1. Digitize the Sales Force:
Leverage Sales Engagement
Platforms to Gain a
Competitive Advantage
Summary of Report by Aragon Research

2. Executive Summary
The Rise of Sales Engagement Platforms
Abstract: Sales teams need a sales platform to sell in a digital, ‘always-on’world. While
Sales Enablement is the current buzzword in the sales space, the Sales Engagement
Platform (SEP), a new Digital Selling Platform that integrations with CRM, is the key to
empowering sales professionals in the digital era.
Key Take-ways:
• Any technology designed for sales (whether related to CRM or not) has
historically been grouped in the CRM category
• Sales Enablement has become a well known term but lacks clear
definition and is made up of infinite one off sales tools
• Sales Enablement is shifting to Sales Engagement Platform given needs
for a holistic sales solution
• Sales Engagement is a rapidly growing market ($5B market in next 5
years) and will be a top spending priority. Budgets will shift from horizontal
tools (i.e., Content Management and Web Conferencing) to Sales
Engagement Platforms
• Companies like ClearSlide are leading the evolution of the Sales
Engagement Platform and transforming the business of selling

3. Components of Sales Engagement Platform
The Rise of Sales Engagement Platforms
Sales
Engagement
Platform
Sales Content Management
• Content Creation and re-mixing
• Any file type — including rich media
• Content analytics on what is
occurring & working
• Mobile access to content
Partner Apps and APIs
• Open APIs
• CMS
• Marketing Automation
CRM Integration
• SFDC
• Dynamics
• Oracle
• Others
Communications
• Email, SMS, and Live
Presentation capabilities
• Analytics on customer response
to message and content
• Communication tools via Mobile
Predictive Analytics
• Real-time alerts
• Engagement analytics

4. What is Guided Selling?
The Rise of Sales Engagement Platforms
Guided Selling is not about replacing or automating sales teams. It is about improving the effectiveness of
Sales Reps by providing:
Sales
Engagement
Platform
• Engagement analytics to recommend
appropriate next steps
• Context and personalization for better quality
interactions
• Prescriptive guidance to focus on opportunities
most likely to close
• Suggest the right content, communication
channel, and timing
• Provide managers pro-active reporting and
dashboards to coach deals forward
“ While many apps are
pointing at Guided
Selling, the SEP is the
one platform that can
see everything that is
going on from a
communications and
content perspective.
This makes it ideal as
the key platform for
guided selling.’”
– Aragon Research

5. Drivers of Sales Engagement Platforms
The Rise of Sales Engagement Platforms
• Hundreds of sales tools that address specific aspects of sales process
• Typical sales rep must use 5-8 tools to reach prospects and close deals, slowing
down productivity and limiting adoption
• Increasingly informed and elusive buyers, the need for more flexible content
management, and truly integrated communications and analytics are driving the
shift toward more modern solutions.
• Adopting an SEP with Sales Communications, Sales Content Management, and
Analytics can be more cost effective than individual sales tools.
“Sales Engagement Platforms streamline
and condense the digital tools needed in
the sales process they are the new Digital
Sales Suite for Sales Professionals, akin
to an ‘Office for Sales.’”
– Aragon Research

6. The Growth of Sales Enablement Platform
The Rise of Sales Engagement Platforms
• Sales Engagement Platforms are top
spending priority
• SEP is growing rapidly and expected
to be a $5B market in 2021
• Budgets will shift from horizontal tools
(i.e., Content Management and Web
Conferencing) to SEP

7. “”ClearSlide pioneered the shift to digital selling and as such helped
create the category of Sales Engagement Platforms. Sales Engagement
Platforms will transform the business of selling, and ClearSlide is one of
the fastest growing firms in the SEP market.
Judy Lundy, CEO and Lead Analyst at Aragon Research