On this week in sales we’ll be looking at: 

* New research shows that being honest about price leads to bigger deals* Microsoft is coming after Salesforce’s CRM dominance * Fractional management 

And much more!

This Week In Sales hosts:

* Victor Antonio – Youtube.com/user/salesinfluence* Will Barron – Salesman.org/Youtube

Topics:

Being honest about car prices wins salespeople more business, study finds

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin recently found that the more honest a salesperson is (as indicated by revealing the true invoice price of a car early on in negotiations), the more a customer will ultimately spend.

fortune.com/2020/10/17/buying-a-car-prices-salespeople/

2021 predictions: B2B sellers deepen buyer relationships with help from AI

More than 60% of B2B sellers will be enabled by AI and automation. Fifty-seven percent of B2B sales leaders told us they plan to make deeper investments in tools with AI and automation in the upcoming fiscal year.

go.forrester.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Forrester_Predictions_2021.pdf

Companies Are Rushing to Use AI—but Few See a Payoff

A study finds that only 11 percent of firms that have deployed artificial intelligence are reaping a “sizable” return on their investments.

wired.com/story/companies-rushing-use-ai-few-see-payoff/

Vanillasoft buy AutoKlose 

AutoKlose launched July 2018 with the idea helping salespeople automate their email outreach, prospecting, engagement, and reporting efforts. This acquisition will create a synergy of our technologies and resources, making VanillaSoft a one-stop-shop for SMB sales teams.

autoklose.com/vanillasoft-and-autoklose/

Microsoft makes CRM a “priority” in bid to challenge Salesforce

The tech giant is reportedly pushing sales teams to talks about Dynamics 365 cloud software with customers. It see’s it’s big rival to be Salesforce.

“Microsoft engages executives throughout the agreement renewal process and we routinely check in with salespeople to make sure they’re exploring Dynamics 365 and Power Platform prior to each deal’s completion,” Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw said to CNBC.

cloudpro.co.uk/operations/business-management/8798/microsoft-makes-crm-a-priority-in-bid-to-challenge-salesforce

Google Sued

The Justice Department has sued Google for allegedly breaking a...