Sales enablement technology provider Seismic Software Inc. is expanding into coaching and training after acquiring Lessonly Inc. and landing $170 million in a late-stage round of funding today.

Seismic said the Series G round brings its valuation to $3 billion, and will help to fund its research and development efforts and expand its global footprint.

Seismic’s sales enablement platform is focused on providing salespeople with the relevant content they need to clinch a particular deal they’re working on. The platform enables sales departments to customize what materials get shared with each team member based on their role, as well as tailor the content to various situations. If a manager sees that, say, an employee is helping a lead evaluate two software products, she could send that employee pitch kits for those specific offerings.

Seismic also provides self-service features. Users can generate custom sales documents from pre-prepared components and tweak their contents based on factors such the size of a prospective enterprise client.

Lessonly is a sales enablement platform too, but it’s one that’s more focused on coaching and training tools for salespeople. By acquiring Lessonly, Seismic said it will be able to offer a more comprehensive seller experience that makes marketing content available alongside learning programs, practice scenarios and coaching plans, all from a single location.

The company said that combining the two offerings is a natural way to help sales teams increase their productivity and beat quotas while building long-lasting relationships with customers.

In addition, the acquisition will allow Seismic and Lessonly to combine their data and analytics capabilities to track lesson usage, analyze training trends and identify which content is best helping team members to close deals.

Seismic co-founder and Chief Executive Doug Winter said Lessonly has already been a close strategic partner of his company for several years already, with strong ties across their respective teams and a number of joint customers on their books.

“Together, we are a stronger and smarter sales enablement platform,” he said. “The only platform that gives sales leaders the confidence they’ll hit their numbers, and ensures all sellers are able to engage with customers in the most effective way possible throughout their buyers’ journeys.”

No doubt the newly combined companies will be helped in their mission by the $170 million raised today, led by Permira with participation from JMI Equity, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jackson Square Ventures, Ameriprise and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

Photo: Unsplash/Pixabay