If you’re in charge of picking sales software, you know the drill: endless product pages, wild claims, and “game-changing” demos that all blur together. You want something your team will actually use—and that’ll move the needle. This guide’s for anyone comparing Popcomms and other B2B go-to-market (GTM) tools, whether you’re a head of sales, an ops lead, or just the person who gets things done. No fluff, just a clear-eyed way to cut through the noise.
1. Get Honest About What Your Sales Team Actually Needs
Before you dive into feature checklists, nail down what your team struggles with daily. Don’t fall for shiny dashboards if your reps spend half their day trying to find the right case study or updating PowerPoints.
Ask yourself (and your team): - What’s sucking up the most time right now? - Where do deals get stuck? - What’s the most annoying part of your current process? - Does your team actually use the tools you’ve got, or do they avoid them?
Pro tip: Do a quick Slack poll or grab 10 minutes in your next sales call to ask for real pain points. You’ll get better answers than any vendor questionnaire.
2. Map Out the Core Categories: What Are You Really Comparing?
There are a million GTM tools out there, all promising to “accelerate pipeline” or “enable storytelling.” Ignore the buzzwords. Here’s what matters for most B2B sales teams:
- Content Management: Can your reps find the right materials—fast? Is it easy to update what’s out of date?
- Presentation Tools: Are sales decks interactive, or are they just static slides? Does the platform support custom journeys for different buyers?
- Analytics: Are you getting real usage data, or just vanity metrics? Can you see what’s actually moving deals forward?
- Ease of Use: Will your team use it, or will it die in the corner like your last “revolutionary” tool?
- Integrations: Does it play nice with your CRM, email, and other core platforms?
- Pricing and Scalability: Are you paying for stuff you don’t need? Can it grow with your team?
You don’t need all of these to be industry-leading—just pick the two or three that matter most for your team right now.
3. Get to Know Popcomms and Its Sweet Spot
Let’s cut to the chase. Popcomms is built for sales teams who want to deliver interactive, personalized presentations—think touchscreen experiences, tailored demos, and dynamic sales collateral you can actually adapt on the fly. It’s not just another document library.
What works: - Interactive Content: Popcomms shines with touchscreen sales pitches, showrooms, and events. If you run a lot of in-person demos or want to wow prospects, it’s in its element. - Customization: You can create tailored journeys for buyers—no more one-size-fits-all decks. - Offline Access: Useful if your team goes to events or customer sites with spotty Wi-Fi.
What doesn’t: - Learning Curve: Building interactive content takes some effort up front. If your team hates change, expect some pushback. - Not a CRM: If you need heavy-duty pipeline management or forecasting, look elsewhere. Popcomms is about sales enablement, not deal tracking. - Niche Use Case: If your sales process is mostly remote screenshares or email, the interactive features might be overkill.
Ignore: Any promises about “AI-powered intelligence” unless you see it in action. Popcomms is great for content and presentation—it’s not a full GTM suite.
4. Compare with Other GTM Solutions: Who’s Who, and What’s Hype
Here’s how Popcomms stacks up against other common B2B GTM solutions:
Content Management Platforms (e.g., Seismic, Highspot)
- Strengths: Enterprise-level content organization, search, and analytics. Great if you’ve got a sprawling library of materials.
- Weaknesses: Can feel heavy-handed for smaller teams. Interactive content is usually limited to embedding videos—not true “choose your own adventure” experiences.
- Popcomms vs. them: If you need deep content governance, go with a big CMS. If your focus is delivering standout presentations, Popcomms is simpler and more flexible.
Presentation Tools (e.g., Showpad, Prezi)
- Strengths: Easy to build slick decks, sometimes with light interactivity. Good for smaller teams or basic sales enablement.
- Weaknesses: Limited buyer journeys—often just fancier slideshows.
- Popcomms vs. them: Popcomms offers more customization and hands-on interactivity, especially for in-person pitches.
Full GTM Platforms (e.g., Outreach, Salesforce Sales Cloud)
- Strengths: End-to-end tracking, automation, and reporting. Great if you want everything in one place.
- Weaknesses: Complex, expensive, and often overkill if you just want to improve sales conversations.
- Popcomms vs. them: They do more, but also demand more setup and training. Use them for pipeline; use Popcomms to make presentations actually connect.
Point Solutions (e.g., Canva, Google Slides)
- Strengths: Cheap, easy, everyone knows how to use them.
- Weaknesses: No analytics, no interactivity, and easy to lose track of versions.
- Popcomms vs. them: If you just need to make a pretty deck, stick with Canva. If you want to stand out and track engagement, Popcomms is worth a look.
5. Run a No-Nonsense Trial (and Actually Involve Sales Reps)
Don’t just take the vendor’s word (or their “proof of concept”). Test your top picks with your actual sales team. Here’s how to do it without wasting a month:
- Pick a real sales scenario and have reps use both Popcomms and your alternative.
- Time how long it takes to build a demo, customize content, and share with a prospect.
- Ask reps: Did it feel natural? Was anything confusing or frustrating?
- Track whether prospects actually engaged more—did you see higher open rates, better feedback, or more follow-up questions?
Pro tip: Skip the fancy pilot process. Just give your hungriest rep both tools and see which one they stick with after a week.
6. Don’t Get Distracted by AI, VR, or “Next-Gen” Hype
You’ll hear a lot about AI-powered insights, VR experiences, and “360-degree analytics.” Most of this is marketing froth. Unless your buyers are asking for virtual reality demos, or your team desperately needs predictive analytics, focus on what helps close deals today.
What matters: - Does the tool make reps faster or better? - Can you see what’s working (and what isn’t)? - Will your team actually use it, or will it become shelfware?
7. Figure Out What’s Worth Paying For
B2B software pricing is all over the map—per seat, by feature, by storage, or sometimes just whatever the vendor thinks you’ll pay. Here’s how to stay sane:
- Skip the “all-in” packages if you only need core features.
- Ask about user minimums and what happens if you need to scale down.
- Check for hidden costs: data migration, custom branding, or API access can get expensive fast.
- Look for contract flexibility—don’t lock yourself in for three years unless you’re sure.
Pro tip: Vendors get nervous when you talk about “pilot pricing.” Use it to negotiate.
8. Get Real User Feedback—Not Just Reference Calls
Those glowing customer stories on vendor sites? Cherry-picked. Instead:
- Search LinkedIn for users who don’t work for the vendor. Ask for honest pros and cons.
- Look for public user forums or review sites (G2, Capterra) and skim the low-star reviews. They’re often the most revealing.
- Ask your reps to be brutally honest—if they hate the tool, you want to know before you write the check.
9. Make the Call, but Don’t Treat It as Final
No software is forever. Pick what works best for your team today, but don’t get so invested that you can’t switch later. Start with a pilot or a short-term contract if you can.
Final Take: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Ignore the Hype
Choosing GTM software doesn’t have to be a quest for the “best” platform—just the best fit for your team’s real needs. Focus on solving today’s problems, test with real users, and ignore shiny features that don’t move the needle. With a little skepticism and some honest feedback, you’ll land on a tool (Popcomms or otherwise) that actually helps your sales team sell. And if it stops working? Change it up. That’s just part of the job.