In a wavering economy, the one thing global leaders can certainly count on is the range of innovations at their disposal to navigate smoother business operations and exceed the expectations of their current clients.
Whether the industry is at an all-time high or on the verge of a massive slowdown, having the right technologies in place to enhance processes and communicate more effectively is beneficial to increasing a company's ability to remain afloat and stay competitive no matter what type of market climate establishments are facing.
Below are 14 emerging tech tools and concepts that have been game-changing for Forbes Business Development Council members and their teams who are working to grow stronger business models that are built to last.
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1. Near-Field Communication
With business travel returning, we’re providing some of our global sales teams with near-field communication (NFC) business cards. The contactless technology enables the instant sharing of contact details to a mobile phone. One NFC card can replace a box of paper cards. In the field, they make quite an impression on customers and prospects, especially in the semiconductor industry in which we operate. - Marc Barnhill, Smith
2. Intent Data
Intent data that allows sellers and business developers to identify potential opportunities is essential. These workflow tools automate most parts of the business process to free up more time to focus on revenue-impacting activities and customer engagements. - Zeenath Kuraisha, Asia Pacific Sales & Marketing Academy Pte Ltd
3. AI-Based Lead Generation
I have been incredibly impressed with some of the AI-based lead generation tools that are now augmenting the work of sales development representatives or in some cases, replacing them altogether. The lead game is changing fast because the solutions are getting highly sophisticated, including using social listening on LinkedIn and referencing LinkedIn content posts in outbound emails. These tools will help small businesses immensely. - Jonathan Mills, EPIC Strategies
4. On-Demand Intelligence
Industry business development professionals need access to on-demand intelligence tools like Shield. It provides data to assess new customer vulnerabilities and supply chain risks that could derail a new relationship. Knowing who you’re doing business with and what it’s going to take in order to keep that customer satisfied is critical in building and maintaining a lasting partnership. - Tyler Trimbath, Trimbath Advisory Group
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5. Digital Content Publishing
I am a huge fan right now of AI productivity tools that help people to publish, write and personalize content faster, especially on digital channels like Lately.ai, FlyMSG and Seismic LiveSocial. They save a ton of time, and right now, efficiency has never been more important. - Toby Carrington, Seismic
6. Analytics That Elevate Decision Making
The tech tools that are changing the landscape are the tools that go beyond automation to analytics. Initially, technology was put in place to provide automation and oftentimes tracking. Technology can amplify and accelerate results. The opportunity at hand is how to make better decisions, identify the best next action and exploit analytics and data into faster and better decisions. - Julie Thomas, ValueSelling Associates
7. Improved Data Lake Capabilities
Data lake organizations have been using various forms of IoT to collect data for years. This has resulted in data warehouse environments, which can be a time-consuming method to analyze data from various sources. The utilization of the data lake with a vast pool of raw data will improve the speed and variety of tasks we can complete with the data gathered from various unrelated sources. - Jeff Hicks, Fastenal
8. Virtual Reality Simulations
VR is already changing the way projects and developments are being pitched to investors, the training methods available in a simulated world and the way leaders and teams can do "in-person" meetings across the globe. The ability to create virtual environments for training, communicating, working and visualizing with teams located anywhere in the world is becoming a game-changer for those who are using it. - Jethro Hopkins, Fulcrum HR Consulting LLC
9. Pre-Recorded Videos
The concept of pre-recorded video, which is designed to increase ease and convenience for the participant, is a game-changer for internal and external communications. It enables leaders and their staff to leverage video to communicate better, record and recap meetings or avoid meetings altogether. Short videos are great for announcements and longer videos can be perfect for tutorials or complicated information that needs to be studied or repeated. - David Mattson, Sandler
10. Remote Management Software
Remote management software is the new Zoom right now. If you are a business development exec and you haven't considered the fact that your best staff might be remote operators, you are already behind the bell curve. But because sales is a department that has been so dominated by hype crews who need you to be in one geographical location, not many execs have considered looking outside of that mold. - Peter Schravemade, REACH ASEA
11. Machine Learning Capabilities
The client's expectations for you to provide them with results start as soon as an agreement between your company as a services and solutions provider for them is reached since they are also challenged in this competitive landscape. However, the traditional mindset of processes that are focused on getting a team ready first, through environmental familiarization with a more extended trial period and results in summarization, is gone. - Mustansir Paliwala, EQUANS
12. Effective Sales Management And Forecasting
Leverage tools that make it easier to manage, interpret and gain value from data so people spend more time on their jobs. An example is a tech tool that can simplify pipeline management and forecasting, such as Clari. I've used this in two companies and found it hugely valuable in making the sales process more efficient and easier to manage. My teams could then spend more time with clients! - Ben Elder, Meta Platforms, Inc.
13. Conversational Intelligence
Conversational intelligence tools can provide significant insights into how reps are performing on sales calls and if they are demonstrating the desired skills and behaviors. However, this should still be considered input for the sales manager to use to have a great coaching conversation. You can't automate a good sales manager, but you can enable them with tools and data to be more successful. - Ray Makela, Sales Readiness Group
14. Open-Data Intelligence
I believe that open-source intelligence tools (OSINT) will become the game-changer in the coming decade. During the last one, data was king. With the rise of machine learning capabilities and tremendous expansion of open digital data and tracing during the Covid-19 pandemic, OSINT tools have been becoming the newly inaugurated prince for biz dev execs and their teams. - John Popel, Social Links, Inc.
