Forrester Wave: Sales Engagement

The Forrester Wave ™: Sales Engagement, Q3 2020 Results

XANT Received the highest score possible in Category Vision, and highest scores in AI, and Automation criteria

Forrester did a thing last week. It was a pretty big deal—they published the first-ever Wave Report for Sales Engagement, which we believe means recognition of our category as one of the fastest-growing, and most disruptive, in tech. (Not just sales tech, but all tech.) I’m old enough to remember a time when analysts didn’t think sales engagement was big enough to carve out its own category corner. How quickly things change!

Naturally, our team was excited about the increased exposure and emphasis on the value of sales engagement. We entered into this process with a few objectives in mind:

1. Enterprise.  We needed to reinforce our position as leaders in the enterprise. We placed bets several years ago to own the enterprise segment and we reoriented our go-to-market and product strategies accordingly. This included a global infrastructure, enterprise-grade data security and governance platform, a post-sales consultancy, and much more. 

2. Data.  We needed to emphasize our data-centric vision for the future of revenue generation. As digital and data disruption rolls forward with increasing momentum, it’s clear buyers will continue to have a larger share of the power in B2B relationships. Giving reps analytics and insight into their buyer’s behaviors will be key for them to have more quality conversations with influencers and decision-makers in purchasing committees, and to have them earlier in the buying process. 

3. AI.  AI. We had to demonstrate our differentiation with AI in guiding sales activities. In order for teams to create impact on revenue faster, they can’t just crank out more activities. Not all activity is good activity! It’s about doing more of the right things, which means determining what the right things are, eliminating waste, and automating the rest. 

So, how did we do? I may be biased but I think we crushed it! In Forrester’s 2020 Sales Engagement Wave, XANT was recognized with:

• The highest score in the Artificial Intelligence criterion
• The highest score in the Automation criterion
• The highest score possible in the Category Vision criterion
• The highest score in the Average Deal Size criterion (we believe this reflects our focus on the enterprise)

We also received the highest score possible in the criteria of: CRM Integrations, Email/Calendaring Integrations, Dialer, Data Augmentation, Marketing Platforms, Workflows, Activity Capture, Conversation Intelligence, Interaction Management, Recommendations, and last, but not least, Global Presence.

Let me summarize what that means for customers. First, our investments have paid off. It’s not a secret that data is key to closing the gap between sellers and their buyers’ changing behaviors. The kind of prioritization required to move the needle in sales is fueled by data and automation, not just scorching the earth with untargeted engagement.

Second, at the end of the day we exist to help teams have a quicker and more meaningful impact on revenue. Our platform already does more to guide rep engagement and align sales to changes in buyer behaviors than any other technology on the market. As the Wave report states, “XANT is an ideal fit for enterprise companies that want to help sellers better execute on buyer-centric sales strategies.” Exactly! And building on prioritization, we also improve rep and team productivity, help organizations enforce consistency, and give leaders the insights they need to build repeatable success. And we’ll keep developing on that foundation.

Third, Sales Engagement is on fire! There’s never been a more exciting time to be in this business. The competition is fierce to be sure, and there are great players who don’t allow us to be complacent.

Our priority is, and has always been, on our customers’ success and the impact they have on revenue. We’re thrilled for the recognition this Sales Engagement Wave gives us, and can’t wait to make more noise in the years to come.