong

Helps sales teams improve through conversation intelligence and customer interaction analysis.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Leverages LinkedIn’s network to gather in-depth data on prospects’ behaviors and preferences.

Infer

Predictive lead scoring platform that uses AI to optimize which leads are more likely to convert.

Good to know 

Using sales intelligence tools is not just about gathering data, but about feeding current and clean data into your CRM for better results.

Sales acceleration software: Speed up the process

What if you could boost your sales team’s output without adding new personnel? Sales acceleration software can help you do this by automating key processes in lead generation, contact management, and follow-up strategies. With real-time tracking, businesses can adapt instantly to market changes and prospects’ behaviors.

Here are some tools that accelerate the entire sales process:

ZoomInfo OperationsOS

Data orchestration platform for cleaning, enhancing, and managing contacts at scale.

Salesflare

Ideal for SMBs with automated lead data enrichment and easy-to-use dashboards.

SalesLoft

Pipeline tracking and prospect conversation optimization tailored for larger sales teams.

Saleshandy

Focuses on optimizing outbound sales through scalable email campaigns and comprehensive analytics.

Efficiency is key in today's market, and sales acceleration tools help shorten the sales cycle, closing more deals in less time.

Sales enablement tools: Empower your team

The role of sales enablement tools is to equip sales reps with the resources, training, and knowledge they need to close more deals efficiently. These platforms not only provide teams with up-to-date sales content and training but also deliver personalized onboarding for new recruits and create playbooks that standardize the sales process.

Best sales enablement tools:

Highspot

Training platform with flexible content management, playbooks, and performance tracking.

Seismic

Known for content deployment and personalized sales training to help teams adapt and improve.

Showpad

One-stop-shop for all your training and sales content needs, delivering coaching and insights.

MindTickle

Focuses uniquely on sales readiness and skills development through engaging and interactive content.

By using sales enablement tools, businesses can ensure their sales teams are consistently educated and aligned with their overall goals.

Figures to remember

Regular product training for your sales team can increase deal-closing ratios by up to 10-20%.

Sales automation tools: Standardize processes

Standardizing and automating repetitive manual tasks through sales automation tools lets reps focus on what truly matters: engaging with prospects and closing deals. By automating follow-up emails, call scheduling, and data entry, teams can prioritize high-impact tasks, all while reducing human errors.

Some leading sales automation tools include:

Outreach

Powerful platform for tracking customer engagement and multi-channel outreach automation.

Zapier

Connects different apps to automate workflows without needing to write code.

Leadfeeder

Offers a free plan and focuses on businesses looking to identify buyer intent based on website data.

FrontSpin

Specializes in automating sales communication via email and calls through playbook execution.

By utilizing these tools, sales teams can seamlessly move leads through the pipeline, ensuring timely and personalized communication with potential buyers.

Sales forecasting software: Predicting success

Sales forecasting software is critical for any sales operations team. Accurate predictions of how a sales team will perform in the upcoming months involve analyzing past trends and current performance indicators. These insights help allocate resources, detect weaknesses, improve budget management, and minimize risks.

Best sales forecasting solutions:

Anaplan

Business planning software that makes forecasts easier by connecting data from different departments.

InsightSquared

AI-powered forecasting solution with pre-built reports based on hundreds of data sets.

Accurate forecasting not only ensures smoother workflows but reinforces team confidence by setting realistic and achievable goals.

Sales commission software: The key to optimized performance

They are crucial tools in your business, specializing in managing sales compensation and boosting team productivity. Here's an overview of this category and its benefits.

When considering sales compensation management software, it's essential to look at the performance of different tools. Here are some of the best solutions in this sector:

Qobra

Real-time commission calculations, transparency, and seamless CRM integration. Ideal for businesses seeking an intuitive and customizable solution. Qobra's flexibility and user-friendly design make it a standout choice for teams aiming to enhance efficiency without added complexity.

