Technology
April 22, 2024

2024 Guide to Sales Engagement Platforms

Sales engagement platforms are a must-have for modern sales strategies. Explore how you can benefit and which ones are the most popular with sales teams.

Technology has become an important part of the sales process in the 21st century, and if you're not using it to manage your own sales operations, you're probably falling behind. From automating workflows to managing leads, sales tools can step in and handle certain tasks that your reps once had to do themselves, saving your company time and money. 

In 2024, sales engagement platforms (SEPs) are all the rage and rightfully so. These robust platforms offer everything from automation to reporting and forecasting, and they typically integrate with your CRM and other important sales tools for a seamless experience.  They can help with lead generation,  prospecting, nurturing relationships, customer retention, and many more aspects of your sales process.  

Benefits of Using Sales Engagement Platforms

SEPs help you manage your communication and other interactions with leads, prospects, and customers. They automate menial tasks so you can focus on more important aspects of your campaigns. And they help you personalize your outreach at scale.  It's hard to list all of their benefits, but some of the most notable are:  

  • Automation features that enhance efficiency and productivity 
  • Improved lead generation and qualification
  • Better tracking and analytics
  • Advanced reporting and forecasting 
  • Personalization options for outreach to improve engagement and nurturing efforts 
  • Integration with CRM and dozens of important sales and marketing apps
  • Centralized dashboards that help with organization and collaboration 
  • Compliance and security assurance 
  • Multichannel communication 

Top Sales Prospecting Tools

There are many sales prospecting tools on the market, but as with any type of technology, some are better than others. Here are our top eight picks for 2024: 

Outreach

Outreach (sometimes called Outreach.io) is an award-winning sales platform designed to automate workflow, personalize outreach, and manage your pipeline. Organizations like McKesson, Zoom, Siemens, and Elsevier are big fans of the platform. 

Key features:  

  • Advanced email sequences 
  • Multichannel sequences 
  • Advanced reporting 
  • Seamless data sync between your CRM and various other apps and tools
  • Sentiment analysis powered by AI 
  • Integration with Google Calendar and Microsoft Office 365 for call and meeting scheduling 
  • Revenue forecasting 

Pricing: Outreach offers five plans: Engage, Call, Meet, Deal, and Forecast. Pricing plans depend on the package or combination of packages you choose. Contact the company for specific details.  

SalesLoft

Similar to Outreach, SalesLoft is a powerful sales engagement platform used by organizations around the world. It's ideal for streamlining and optimizing your outreach and other sales processes. SalesLoft's notable clients include 3M, Instacart, IBM, and Shopify. 

Key features: 

  • Easy-to-use interface 
  • Real-time engagement notifications 
  • Advanced analytics and reporting 
  • Mobile app 
  • AI-powered workflow prioritizing 
  • Advanced email cadences 
  • Coaching
  • Seamless data sync between your CRM and various other apps and tools

Pricing: SalesLoft offers three price plans: Essentials, Advanced, and Premier. Contact the company with more specific prices. 

Gong

Gong is an AI-powered revenue intelligence platform that offers automation, deal intelligence, and insights that help your team make more informed decisions. Nasdaq, Dropbox, and LinkedIn have all implemented Gong for sales purposes. 

Key features:  

  • Seamless integration with SEPs, CRMs, and other tools
  • Deal and conversion intelligence 
  • Call and meeting analysis 
  • Sales rep coaching based on real interactions
  • Outreach tracking
  • Comprehensive overview of your pipeline for informed decision-making 


Pricing:
Gong's pricing plans are determined by the number of users who will have access to the platform. Contact the company more for more details.  

HubSpot Sales Hub

HubSpot Sales Hub is an industry-leading CRM designed to help sales reps deepen connections and become more productive. Companies like Doordash, Survey Monkey, and Trello use it as a part of their sales operations.  

Key features: 

  • Email integration
  • Call logging
  • Deal tracking
  • Pipeline management 
  • CRM integration
  • Automation of various sales activities, like sequences 
  • Comprehensive data and reporting 
  • Account-based marketing 

Pricing: HubSpot Sales Hub price plans include free and premium options. Premium options start at $20 per month per user and range up to $150 per month per user. 

