Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2020 - 52

CLOSING
DEALS

SALES ENABLEMENT COMES OF AGE:
CHORUS.AI CLOSES $45 MILLION SERIES C FOR
"CONVERSATION INTELLIGENCE" TECHNOLOGY
BY TARYN OESCH

Sales enablement refers to the processes, tools and training that support
salespeople. The term was initially
defined by Forrester in 2008, but
as a function, sales enablement has
come of age in recent years, thanks to
advances in technologies like artificial
intelligence (AI).
As a result, much funding is going into
sales enablement platform providers.
For example, Chorus.ai serves as a
"conversation intelligence (CI) platform"
for revenue teams. In July of this year, the
company closed its Series C funding,
a $45 million round led by Georgian
Partners, which invests in software as a
service (SaaS)-based "business software
companies that harness applied artificial
intelligence, conversational AI, and trust,"
according to its website.
"You can think of CI as an additional
attendee in your meeting or recipient on
your email who records, transcribes and
analyzes the discussion," says Jim Benton,
chief executive officer of Chorus.ai. With
this information, sales managers can
personalize coaching to each rep's areas
for improvement, and sales enablement
professionals can improve their offerings.
"Our vision," says Benton, "is to build a
connected CI, bringing the conversation,
backed [by] data-driven insights, into the
existing workflows and tools of sales
and revenue teams. Our latest funding
will enable us to continue investing
in developing world-class, patented
solutions, while expanding our goto-market team and accelerating our
enterprise services."

| 52

THE "FASTEST GROWING
CATEGORY IN SALES TECH"
According to the press release announcing the funding, CI is the "fastest
growing category in Sales Tech," and
Benton believes it's partly due to
COVID-19.
"COVID forced digital transformation
on many enterprises," he says. "The
shift to remote work sparked growth
as more companies recognized the
need for it." Sales teams are looking for
better insights into their pipeline, "and
without the ability to walk the halls
and speak to reps... managers must
turn to technology like conversation
intelligence to be able to coach and
lead their teams."
Learning leaders are no strangers to
the impact COVID has had on the
workplace, and sales enablement is
no different. Sales reps who previously
traveled to meet with prospects and
customers are now meeting with them
from their home offices, and sales
managers are enabling them virtually
as well. While this shift to remote sales
enablement has been challenging, these
professionals are in a better position to
make the shift - thanks to technology.
"Since the pandemic began," Benton
says, "we have used our NLP [natural
language processing] technology to
analyze businesses' conversations to
understand exactly how COVID was
impacting operations." Chorus.ai has
conducted weekly Zoom broadcasts to
share this information with executives,

but organizations can similarly use AI to
analyze salespeople's conversations to
better understand customers' needs.
ADAPTING TO CHANGE
For instance, Benton shares that
executives are scrutinizing business
deals more so than prior to the
pandemic. Chief financial officers "on
the buying side are joining 91% more
calls since January, and there is a 77%
increase in director-level team members
on calls." Training professionals will
need to adapt to help reps appeal to a
more senior-level audience.
"With the four walls of the sales floor
disappearing," Benton adds, "enterprise
companies will continue to seek out
ways to collaborate on deals and drive
performance improvements across cities
and time zones. ... We anticipate buyers
will seek out tools and platforms that
work within their infrastructure... as we
all adjust to the new ways of business."
Alternatively, based on its market
research, Training Industry, Inc. predicts
that spending on sales training will shrink
13.75% in 2020. Many organizations are
in a catch-22: Technology can improve
sales in a time when every dollar matters,
but organizations need the budget to
invest in that technology. As companies
like Chorus.ai continue to innovate, they
will be able to better serve salesforces
in need.
Taryn Oesch is the managing editor of
digital content at Training Industry, Inc.
Email Taryn.
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2020
