MarketStar Blog | Best Practices (3)

As many companies struggle to stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s not surprising that sales are down in a range of industries. Even as states begin to reopen certain segments of their economies, much remains uncertain. Understandably, many sales professionals are unsure how to keep selling during and after this crisis. 

A global pandemic, a recession, or any other widespread crisis is not the time for a business-as-usual sales approach. Instead, it’s a chance to take stock of your challenges and opportunities, and reset your sales strategy to address the situation at hand.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often ignored because of the small contract size and the difficulty of shifting an organization’s sales strategy to meet SMB needs. Unfortunately, if your organization is one of those that are ignoring the SMB market, you might be losing out on a serious amount of money.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to spend much more time at home, many are taking the opportunity to get caught up on their reading list. In stressful, uncertain times, picking up a new book or two can be entertaining and even calming. For your sales team, this could even become a time of learning and self-improvement.

We are always on the lookout for interesting perspectives on sales strategies—particularly when most employees are stuck at home and looking for some motivation. Here, we count down five great books to motivate your sales team:

Agility is the key to sales success, so when a pandemic hits, you have to be prepared to change the way your sales team operates. Because of the global COVID-19 crisis, most businesses have closed their offices and are encouraging people to work from home, including their sales teams. Maybe it’s time to consider how you are going to restructure your insides sales and prepare to manage your work-from-home sales team.

B2B selling has become more complex. It used to be that B2B sales was a linear process, and a sales rep would own the customer relationship from lead development through final close and onboarding–then repeat the process. 

No longer. 

These days, customers are conducting proactive product research, trying to make sense of alternative solutions that meet their business needs. The process has become more complicated, in some cases making the customer less inclined to buy, fearing that they might make a mistake. As a result, the sales rep has to be a solution adviser that builds product confidence, quickly, with the customers.

Not too long ago, B2B sales was a relatively uncomplicated process. Experienced sales reps would own the customer relationship, from prospecting and acquisition right through to product training. 

Times have changed.

B2B buyers are better educated and more discriminating, competition is tougher, and organizations are scrambling to lower their customer acquisition costs and increase customer lifetime value (LTV). As a result, the sales process has become more diversified, with different job functions for lead acquisition, nurturing, closing, and onboarding customers. 

Times are changing, and so is the way that B2B buyers source new business solutions. This means that you need to rethink your approach to building a sales team. Customers aren’t looking to buy specific products as much as they’re looking for ways to solve business problems. 

As a result, sales territories are fading in favor of selling using vertical market expertise. It’s a buyer’s world, and customers are better educated and want more value and better service, and so building a sales team that can offer better solutions requires a new strategy.

You would think that when it comes to selling technology, the same B2B sales process should work for all target customers, right? After all, sales prospects are all suffering from similar pain points and seeking the same types of solutions, and so you should be able to apply the same selling techniques to meet your sales goals. 

Wrong! 

The way customers buy technology differs based on size and budget, and you need to use a different strategy for selling to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) than you would for enterprise customers. A successful SMB sales strategy requires you to match your sales approach with the size of the customer.

There has been a change in tone to the word outsourcing. What was once considered a controversial way of doing business is now a seamless blend into the typical buildout of a successful company. The biggest reason? Outsourcing, particularly in relation to the sales process, allows companies to focus on what they do best, and leave the rest to a trusted  outsourced sales partner. 

If you’ve been working in sales for any length of time, then you know that good sales reps are made, not born. To become a great sales rep requires dedication and perseverance, as well as performance analysis and coaching. When building a sales team, you have to use a measured approach that highlights weaknesses as well as strengths and provides the tools and support needed so that your sales reps can excel.