Seller-free sales
The transformation to the digital marketplace for sales channels happened gradually — and then suddenly. The global pandemic didn’t start this shift, but it certainly accelerated it. Brent Adamson from Gartner finds that 43% of all buyers now desire a seller-free sales experience — a preference that jumps to 54% for millennials. That shift isn’t just fueled by the rise of next-generation buyers. Adamson concludes in a related study: “By 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels.” For the outside sales executive these statistics have meaningful implications for sales strategies. What techniques do you need to adopt to be prepared to sell in a seller-free environment?
Knowledge still key to success
Digitization has opened markets and created a super abundance of products and brands available. Customers need help sorting through the choices and that requires sales engineering knowledge. Keeping up with manufacturers’ new products releases is a challenge for distributors, however. To ensure your sales organization is positioned for success in the fast-paced digital marketplace, Benj Cohen (from his article here) suggests the following:
- Use digital tools that users embrace – Strong adoption and sales follow when digital tools are intuitive, easy to use, and automatically log every customer interaction. The more sales reps use Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools, the more data is acquired and analyzed. AI models help reps make more effective pitches and increase revenue.
- Put the customer first – AI-enabled semantic searches of sell sheets, documents, and other product data, allow sales reps to quickly find information and respond to customer requests. AI also powers engines that can give customer-specific product recommendations or inform sales reps of a customer’s buying history.
- Prioritize data and analytics – AI-powered sales tools add immense value. They help reps find the information they need to be strategic and to have consultative sales conversations with each customer. When a sales rep pitches relevant products suggested by AI, it can result in a 10X increase in revenue per pitch.
Get on-board
An early jump into these next-generation capabilities could potentially grow revenue at twice the rate of the economy. Prepare your sales team for the seller-free digital marketplace. Adopt user-friendly digital tools, put the customer first, and prioritize your data and analytics.
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