Ketan Karkhanis
As uncertainty pervades the economy, maintaining profitability ratios and increasing revenue has never been more important.
This decade is showing signs of becoming one of the most challenging landscapes to grow a business as pressure swells on sales teams to operate as the lifeblood of organizations. Often the tech industry’s unsung heroes, B2B sales teams and the revenue they drive are even more important in times of economic instability.
Yet, projects and vendors are under even tighter scrutiny, with proof-of-concepts installments most likely to get the axe. So how do sales teams make convincing cases on why their product or service is deserving of today’s trimmed enterprise IT budgets?
To adapt, we’re seeing sales professionals become more mindful of budgets and their relationship with customers than the quick sell. Sales reps are more knowledgeable about their solution than ever before and more productive. It’s a lot of change and it’s happening fast, but that does not mean sales teams should shy away from the basics.
Selling with a purpose
Most companies are trying to stretch their dollars further. At the same time, they’re facing a relatively tight labor market and high employee turnover. Sales reps need to respond to this reality by putting value front and center. That means highlighting how their products and services will help companies reduce costs and increase productivity.
For example, reps can point out how their technology increases the capacity of existing teams in a hybrid environment without adding new expenses. Or, they can highlight the fact that more tech is not always better tech and even point to their own use case as a more personal example. In fact, most sales leaders are saying that too many virtual selling tools have negatively impacted their own teams.
By focusing on return on investment, sales reps can help customers seize this opportunity to whittle down their tech stack to the tools that are essential to the business.
There’s also a new trend where customers put deals on hold at the last minute or request that additional team members weigh in. To avoid this roadblock, sales professionals are bringing all stakeholders to the table from the beginning of the cycle. This is where the basics come back to create a map of all individuals at an organization who need to sign off on a deal and make sure the value of their product is apparent to every person on that grid. Planning ahead reduces the risk of frustrating delays near the finish line.
Be a coach, not a seller
Focus on the customer has always been important, but it’s now critical for sales professionals to play the long game. While it runs counter to the instinct to close a deal, reps need to be sensitive to the fact that customers are under pressure and should avoid guiding them toward spending that doesn’t fit into their plans organically. Instead of concentrating on short-term transactions, effective reps make customers feel that they are in the trenches with them and have their best interests at heart.
One of the best ways to build relationships is to personalize interactions. B2B customers, especially younger generations, are turned off by the cookie-cutter approach. They don’t want to learn about features or even generic value propositions. Instead, they want to hear about benefits through the lens and language of their organization and receive information customized to them. Bringing the mass personalization we’re used to with B2C into the B2B sales process and focusing on long-term customer success is key to building relationships that last beyond an economic cycle.
Be a trusted adviser for your prospects
Many customers are feeling lost. They’re confused by economic volatility and overwhelmed by a deluge of information. Sales professionals add value by educating customers not only about their products but also about the industry at large.
Whether through individual conversations, webinars, newsletters or other tactics, reps are helping customers make sense of tech trends and key events happening in the market. I like to say that for every prospective deal, reps should spend one or two hours a week on education about the broader landscape.
Of course, serving as a valued source of information requires reps to prioritize learning themselves. While organizations can help with training opportunities, sales professionals also need to invest in their own education. Just as they have a revenue quota, they can develop a learning quota of say, five things they want to master this month or quarter.
A structured approach can help this critical but not urgent activity stay top of mind. This is an opportunity to become a trusted coach for organizations and help shape their perspective for years to come.
Eliminate grunt work to prioritize the sale
All of this requires time, but the grunt work often eats that up. Sales professionals will have more time to spend with the customers or focusing on high-value activities such as enablement if they can spend less time on manual tasks. Most sales people spend countless hours on work that doesn’t directly help them build relationships with customers, such as entering data, logging calls and sending proposals.
In fact, Salesforce’s recent State of Sales report found that reps spend only 28% of their week selling, down from 34% in 2018. Even when they’re on the phone with customers, reps have to expend effort to take notes rather than listening and engaging.
Automation technology and artificial intelligence reduces the energy sales reps spend on time-consuming, manual tasks. Eliminating the grunt work reduces cognitive overload and enables sales professionals to focus on learning, educating, connecting with customers and, ultimately, closing deals.
Taking the long view
Focusing on the customer and taking the long-term view is always a good sales strategy. But in times of economic uncertainty, this approach becomes essential. Serving as a coach who brings personalized, relevant information to the right stakeholders without pushing for a quick close is key to building trust. Investing in customer relationships will reap benefits that outlast any economic downturn.
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