Trends and purchasing behavior in the customer buying journey are changing
Increasingly, a large part of the purchasing process for B2B projects is taking place digitally. Especially in the orientation phase, prospects use various online resources to find relevant information and inspiration. The image of field staff who spend hours on the road visiting (potential) customers is increasingly fading into the background. The corona pandemic has caused a huge acceleration. Video calling, webinars and virtual round tables have therefore become a permanent part of the sales process faster than expected. A trend that requires different competencies and skills from the entire commercial team. How do you successfully organize a relevant webinar, how do you successfully conduct a sales conversation via Teams, how do you get more out of your LinkedIn and how do you be seen as a knowledge leader in your market with good content?
Customer service driven
One of our customers, a renowned international B2B company in a niche market, experiences it as follows: “Although our sales are still done in a fairly traditional way, we see that the pandemic requires new skills,” says their HR manager. “We are in a real niche market with a know-it-all culture. That is why we are extremely customer service driven. Customer retention is paramount, generating leads is less important. Our field staff is used to traveling a lot and appointments are often accompanied by a dinner or lunch. They also see each other at fairs, events and during round tables.”
'For us, customer experience and engagement are extremely important'
Other skills & abilities
“For us, customer experience and engagement are extremely important. Due to corona, that contact now increasingly takes place via video calls; That takes some getting used to and requires different skills. Because our sales people are real salespeople, they often lack substantive product knowledge. In addition, having and being able to convey a clear vision and opinion is extremely important. That is why we need to train sales more, for example by having them intern more often in other departments. That puts them in a better position to claim thought leadership.”
Decision making is becoming increasingly complex and personal
In addition to the fact that an increasing part of the purchasing process takes place online, decision-making in B2B sales is also becoming increasingly complex and personal. On average, you will soon be dealing with six to ten decision makers in the purchasing process. And increasingly, those B2B decision makers are millennials; the generation that is now between 30 and 40 years old. But also a generation that is very digitally literate and sees social media such as LinkedIn as an integral part of being successful in their work.
'No matter how large the DMU is, a personal relationship with the customer or prospect remains leading'
Future-proof
In addition to a broader DMU, the group of decision makers is also often more international. Instead of a sales and marketing organization per country, there will be more functional teams worldwide. This makes online collaboration even more important. But no matter how large the DMU is, a personal relationship with your customers and prospects remains leading. Therefore, make full use of the opportunities and possibilities for personalization, especially in the important orientation phase. Share your knowledge via social media, claim thought leadership on a relevant market theme and build a personal relationship of trust with your prospects step by step. This way you ensure that your sales are ready for the future!
What are other B2B sales organizations doing smarter?
At Kenneth Smit – the market leader in commercial training for over 30 years – we are just as curious as you are whether your sales are ready for the future. Will you participate in our National Benchmark Sales of the Future ? By benchmarking yourself, you will know exactly where you stand and which B2B trends will impact your sales over the next three years. And very valuable: you will learn from the frontrunners. Organizations whose sales team is already completely future-proof!
