The continuous pressure to generate revenue and outperform cannot be addressed successfully without strategic investments into the people and processes that drive sales forward. What’s required are effective methods to manage revenue performance ranging from coaching and compensation management to the optimization of quotas and pipelines in every channel of revenue. In today’s competitive environment attempting to utilize sales force automation, using spreadsheets and email rather than dedicated, purpose-built applications are ineffective. The path to maximization of your organization’s revenue potential starts with a close evaluation of dedicated applications that help with continuous improvement and alignment in revenue operations and performance and in areas like digital commerce, partner management, revenue performance management, sales engagement and subscription management.
Ventana Research offers knowledgeable, research-based guidance on sales to help you build core competencies that will increase your organization’s potential for revenue. To attain excellence in the office of revenue it is critical to evaluate investments based on their potential to augment rather than detract from revenue processes and to deliver excellence in every selling channel. We can help.
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Sales planning is essential to managing and improving sales performance. Without a planning process, sales metrics and key indicators will provide only historical context and not forward-looking visibility into your sales activities, impacting your a
Historically, sales planning has been a once-a-year exercise done manually using spreadsheets, lacking any ability to track assumptions or the success of the plan once done. However, without these critical and ongoing insights, organizations can’t ma
Ensuring that the sales organization contributes as fully as possible to the success of the organization — to revenue, growth, profitability and the overall customer experience — requires not only dedication but effective strategy and planning. A wel
Now is the time for any organization that places a priority on improving sales performance to introduce or refresh data-driven optimizations within their sales processes. This includes planning processes, compensation strategies and resource allocati
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for sales, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value from business technology and improve outcomes.
Sales plays a lead role in the revenue and growth of every organization.
Here are some insights on Incentive Solutions drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Here are some insights on NICE drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Here are some insights on beqom drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Here are some insights on SAP drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Here are some insights on Optymyze drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Here are some insights on Anaplan drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
With the backing of Great Hill Partners and Spectrum Equity, the company Varicent Software launched on Jan. 1st, purchasing IBM’s Sales Performance Management (SPM) assets and hiring employees from IBM’s SPM group. They will join a new team that incl
Here are some insights on Xactly drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Here are some insights on Oracle drawn from our latest Value Index research, which provides an analytic assessment of how well vendor offerings address buyers’ requirements.
Ensuring that the sales organization contributes as fully as possible to the success of the organization — to revenue, growth, profitability and the overall customer experience — requires not only dedication but effective strategy and planning.
Managing sales processes and resources without careful planning is a recipe for failure. Effectiveness in sales starts with planning that involves the full range of stakeholders.
Having effective analytics enables businesses to understand far better than ever before the data they’re collecting, and to do so in greater volumes and more forms.
Contact centers play a substantial role in an organization’s success. The customer journey is engaged here, at each moment of interaction.
Subscriptions are the future of business. Subscribers are essential to an organization’s overall business potential because they generate recurring revenue.
Marketing is inextricably linked to business success, and digital technology is essential to an organization’s overall marketing potential because it generates interest and brand awareness.
The workforce is an essential part of an organization’s overall business potential because it ensures continuous operations, even in black-swan events.
I’m very excited to announce to my network as well as the ever-expanding Ventana Research community that I’m now directing Ventana Research’s Office of Sales practice.
Subscription-based business models have seen exponential growth over the last decade. The growth of this recurring revenue business model, where a subscriber commits to repeatedly pay for a good or device for a fixed or indefinite timeline, has been
Digital commerce is changing how B2B companies buy and sell. They must have the ability to delight customers by enabling purchasing however customers want to interact.
Subscription-based business models have seen exponential growth over the last decade. The growth of this recurring revenue business model, where a subscriber commits to repeatedly pay for a good or device for a fixed or indefinite timeline, has been
The annual Ventana Research Digital Innovation Awards showcases advances in the productivity and potential of business applications, as well as technology that contributes significantly to improved efficiency and productivity in the processes and the
Although historically there has been a hard divide between what are colloquially called “Inside and Field Sales,” changes over the last 10 years have narrowed the distinction.
True leadership is the ability to motivate sales organizations to perform at their best.
