Adopting Customer-Centric Selling

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Recent market studies reveal dramatic changes in today’s B2B purchasing journey, along with unprecedented predictions of how things will evolve over the next five years. The future of sales requires even more agility, and this trend is only going to continue.

According to Gartner research, B2B buyers want an experience that includes multiple touchpoints between themselves and suppliers. B2B buyers are using more digital tools and conducting more product research on their own before meeting with sales reps.

This doesn’t mean that field sales experts don’t have a place in the future, but it does mean that their role, as well as how they interact with customers, has changed. Sales reps need to be prepared to educate customers and incorporate digital experiences at the right inflection points in the purchase process.

The most successful companies are investing in research to understand their customers’ new buying journey. By identifying where to provide information and what level of information and support is appropriate, they can reduce friction in the B2B buying process. More B2B vendors are aligning internal functions such as marketing, internal sales, external sales, and customer service to provide the right information at the right time in the right way to promote customer success.

80% of B2B sales interactions will occur through digital channels¹

89% of B2B buyers initiate their purchasing journey independently¹

Reimagining the Purchasing Journey

Similar to Gartner’s findings, Challenger research shows that 89% of B2B buyers initiate their purchasing journey independently.² Since customers are not reaching out to field sellers at the start of the buying journey, marketing efforts have become even more crucial. It is vital that the brand is shown in strategic places where the target audience looks for product and solution information. Marketers who increase visibility by synchronizing social media advertising with email nurturing campaigns can increase conversions from known contacts up to 64%.³

When prospective customers narrow their search and begin evaluating a smaller set of solutions, the sales team needs to be ready to step in with recommendations tailored to their needs. This means being prepared to engage quickly through the right channel with the right product bundle or solution. The most successful salespeople are those who have organized their tools and communication in advance of customer interaction.

After the initial customer discussion, sales reps focus on aligning stakeholders and driving them towards purchase. Unfortunately, recent Challenger research reports that almost half of B2B purchasing journeys result in “no decision.”⁴ This distressing statistic highlights the deficiency most sales organizations have in stakeholder relationship building and in access to solutions that address the needs of various organizational stakeholders. Best-in-class B2B sellers must drive decision-making through consultative selling and a deep understanding of customers’ needs to manage stakeholder expectations throughout the decision-making journey.

After purchase, customers report that fewer than 30% of sales reps remain involved in post-sales support and deliver on what was promised during the sales process.⁵ Companies continue to struggle with how to strengthen competencies in this area. Many companies are supplementing sales reps’ post-sales support by introducing a Customer Success team to handle customer onboarding, training, and support. Providing robust customer training and implementation support to improve customer experience significantly impacts the decision to renew a contract and drives customer loyalty. The key to driving sales effectiveness in today’s B2B market is to align sales resources with customer insights in the way that customers want to buy. This requires a shift in skills from a transactional sales approach to a truly consultative sales approach. It also requires a fresh look at how marketing and sales teams can work together to serve the customer.

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Resources

1 https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/future-of-sales-2025-why-b2b-sales-needs-a-digital-first-approach/
2 https://www.challengerinc.com/customer-buying-behavior/
3 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bizo-extends-marketing-automation-with-online-display–social-ads-229078301.html
4 https://www.challengerinc.com/customer-buying-behavior/
5 https://www.infoteam-consulting.com/blog/the-most-important-phase-of-a-sale-is-implementation