The ‘old way’ of selling is no longer effective for organizations looking to win more deals, gain a competitive advantage and grow their businesses, in today’s virtual work environments.
Here's how to regain that edge.
In the midst of global economic uncertainty, the same conversation is being had across every sales team, in every industry, around the world.
"How the hell can we beat the competition to win more business?"
Economic uncertainty isn’t the only challenge. The global talent shortage means that sales teams are trying to do more with less while dealing with an undeniable shift in the dynamic between sellers and buyers. In B2B, it seems that almost overnight, we’ve shifted from in-person selling to virtual sales and an anytime/anywhere work environment that never sleeps.
Over recent years we’ve adjusted to new ways of working out of necessity, adopting collaboration tools for greater efficiencies. But while an overwhelming number of business buyers state that sales conversations are more asynchronous than ever before, it's fair to say that most sales teams are lagging in adjusting their sales approach to account for a new era of virtual sales, powered by technology. The result is a chasm between buyers and sellers: buyers expect and need to be engaged and enabled so they are confident in their purchasing decisions, but sellers are using outdated methods that neither engage nor enable their buyers to do so.
The problem is that this ‘old way’ of selling is no longer effective for organizations looking to win more deals, gain a competitive advantage and grow their businesses, in today’s virtual work environments.
Buyers expect more
They expect a personalized buying experience that instils confidence in the products and services they are evaluating, and they expect the journey along the way to be fast, efficient and easy.
The recipe to wow buyers and drive revenue consists of three ingredients:
- Putting buyers at the center of your sales process
- Empowering them with the right information to advocate for your solution
- Enabling them with a clear and easy path to make a decision, and do business
This powerful approach has been consistently shown to increase win rates, reduce sales cycles and generate productivity gains from its sales efforts. At Qwilr, we describe the organizations that do this well as having a world-class sales experience.
Defining your ‘sales experience’ for competitive advantage
By focusing on the sales experience, sales teams win deals by impressing buyers with an engaging, seamless buyer journey that instils confidence in your products and/or services.
When it's done well, a seamless sales experience raises the bar for everyone, delivering a consistent experience to every buyer, and one that’s fast to execute for sales teams.
In our recent Brief, we explore the shifting expectation of B2B buyers and what organizations can do to define and amplify the sales experience they deliver, to gain competitive advantage. Whether you're a fan of Gap Selling, Spin Selling, Challenger, or another sales methodology all together, it's a great way to take your sales strategy to a new level.
For companies wanting to beat the competition and win consistently in the virtual sales era, they must take steps to close the buyer/seller gap. A world-class sales experience can build the path.
Download the Brief: Why (and how) your Sales Experience must wow buyers to drive revenue
About the author
Sarah Taylor|Senior Content Marketing Manager
Sarah leads Qwilr's content marketing efforts – specialising in field marketing, campaign planning, content, brand and communications. Sarah has both agency and global corporate experience spanning Australia, Asia and the UK.
