Learnings from the 10th edition of the SalesTech landscape
Learnings from the 10th edition of the SalesTech landscape
I am beyond thrilled to share the latest salestech technology landscape. This iteration marks its 10th edition and has been the most complex to assemble for several reasons:
Explosion of Players: The number of vendors has surged to 2,100, a 34% increase from just 14 months ago. This massive growth, driven by AI lowering barriers to entry, counters the notion of a consolidating industry.
Fluid Categories: The salestech space remains dynamic with many mini-categories. These mini-categories emerge quickly, but very few graduate. Many solutions target specific workflows but struggle to expand beyond supporting a few tactics.
Generic Claims: The proliferation of websites with similar claims makes it challenging to discern what products actually do and how they work.
Frequent Pivots: The pace of pivots has reached an all-time high, making it difficult to keep track of changes.
This edition features 5 new categories:
Instant Qualification-Routing-Booking (spun off from Appointment Scheduling)
Pipeline Intelligence and Revenue Analytics
AI Role-Play
It’s worth noting 2 emerging categories:
Warm Introduction & Referral (now part of Relationship Intelligence)
RFP Response (now part of Sales Content & Collaboration)
I anticipate these categories will 'graduate' in the next iteration.
Moving on to the fastest-growing categories:
Signals & Intent Data: With over 80 participants (+200%), this category is rapidly evolving beyond monitoring content consumption and job changes to pursue the holy grail: uncovering buyers in market by tracking activities on the open internet and social channels (dark funnel).
Sales Data & Signals Aggregation Platforms: This category has grown by 190% and represents the evolution of B2B Customer Data Platforms (CDPs). It unites players from various domains:
ABX platforms that orchestrate sales motions
B2B-focused CDPs (account-aware)
Crossovers from Product-Led Growth CRM
New entrants that let you build a unified data repository by federating multiple data sources, processing signals, and driving various GTM motions
Sales (AI) Assistants: This category now includes 150 players (+165%) and features assistants that help sellers with tasks such as account research, uncovering personalities, personalizing engagement, writing communications, sequencing interactions, and preparing and managing meetings.
Other Noteworthy Categories:
Website Visitor Identification & Tracking: Essential for businesses of all sizes, this category now includes solutions that identify not only the company but also the individual buyer.
Internet Scouting & Search: This category is the evolution of Web and Social Prospecting. It extends beyond scraping to create searchable graphs of the open web and gather public information.
AI’s influence is pervasive across every category and is also driving the development of new ones, such as Autonomous SDRs, Autonomous BDRs, and AI Role-Play.
Given the rapid changes in this ecosystem, a post can only cover so much. For a deeper discussion or to brief me on new offerings, please book time during my office hours: here
Salestech is buzzing with innovation and rapid change. This is an exciting time to be part of such a dynamic industry.