With the rise of B2B marketplaces, what happens to traditional sales?
B2B marketplaces are springing up across a variety of industries. What are they, and how do they impact traditional B2B sales?
As the pandemic stretches on through a second winter, businesses must continue finding ways to adapt. A B2B sales strategy today looks much different than in years past.
While we celebrate the Year of the Ox, we can use the Yu Sheng tradition as a metaphor for achieving business success in the current global environment.
A few years ago, during a business trip to Singapore, I had the honor of celebrating the Lunar New Year in the Yu Sheng tradition. A salad is placed in the middle of a table of friends and business partners, with several foods that serve as auspicious symbols, including fish (abundance), pepper (money), and oil (excess of profits).
When honing your B2B sales strategy and business goals for 2021 and beyond, consider the spirit of Yu Sheng.
B2B sales strategy for connecting with customers
Yu Sheng is about connections. In the work we do, customers are what keeps our business going. Your sales teams may feel their relationships are suffering right now, but they can still connect in meaningful ways with their customers.
Face-to-face no longer has to mean in-person. Using video to stay connected with customers helps them know you are still invested in their success—and can still be casual and authentic. It can also deepen the personal bonds when you see their “life” in action— dogs barking, kids coming into the room, packages being delivered.
How to train a remote sales team for success in the next normal
Sellers need more than the traditional annual sales training bootcamp. Ongoing, on-demand training gives them the skills they need to succeed in today's virtual environment.
If you look at this as an opportunity to understand your customer by being invited into their home vs. the hindrance of not being able to spend time at a restaurant, golf course or office visit, the long-term value is significant. These video calls become more than business meetings; they become real connections.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
That’s what the Lunar New Year tradition shows us. When a work-from-home model is introduced into a business like B2B manufacturing, it’s important for your business to leverage several channels to access the customer where THEY are in their journey. For example:
- For some customers, a digital presence is going to be the best way to find product details and specifications, explore configurations, research new innovations and do self-service to get their needs met quickly.
- For others who need deep expertise, industry best practices, and project-based planning, the sales team can create the right customer experience in a custom, high-touch way.
- After a purchase, your invoicing and delivery teams can drive loyalty when they work flexibly to address each customer’s situation.
The ultimate guide to customer experience: Definition, strategy, examples
Here's everything you need to know about customer experience. Find out what it takes to make your brand shine and win.
Understanding and intentionally tying together the parts of your business that impact the customer experience will be a differentiator, as many in the industry are struggling in silos to address customer needs.
Right now, this cannot be emphasized enough: your customer is interacting with your BRAND as a whole, not the parts. What do you want that to feel like?
Honor legacy, but look to the future in your B2B sales strategy
The sales team has always been your boots on the ground. They have relationships that are unmatched and in the B2B manufacturing space in particular, they will continue to be the ones who bridge the gap between the personal and the digital.
As you design your 2021/2022 B2B sales strategy, look deep into the TOTAL customer experience. Where do customers need to self-serve and research options (digital), and where do they need to sit down with someone who knows the industry, who have seen products in the field, who can get answers quickly and help with delivery (the sales team)?
There’s space for everyone, but businesses have generally run the sales and digital teams as two very separate parts of the business. True customer experience leaders give sales and digital the responsibility to use a strong legacy to build a profitable future.