The need to optimize revenue from all buying and selling channels is essential for every organization that wishes to maximize their potential. To achieve it requires a dedication to have the insights that come from analytics applied to the sales chan
Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2021, continuing the tradition of transparency in our efforts to educate and guide the technology market but also our independence as we do not share our market agenda or analyst perspectives with
Pricing is an ongoing source of anxiety for organizations because pricing decisions have a direct impact on sales volumes, revenue and profitability. Over the years, a variety of strategies have been in place to establish prices for products, dependi
Ventana Research recently announced its 2021 research agenda for the Office of Sales, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations realize optimal value from applying technology to improve business outcomes.
The current pandemic has disrupted many of the traditional sales methods used by field-sales organizations to engage, and sell to, buyers. In an effort to provide help, many vendors have recently announced new features that focus less on the manageme
Revenue Management and its operational support by way of Revenue Operations is a relatively new concept that reflects the reality of changing business models.
With modern enterprises adopting and expanding their digital business with subscription and usage business, organizations need to think beyond the primacy of sales as their source of business success.
There is no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated the existing need for new technology that can help sales professionals do their jobs well in this quickly evolving market.
Digital commerce affects almost everyone’s lives. It is hard to remember a time when one could not sign on to a website like Amazon, order a product, pay for it and have it delivered to your front door within days, not weeks.
As I have discussed in my Analyst Perspective, The Art of Sales, from the Inside Out, the challenges facing direct sales leaders are not going away. Declining quota attainment, lack of visibility into deal health and difficulty in forecasting quarter
Observed both here and elsewhere, average sales quota attainments appear to be in an exorable decline. As I discussed in my recent Analyst Perspective, "The Art and Science of Sales from the 'Inside Out'," vendors of sales technology have reacted to
Subscription pricing models are no longer new. Many companies have experience with this pricing model even if there has not been complete adoption across their entire product and service offerings.
The rise of internet-based information has created additional challenges for traditional field sales organizations as buyers are well along their buyers’ journey prior to engaging with vendors. This downward pressure on average quota attainment has a
Approaches to “pricing,” or the discipline of setting prices, vary across industries and across different organizations within the same industry. Many factors determine how companies go about pricing, but with the rise of the digital economy and the
Revenue Management. The concept represents significant change in how organizations manage the operations and performance of revenue—across EVERY channel, direct and indirect, physical and digital, commerce and subscriptions. Revenue Management can—an
As laid out in my recent Analyst Perspective, Revenue Management: The Opportunity for Innovation and Optimization, revenue management is a new way look at generating and managing the top line.
Having just completed the 2021 Ventana Research Value Index for Product Information Management, I want to share some of my observations about how the market and category have advanced since our first examination over 15 years ago.
There has been a lot of market activity around vendors offering sales-forecasting products (or functionality to address sales forecasting) as part of a wider technology offering for sales and revenue management.
Digitally native organizations are those that have existed from their inception primarily in the digital world, and that typically engage with customers and deliver their products or services via a digital interaction. Well-known examples include Net
Incentive compensation management (ICM) systems have traditionally focused on the needs of sales divisions, but these groups are typically distinct from other departments within the organization and are usually compensated based primarily on new sale
As mentioned in my Analyst Perspective, Revenue Performance Management: Leadership and Operations for Optimal Outcomes, there is continuing pressure on sales leaders to deliver against sales targets in increasingly competitive markets.
Sales leaders continue to face challenges in hitting revenue targets. That's no secret. Pressure is coming from increased competition, better-informed buyers who are doing internet research—and more buyers overall. Leaders have various levers availab
The annual Ventana Research Digital Innovation Awards showcase advances in the productivity and potential of business applications, as well as technology that contributes significantly to the improved processes and performance of an organization.
A subscription business model and an exceptional customer experience are equal priorities for many organizations. Much has been written about both: Subscription and usage services are considered the business model for the digital age, and a great cus
Revenue growth is a key indicator of competitive success. This is a given, yet for many companies, competing successfully is becoming more difficult. No matter the size of the organization, it seems there are new competitors in the market, both domes
Among the many digital economy trends written about in recent years, one of the most significant has been the adoption of a subscription business model.
Subscription management and billing services help organizations offer unique benefits and enhance delivery to customers. By making services more personalized, organizations can acquire – and retain – more customers.
