Once again, I’m writing about a SalesTech or B2B MarTech firm that had strong growth during the pandemic. Simply, B2B firms sped up their digitization and looked for online methods for internal and external communications. With WFH and the recognition of subscription revenues over the life of contracts, it is highly likely that 2020 strength will continue into 2021. In the case of Brainshark, they increased both their new business contracts and multi-year renewal rates. Brainshark also announced off-the-shelf learning content from a pair of training companies: ValueSelling Associates and 2Win!.
Sales Readiness vendor Brainshark posted sixty percent growth in platform usage last year with a 38% increase in new business. 71% of the new contracts were multi-year, with multi-year renewals up 40% year over year.
“Companies across the globe had to completely rewrite their playbook when the pandemic began disrupting business one year ago,” said CEO Greg Flynn. “Many realized improving their sales readiness was a way to gain a competitive advantage. They also realized Brainshark’s proven, award-winning platform was just the tool they needed. We’re especially thrilled to see our customers utilizing our coaching solution more than ever because we’ve seen first-hand the impact it can have on an organization’s bottom line.”
Citing a CSO Insights study that found that firms with dedicated sales enablement teams had a 15.3% higher win rate on forecasted deals, the firm stated, “Brainshark can be the foundation of a successful sales readiness strategy, helping organizations equip sales reps with the knowledge and skills they need, measure preparedness, and connect readiness to revenue.”
Last year, the firm launched Sales Readiness Scorecards, which “provide more powerful, instant, and comprehensive visibility into whether reps and their teams are prepared to engage with clients and prospects.” Scorecard data is pulled from Salesforce, providing firms with pipeline and performance KPIs. In 2021, Brainshark plans to deepen CRM integrations for expanded metrics and coaching tools.
“The questions sales enablement professionals need to answer go beyond ‘Are our reps ready?’ The more important question is, ’Are our readiness and enablement programs working? Scorecards provide that clarity. Enablement leaders can discover which reps need help with certain parts of the sales process, and then build learning programs to address those areas for maximum impact. At the same time, sales managers have critical performance data at their fingertips that allows them to be better, more strategic coaches.”
Brainshark Chief Product Officer Greg Keshian
2Win! training “helps sales professionals master demo, presentation, client success, and storytelling skills, especially in a virtual world.”
Julie Thomas, CEO of ValueSelling Associates, said, “Our eValueSelling Fundamentals is a fast track for those who want to learn value-based selling. By blending real-world examples with interactive exercises and quizzes, users learn how to prepare for a sales call, assess the health of opportunities, and ask questions that engage prospects. This program makes for a perfect integration into Brainshark’s platform, allowing sales enablement leaders a simple and convenient way to build their training content and accelerate their results.” Brainshark lists BCI and go1 as additional training content partners.