Apollo.io

The cloud-based sales automation platform Apollo.io is a scalable tool designed to help with everything from lead generation to creating perfect sequences to improving engagement. Its notable clients include the Utah Jazz, DocuSign, and Stripe. 

Key features: 

  • Automated sequences and engagement 
  • AI writing assistant 
  • Lead qualification 
  • Task manager
  • CRM integration
  • Lead signal alerts
  • Deal management 

Pricing:  Apollo.io pricing plans include a free option, as well as options for $49, $79, and $119 per user per month. 

Groove by Clari

Grove by Clari, another popular SEP, uses AI to help you turn data into deals. It's used by companies like Google, Uber,and Capital One. 

Key features:

  • AI-driven insights and analytics 
  • Engagement personalization options 
  • Email, calendar, and activity tracking
  • Workflow automation (multichannel) and prioritizing 
  • Dialer
  • Revenue intelligence   

Pricing:  Groove by Clari's price plans are not available to the  public, so you must contact the company for more information. 

Upscale

Upscale is an SEP designed with SaaS companies in mind. It's popular with brands like Adobe, Main Leaf, and iZooto. 

Key features: 

  • Automated email sequences 
  • Lead scoring
  • CRM integration
  • Real time analytics and reporting 
  • Mobile access 
  • Tasks management 
  • Dialer and call recording 
  • Playbooks 

Pricing: Upscale pricing plans start with  a 14-day free trial, and then you can choose from either Basic or Essential for $50 or $75 per user per month respectively.  

Reply.io

Arriba Capital, Zonos, RelocateMe, PRCO, and Voiss Media are all fans of Reply.io's multichannel sales engagement platform. Powered by AI, it's ideal for generating leads, increasing conversion rates, and booking more meetings. 

Key features: 

  • Multichannel outreach 
  • Meeting scheduling 
  • Real-time data search 
  • AI writing assistance 
  • Robust lead database 
  • Cloud calling
  • Video personalization 
  • Task automation 
  • Multiple Chrome extensions 

Pricing: Reply.io's price plans start at $49 per month for email volume only, and go up to $89 per month per user for Multichannel and $166 per month for Agency.  

How to Choose the Right Sales Engagement Platform

While many SEPS offer some of the same features, every platform isn't right for every sales team.  For example, some teams prefer SalesLoft's easy-to-use interface, while others prefer Outreach's powerful reporting options. Before you make a purchase, it's important to sit down and determine which one might make the best fit. Setting up a meeting with a rep can help you better understand how each SEP would work for your business. Taking advantage of free trials can also help. But before you narrow down your choices, ask yourself the following questions:  

  1. What are your sales goals? Which platform offers the features that will help you meet those goals? 
  2. What are your current pain points? Which platform offers features that can help you overcome those challenges? 
  3. Does the platform integrate with your CRM and other important tools your team already uses? 
  4. What kind of customer support does the company offer? 
  5. Does the company offer resources for training and educating your team on how to use their product? 
  6. How will it impact your budget? Keep in mind that many of the platforms offer multiple plan options at various price points.  
  7. Does it offer a high enough  ROI to be worth it?  

Implementing Sales Engagement Platforms

Once you do make a choice, implementing your SEP is typically an easy, straightforward process. Just remember that everyone on your team must be on the same page and understand how to use it and the purpose of using it. When in doubt, you can rely on a partner like RevOptics to help with implementing and optimizing an SEP that suits your business needs.  

Typical steps involved in implementing an SEP usually include:  

  1. Initial installation and configuration.  
  2. Integrating the platform with your current tools, like your CRM. 
  3. Onboarding and setting up accounts.   
  4. Training and development sessions for you and your team.  
  5. Performing regular reviews to determine if the SEP is working for you and what you can do so that it continues to help you grow. (As with your sales campaigns, you can use your metrics and reports to help determine this.)

Conclusion

In 2024, a sales engagement platform is a must for your sales team. From automating workflow to tracking key metrics, these tools are invaluable for lead generation, prospecting, nurturing, engagement, pipeline management and much more. While many SEPs offer similar features, each one won't be a perfect fit for your business. That's why it's important to have a full understanding of its features, price plans, and capabilities before making a commitment. 

Contact the RevOptics team today to learn more about how our services can help you implement and optimize the best sales engagement platforms for your business needs.

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