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    The changing skill set of the modern sales person

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    To be successful in B2B sales, you need to do a lot of things right. Unfortunately, research shows that few organizations are executing with excellence. We spend too much time on deals that do not close; less than 50% of forecasted deals close at the estimated time for the projected amount; and only a select few sales organizations adopt a sales process that they actually execute in the field.

    Constant learning

    On the one hand, we keep shaking our heads at these observations and throw a few “imagine if surgeons and pilots operated with that success rate…” jokes in for good measure. On the other hand, we are acutely aware of how quickly the B2B selling landscape keeps changing and struggle to understand how we can best meet the demands of the modern buyer.

    Below, I will go through two sales trends and also discuss the skills we need to develop in order to adjust and add value during every customer interaction.

    1. Sales polarization and the need for guidance

    With the aid of the internet, transactional sales is becoming increasingly automated, which removes (or at least significantly reduces) the need for sales people. Most likely, you have used a credit card to complete an online purchase in the last 30-60 days. As individuals, we can quite easily complete this type of transaction without a third party – as long as we are provided with the information we need, it becomes a low-risk, low-investment procedure with one decision maker. You. Or me, for that matter.

    However, while transactional sales is subject to automation, complex B2B sales is getting even more complex. This is what we refer to when we talk about the polarization of sales – it is heading into two distinct and different directions.

    Now, what do we mean specifically with complex sales getting more complex?

    I dare say that you would not complete a bigger B2B purchase in the same way that you complete a personal one online. The investment and perceived risk of change is higher. You are not the only person involved or affected by the change. Your company’s decision, whatever it ends up being, will impact other parts of the business, which means you need to involve other relevant stakeholders in the decision making committee.

    Yes, research has shown that we prefer to undertake 65+ % of this B2B buying journey by ourselves and only reach out to a shortlist of providers later in the process. However, while unassisted research makes up an increasingly larger part of the buyer’s initial journey, this segment of the itinerary is not as straightforward as we might think, or often make it out to be.

    If you were tasked with sourcing a new ERP system, you would most likely start with a Google search (90% of all B2B purchases begin this way). Online, you would find an overwhelming number of vendors offering product and service packages that, at first glance, promise to solve all your problems.

    "While unassisted research makes up an increasingly larger part of the buyer’s initial journey, this part of the itinerary is not as straightforward as we might think, or often make it out to be"
    Fredrik Jonsson

    Unfortunately, these solutions will inevitably start to look the same – identifying what differentiates one from another will be hard to unveil. You are likely not an expert on the ERP systems market place and, as we are more than aware of in this day and age, information alone won’t help you make the right decision.
    In this scenario, what would you, as the prospective buyer, want out of your interactions with a sales representative from a given vendor? Put differently, what skills are required from the modern B2B sales person? We have information, but how can sales people help us make sense of it in order to solve our business challenges?

    Beyond the trusted advisor

    Research shows that customers are looking for expertise, advice and direction. In order to meet this demand, sales people not only need to be well versed in the general business challenges of a prospect’s particular industry. They must also quickly uncover what the individual company is looking to achieve in particular. Not only do we want a trusted advisor, or someone who can challenge our commonly held beliefs and provide a different perspective. We want them to be creative problem solvers and, above all, help us navigate the overwhelming amount of options available and allow us to reach a decision that everyone in the buying center can confidently agree to.

    2. Ideal customers, adding value and the importance of constant qualification

    If there is one thing virtually everyone seems to agree on in B2B sales, it is that we must be able to add value in order to avoid selling on price and joining an undisciplined discounting race to the bottom. With this in mind, there is one question we should relentlessly pursue the answer to:

    What value can we deliver that our ideal customers are willing to pay a premium for?

    Let me write that again for dramatic effect:

    What value can we deliver that our ideal customers are willing to pay a premium for?

    Remember: sales cycles are getting longer. Sales costs are increasing. Every lost deal hurts. In this context, going after the right type of deals becomes incredibly important. If we want a sales transformation, it must begin before the funnel.

    Learning to say no early and often

    What does this mean for the modern B2B sales person? They must develop the skills to say no often and qualify out early, so they can focus on the opportunities with the greatest chance of closing. They must be able to separate their ideal, most profitable customers, from the idealized. Each prospect and opportunity must be consistently, and constantly, evaluated against established qualification criteria. This sales qualification process should include criteria based on facts that we have uncovered about our most profitable customers (annual revenue, number of employees, geographical location etc) as well as best practice questions related to why we were able to win their business in the first place and why they continue to remain with us (why were we able to not only compete, but to win? What were the deal characteristics that allowed us to deliver with profit? What customer experience have we provided that cements loyalty and enables upselling?).

    We do not operate in a lab where we can control all variables. Subsequently, the constant qualification of prospects and sales projects will always be a best guess. However, by utilizing data, statistics, best practice questions, sales playbooks and customer interviews, continuous scrutiny can serve to determine validity.

    Looking for more on sales trends and best practices? Download our white paper below!

    Download "5 Key Factors for Successful Selling in the Buyer 2.0 Era" here

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    Fredrik Jonsson
    Published February 3, 2016
    By Fredrik Jonsson

    You know people that get excited about things like pomodoros and timeboxing strategies? Fredrik is one of them. He's also a former freelance writer and subsequently a man of many words. Words used to help companies take action on better ways to increase sales effectivenes. Fredrik is our Chief Content Officer at Membrain, the world's first sales software helping companies move from merely having a sales strategy towards executing it on a daily basis.

    Find out more about Fredrik Jonsson on LinkedIn