Profitable pricing has always been a critical factor for business success. Over the years, organizations have developed different strategies to establish prices for their products and services depending on previous practices, the structure of the bus
Price management and optimization is not a new discipline, but until now, it has been restricted to particular industries — such as discrete manufacturing and chemicals — where there are potentially hundreds if not thousands of stock-keeping units co
The subscription business model has seen much growth in all aspects of the market in recent years. Now considered the standard for the digital age, the model’s implementation travels parallel to rising technology, leading to the demand for newer func
For disruptive technology companies, maturity is often accompanied by the realization that customer retention and expansion are as important as a new logo acquisition.
The emergence of the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) has mirrored the adoption of the subscription model and the development of multiple selling and buying channels over and above the traditional direct sales model, referred to as Revenue Management.
Traditionally, price management and optimization have been contained to certain industries, such as large-scale manufacturing and chemicals. Those industries involve potentially tens of thousands of stock-keeping units (SKUs) covering a wide variety
With the emergence of multiple selling channels and the rise of the subscription model, the need for a unified approach to revenue planning and execution should be a priority for every organization.
Leaders should be thinking of subscription billing not as something new and different, but as the way that their customers want to do business. There are now multiple selling and buying channels and multiple ways of conducting business, so it is impo
In today’s challenging selling environment—with a broader buying population, better-educated buyers, disruptive economic situations and increased global competition—now more than ever, sales organizations need to be ensuring they are positioned for s
The internet is a rich source of information and is used by buyers to research new applications and offerings well before ever engaging a vendor and salesperson. Along with massive growth in offerings, this is a major reason why sales teams are facin
The annual Ventana Research Digital Leadership Awards recognize organizations and individuals that utilize technology to advance business and IT. The Digital Leadership Awards showcase the professional leadership and their use of business application
With the announcement of Ventana Research’s 2022 Market Agenda, our expertise in Digital Business continues to advance the market need for effective investments into technology, and I will outline here the key areas of focus to provide insights to or
Ventana Research was the first market research firm to focus on the emerging area of sales performance management (SPM), which we define as a coordinated set of sales-related activities, processes and systems that enable organization.
It’s no secret that sales leaders continue to face challenges in hitting their revenue targets. This is due to many complex factors, but three trends are key. First, organizations of all types are seeing sales pressure from increased competition.
Ventana Research recently announced its 2022 Market Agenda for the Office of Revenue, continuing the guidance we have offered for nearly two decades to help organizations realize optimal value from applying technology to improve business outcomes.
Revenue performance management and the role of revenue operations is moving to the forefront of sales organizations, aligning departments around a single view of the business with shared revenue targets and goals.
Why Finance and Legal are Important to Revenue and Sales Operations
Digital Transformation. The Subscription Economy. Omni-Channel Selling. Customer Centric. These are all terms used to label trends and events that are changing the way business is being conducted, a change that has accelerated due to recent events. R
Ventana Research defines subscription management as the processes and technology needed to manage the subscriber experience from the first digital touch to the continuous modifications of orders for services and billing.
As organizations shift focus to a broader definition of sales that includes all sources of revenue, vendors are also pivoting to include “revenue” as part of promotional messaging. But it’s my view that just changing your message or description does
We are happy to share insights about Oracle drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Management Performance Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about Salesforce drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is happy to share insights gleaned from the latest Value Index research, an assessment of how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements. The 2022 Revenue Performance Management (RPM) Value Index is the distillation of a year
We are happy to share insights about Xactly, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about Anaplan drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about Board International, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about Varicent, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about SAP, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about SugarCRM, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about Gong.io, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about beqom, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about InsightSquared, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We are happy to share insights about Clari, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Many – myself included – have written about the growth in technologies designed to aid in business-to-business sales and sales management by serving sales reps, line managers, executives and operations. But one area that has been ill-served is techni
A shift in focus is underway in organizations from a single source of revenue —sales—to a broader view. Whether through the expansion of e-commerce and self-service purchasing or through adoption of recurring revenue models, organizations need to und
Ventana Research maintains a rigorous approach to its areas of research expertise through a methodology of processes and activities to ensure we provide the best possible insights on technology across business and IT. This is represented in our Market Agenda, which is a foundation for providing actionable information and guidance to help you identify opportunities for improved competitiveness and effectiveness. Other industry analyst firms lack methodology and a publicly available research agenda and are easily biased by clients and the industry. We take pride in our reputation for independence and provide our research calendar and agenda for visibility into the upcoming months of activity.
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