Remote Selling - The new normal
Face to face selling in a B2B world has been the cornerstone of opportunity development for revenue retention and growth. Sure, online and telesales have steadily increased as a sales channel but pandemic and recessionary influences have accelerated a paradigm shift to the point where the new normal is bringing the decline of face to face customer interactions and the rise of remote selling. According to recent research from McKinsey two-thirds of buyers prefer remote interactions with suppliers.
Almost two years on and counting.....
We are still living through extraordinarily challenging times and it does not look like changing anytime soon. Some would say, dare we say it, “this is the new normal”.
Everyone is affected, whether it be medically, emotionally, financially or all of these. For many, there are more questions than answers leaving most wondering what to do to keep their business healthy and customers loyal.
A Birds’ Eye View Makes Sense For Buyers
Photography has always been a hobby and when opportunity arises, I usually grab my trusty Nikon and head out looking for that elusive shot. However, my whole perspective and passion changed on my last birthday – enter drone photography!
All of a sudden, views that were previously hidden from me, become possible. Things that I could never have seen using my hand-held Nikon were revealed in the drone view screen.
5 Signs Your Business Needs a Sales Enablement Solution
In today’s competitive business environment and volatile market conditions, sales organisations are under mounting pressure to attain revenue goals and sustain growth. Yet their average quota attainment rate is only 54% (1), and I would surmise the percentage has slipped even further in the aftermath of COVID-19.
Sales is Not Working – Don’t Guess – Know Why!
It has almost become cliché, “The world has changed…” Yes, we all know that, but for the revenue generating part of your business this is even more acute.
If sales effectiveness measures the output per salesperson, ask 100 people why sales is ineffective and you get 100 different answers, even within one’s own organisation. If one was to search Google, the responses are as wide as they are varied:
Ineffective content marketing
Failure in incorporating sufficient social media marketing (or social media ads) into your sales strategy
Lack of sales activity
Not knowing target audience well enough
Wrong people
You didn’t catch their attention
Insufficient interest in your offer
Inadequate sales process
How To Drive Sales Engagement and Close More Business Quicker
Being an avid Amazon Kindle user, I love the fact that once I’ve finished yet another book, Amazon recommends books to me that are similar.
Consider using Netflix where it knows what TV shows and movies you like. Use Spotify and it understands what your musical tastes are. Use Amazon again, and if you have a young child at home, it tells you that you probably need diapers and formula!
And yet in our B2B world, we don't do that yet – despite buyers saying,
“Show Me That You Know Me!”
How Effective Are Your Sales Meetings?
Do your salespeople enjoy internal meetings such as the mandatory weekly Monday morning sales meetings, or do they resent attending? How much do your internal meetings actually contribute to increased sales?
90% of Sales Professionals Do Not Know How To Ask Good Questions…
Is your team part of the other ten percent – or do you need help with that?
Studies have shown that 90 percent of seasoned “sales professionals” do not know how to ask good questions or are afraid to ask them. That’s a staggering number: 9 out of 10….!
The War on Talent: Finding and Hiring A-Players in Sales
One of the key challenges most if not all of our customers have put to us, is:
“Can you help us find good sales people and sales managers, as we simply cannot find them?”
Regardless of whether this is for New Zealand, Australia, or, say, US-based roles, the hunt for talent is only getting harder.
“Sales versus Marketing” – a thing of the past?
Recently I was invited to be on a “Sales versus Marketing” panel session at the inaugural Tech Marketers Conference attended by well over 100 marketers from a variety of industries.
The debate started with the notion that the relationship between sales and marketing is – in general – arduous. Salespeople “always” blame marketing for not delivering enough quality leads and marketing “always” blame sales for not getting out there and closing the many leads that they provide.
Professional Athletes rely on Coaches – do Salespeople?
How is your coaching game plan?
You could boost revenue by 25% and increase close rate by 70%.
In any sport, athletes and teams have access to multiple coaches with various areas of specialty to help them reach their full potential. Consider the Los Angeles Lakers, for example. Frank Vogel is the Head Coach, and there are six Assistant Coaches, all of these are additionally supported by specialists for health and nutrition.
The Story of the “Shiny Lights”
Having now helped numerous businesses get a much better return on their substantial investments in CRM systems, we thought it worthwhile to share a story with you.
This is a story about how certain people in organisations want to keep seeing shiny and flickering lights in their on-premise server rooms.