"The key moment when we save precious time is the closing of commissions. Before, we had to extract several Excel files, data from our CRM, from our invoicing software, etc. Now we can cross-reference these data sources in a single document. Cross-reference these data sources in a single document. Now Qobra aggregates all the data, and in theory all you have to do is press a single button to lock in all the commissions and send them to payroll. It now only takes a few seconds."

Damien Robert, Revenue Operations Manager at Zenchef

‍"With Qobra, the Finance team can see the commissions for each team, each individual, and the details of the amount of commission at any time. Previously, with Excel, this was only possible at the end of the period, once the commissions had been processed."

Marion Braud, Revenue Operations Expert at Mangopay

‍“Qobra really helped us to gain the confidence of our teams because we could see their results on a daily basis. They had very clear visibility of the details of the calculations based on the Dashboard, but also of where they were at with their accelerators, for example. And that can motivate them, to say to themselves, OK, if I do one more deal, that's going to potentially unlock the next accelerator.”

Aude Cadiot, Revenue Operations Lead at Spendesk

“Since we've had Qobra, we've seen a 15-20% increase in the achievement of our objectives.”

Tomas Hons, GTM Strategy & Operations Manager at Make

Spiff

Spiff automates and optimizes sales reps' commission plans. Spiff's aim is to solve the commission headache for the finance team, reduce friction between finance and sales reps, and improve sales performance.

Xactly Incent

Xactly Incent is a solution for companies looking for support in designing, automating and managing their commission system.

CaptivateIQ

CaptivateIQ offers an agile commissioning solution. This enables companies to align their sales teams with sales reps objectives. CaptivateIQ enables companies to save time on payment processing and motivate sales reps with real-time visibility.

Performio

A simple solution focusing, perfect for companies looking for an efficient, easy-to-implement tool for scaling sales operations.

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3. How to select a sales operations tool ?

When selecting the right tools for your sales ops stack, you should consider several key factors. First, identify the goals your team is trying to achieve. Whether it’s increasing lead conversion, improving customer retention, or optimizing sales commissions, every solution should add tangible value to your process.

1. Define your business goals

Before exploring different tool options, clarify the specific challenges your team is facing. Whether it’s reducing the sales cycle, improving data accuracy, or supporting a remote team, each challenge should directly influence your choice.

2. Evaluate ease of use

Ensure that any tool you introduce is easy for all team members to adopt. Complex tools, even if feature-rich, can take weeks to master, wasting valuable time. Look for intuitive solutions that have a strong user interface and offer training or demo sessions.

3. Check integration capabilities

An often-overlooked factor is the ability to integrate a tool with your existing tech stack. This ensures more streamlined workflows and helps prevent data silos. A well-integrated sales operations tool can leverage data from multiple sources, improving decision-making and minimizing errors.

4. Security compliance

Given the sensitive nature of customer data, you should choose software that complies with prevailing data protection regulations, such as GDPR or CCPA. Tools that don’t prioritize security could expose you to legal risks.

5. Lean into automation

Automation is more than just a buzzword. It signifies a paradigm shift in how sales processes are managed, allowing for smarter, faster, and more efficient operations. Sales automation elevates your team’s ability to manage customer relationships without additional headcount.

Best practice

Focus on tools that strike the perfect balance between automation and personalization to streamline workflows without losing the human touch of customer engagement.

6. Scalability

As your enterprise grows, so will your team’s needs. Tools must adapt seamlessly to ensure you don’t run into scalability headaches across departments like sales, marketing, and client service.

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The future of sales operations tools

The role of sales operations is evolving, increasingly driven by AI and data-centric approaches. While selecting the right sales tools may seem daunting, the good news is that the options available today can fundamentally transform your sales process when used wisely.

From CRM software to sales forecasting tools, the right solutions not only help you meet performance goals but allow your sales teams to thrive in a competitive marketplace. Focusing on ease of use, strong data governance, automation, and security ensures smooth deployments and a sales environment built for long-term success.

Remember, investing in the right technology is synonymous with investing in your team’s productivity, customer relationships, and future revenue growth.

Now that you've been equipped with comprehensive knowledge about sales operations software tools, it’s time to start upgrading your sales pipeline management and leveraging technology to accelerate your success.