The new year is already in full swing! We previously wrote blogs containing the marketing trends for this year, now it's time for the sales trends. Which developments should you, as a salesperson or sales manager, keep an eye on to be able to make a difference in 2017?
Social selling is hot
When can you be successful as a sales professional? If you know your customer inside and out. Who is the DMU? What is the hobby of that DMU? Does he or she have children? Is he or she a sports fan? What drives your DMU in terms of content? These are all questions that can be answered easily with the help of social media platforms. Make sure you keep a close eye on your customer's social platforms/profiles, they are a great source of information.
Increasing role of data
In the past, we usually saw analysts in the performance department or in the marketing department. Nowadays we see that more and more sales departments also have an analyst who can offer salespeople access to extensive information about their customers. This includes predictions and analyzes of behavior, so that important sales expenditure and efforts can be better substantiated.
From sales to relationship management
The arrival of the internet ensures that purchasing becomes increasingly easier for your customer. The customer may already be able to log in to an online ordering platform of your company. In short, your customer no longer needs you for the actual order. This offers sales professionals the opportunity to fully focus on managing and developing the relationship, by eliminating administrative burdens.
Consultative selling
Nowadays a salesperson is much more than just a conduit for orders, as was sometimes seen in the past. We hear the term 'representative' less and less. The modern salesperson has become an advisor, a consultant. The term 'consultative selling', salesperson by providing advice, will also become even more important this year. Is your sales department set up for this?
More with less
For a number of years now we have seen that sellers have an increasingly larger area to manage, more and more customers and can therefore work less personally. To achieve this, we will have to digitize more and more. There is no longer time to visit all customers personally. To maintain the personal touch with your relations, digital resources such as WhatsApp offer a solution. These technological developments make it possible to stay informed of your customer's wishes.
Translating trends into daily practice
Knowing trends is valuable, but you make the difference by applying them. Social selling, consultative selling, data-driven selling: these are all developments that require new skills. The salesperson who only calls and emails is no longer viable. The modern sales professional combines personal contact with digital tools and bases their approach on customer data and insights.
That does not mean the foundation changes. Building relationships, earning trust, and delivering value remain the pillars of successful selling. However, the way you do this is constantly evolving. Those who keep up with these developments and adapt their approach have an edge over the competition.
Invest in your sales skills
The best way to keep up with trends is by investing structurally in your development. Read professional literature, attend relevant webinars, and, above all, train your skills in practice. Knowledge without application yields little. The key is to translate new insights into concrete behavior in your daily sales conversations.
At Kenneth Smit, we help sales professionals keep their skills sharp and grow with developments in the field. Our training Expert in Sales Basics combines proven sales techniques with current insights, so you are ready for the sales challenges of today and tomorrow.