Human interaction and modern selling- How has it changed?
Over the years with growing technological advancement, the buyer journey and selling have evolved drastically. The continuous loop between awareness and purchase involves multiple touchpoints, communication channels, the right buyer persona and many other things that decide whether anyone will buy or not. So, strategies need to find a near-perfect balance between people and technology.
Let’s think like this- technology is crucial and no matter how much convenience people desire, we are all eventually humans who wish for some face-to-face interaction to strengthen that trust. Why? Because with more and more advancements, there has been more and more information, where people are getting lost and sellers are struggling to keep up. It might be because we forgot about the human touch in keeping up with the innovation, and we believed technology means user experience- good or bad. So, the need is to shift the perspective towards a hybrid approach where we have the best of both worlds- the flexibility of selling digitally and face-to-face interactions to connect, support and guide each other. Especially, in B2B, where it’s about building two-way communication for better outcomes.
So, What’s there in the future of sales?
As digital innovation is happening while buyers and sellers both become more confident with the process and technological advancements, it can be seen as an opportunity to rekindle better connectivity and relations by working on the human part of the buying journey. Using the speed and integration of technology, they can increase personalised delivery and be a step further. Hyper relevancy is another important aspect when you are delivering content, so Digital Sales Room can be an essential support and guidance for customers to resonate with their needs and imagination.
What is Digital Sales Room?
This term was coined by Gartner in the year 2020 and since then it has been quickly gaining popularity. Earlier, they were also popularly known as “client portals”, which salespeople can use to share content with prospects and gain detailed insights on how prospects engage with sales materials. It simplifies the process of sales for both buyer and seller by providing a centralised location for easy access to content, stakeholders and communications to drive buyer engagement.
How modern selling has evolved?
Depending only on traditional selling does not produce effective results and hybrid selling/modern selling requires training, understanding and a mindset to accommodate growing change. The combined power of technology, people and processes can change the way sales happen. Here, sales enablement tools can help bridge the gap of access to necessary training and content for a more sales-ready approach.
a. Finding the right target audience- Today most B2B buyers are active on social platforms, LinkedIn alone provides options to find a targeted set of audiences using search filters and saving sales leads list. There is also the sales navigator feature allowing you to filter out more and find a suitable match for your ideal customer profile (ICP).
b. Engage Target Buyer- This is another very important aspect where sellers should share content to engage prospects and resolve their business challenges. This approach also helps buyers engage with sellers whenever they want to. Using factors like personalisation, interest and behaviour, sellers can engage customers as per their preferences and address the challenges.
c. Building a connection with prospects-It’s a digital world, and social networking sites are the one of most efficient ways of achieving your goals by establishing a connection with prospects or customers. Since buying process has evolved, decision-making also includes multiple decision-makers where LinkedIn, Facebook, email, WhatsApp etc., can be a very resourceful medium to share, schedule and address business challenges to continuously add value to customers’ life.
Essential techniques to consider in modern selling
Today the buyers’ needs are the core of modern selling where putting their needs is a priority. Once you put yourself in your customer’s shoes as a seller, you will start seeing things differently. This will help you understand their decision-making behaviour and guide them in a way they will understand better. So, how to begin?
a. Going digital- Platforms like websites, social media, email etc are the most effective places to begin selling. With easy access to the internet, customers have the most exposure to these platforms where they get up-to-date relevant information and awareness about a brand’s products and services. The digital selling process helps you identify and engage your potential customers beforehand while guiding them to a more effective and profitable journey.
b. Begin social selling- With the use of social media, you can create an environment where your customers can easily access you while providing you with an opportunity to nurture this relationship. It’s like building a relationship while leveraging your social media pages. A study from CSO insights suggests that 30% of b2b professionals use social selling to build and nurture customer relationships. This process can involve sharing content, answering questions, and communicating frequently. The process helps minimise the sales cycle and increase conversion chances by helping you network with like-minded people.
c. Leverage technology for modern sales- Focus on tools that can add to your team’s productivity and conversion opportunities. Automate processes that waste time such as research, scheduling etc. SaaS technologies can be a great supporter here where teams can automate actions like emails, and social sharing and get benefits like access to content, branding, training and more. Technology is an essential element of success for both sales and marketing teams while helping them work together seamlessly. In current times, technology has played a very positive role in keeping businesses functioning properly because apart from establishing communication, it also helps improve customer experience and relations.
Our platform SalesPanda comes with most of these modules and as a SaaS company, we have been helping several enterprises benefit by taking full advantage of digital+technology. Our platform makes modern selling efficient and easier, while also, providing the control and visibility needed to function smoothly. You can request a demo of our platform to understand which modules can blend seamlessly to enhance better business opportunities.