Already awash in data, some companies are looking to fill a yawning gap in corporate intelligence on a key component of their sales strategy: Buyers.

Data on commercial buyers – who is buying what inside a company – is increasingly critical as more businesses deploy digital sales tools powered by artificial-intelligence algorithms, aiming to leverage added insight to close more deals or simply know when to walk away.

But smart sales tools are only as good as the data sellers plug in, IT vendors and industry analysts say.

One concern is the bulk of sales data at many firms is generated internally by sales reps themselves, who typically input information about leads, contacts or sales meetings into customer relationship management platforms.