Sales Enablement Insights 2023

Extraordinary customer experiences start here:

Business leaders can put prospects first to build strong customer connect

As we proceed towards some resemblance of normalcy, sales, as a field, is still more diverse than it was just a few years ago. There are many new and emerging sales challenges that salespeople must address. To help you identify and overcome those challenges, we will take you through three main concerns salespeople will face in 2023- along with, viewpoints on how to address them.

Building Digital Trust:

Technology is the way forward

Organizations must welcome change to make use of the mammoth opportunities of today’s disrupted world. Tomorrow’s winning digital business will transform the way they share data to earn trust. Fascinated?

In today’s world, Digital Trust is the most important element for business. Ever-growing connectivity and digital transformation are presenting new opportunities to improvise living, address economic growth and build a better future. This is also inviting attack vectors, and organizations need digital trust to ensure confidence that their digital activities are secure.

As per a recent survey by McKinsey of more than 1,300 business leaders and 3,000 consumers, it is derived that establishing trust in products and experiences that leverage digital technologies and data not only meets consumer expectations but also could promote growth. The research indicated that organizations that are best positioned to build digital trust are also more likely than others to see annual growth rates of at least 10 percent on their top and bottom lines.

Figure 1: Digital trust: Why it matters for businesses | McKinsey

To undergo a paradigm shift for your business model, the first step is to understand the importance of trust. A new model that enables trust among everyone involved— businesses and consumers—is now the prerequisite for the new digital era. Businesses must shift to an equally advantageous data model that gives people more control, allowing them to grant direct access to high-quality data in exchange for improved, hyper-personalized services with enhanced security and privacy.

Digital trust is more than just a motto. Organizations that can build digital trust are going to be able to develop better services, better experiences, get better information to then tailor things for their customers.

With greater customer control comes greater trust and opportunities. The effective digital businesses of tomorrow are not those with the most data, but those with the most trust.

Aligning with Buyer Journey:

 It’s their process, not yours

The buyer’s journey defines the process a typical business buyer takes as they move through the sales funnel.

This journey is not an administrative process, but a cognitive one. The buyer moves from being satisfied to trouble, then becomes clear about needs and feasible options, before deciding on preferences and opening the way for a suitable contract.

On contrary, the selling process does not – and cannot –follow this path. There are steps the seller must take that are important for the seller and are not part of the buyer’s journey.

So how do you align these two journeys?

The answer is, they should follow parallel paths. The key is to walk through the journeys step by step and consider issues in collaboration. Start with the buyer’s journey and ask yourself at each stage: ‘what do we have to do to help buyers move from one stage to the next?’

Suppliers must enable buyers to complete buying jobs. Gartner calls “buying enablement”—the provision of information to customers in a way that enables them to complete critical jobs.

Figure 2: Buyer Enablement

Your task is not to work buyers through your sales process, but to help them along their buying path. Remember, an easier journey makes for an easier sale.

Engaging Prospects throughout:

The more you know about your prospects, the more likely they are to buy from you

Keeping prospects engaged is a major challenge for any salesperson. Your sales efforts can only go as far as your sales process permits. Though this trend is troubling, it's a fact of sales life — and if you want to get the most out of your efforts, you need to know how to keep your prospects intrigued and enthusiastic throughout the sales process.

It is hard to stand out in a noisy world, but with the right strategies in your process, you can boost sales and grow your business.

According to the Harvard Business Review, it takes an average of five follow-ups to reach a buyer. That’s a lot of time and potential business you’re losing if you don’t take the time to re-engage with your prospects!

Here are a few effective ways to engage with prospects and boost sales—social media platforms, direct mail, being approachable, asking meaningful questions, building better conversations, and email marketing. If your goal is to get better results on response rates and create faster deal cycles, your best move is to invest in an effective strategy that will engage your prospects.

Inference:

The year 2023 is going to be another tricky year for salespeople. It is going to bring its share of dilemmas and hitches, but the issues to come are far from impossible. As long as you demonstrate persistence, adaptability, and a constant commitment to solving customer problems, you should be able to handle the challenges of the new sales landscape.

At Ozemio, we are extensively engaged in conceptualizing the right sales enablement. Contact us to gain an edge while meeting your revenue and growth this year.

References:

• Digital trust: Why it matters for businesses | McKinsey
• The B2B Buying Journey | Sales Insights | Gartner.com
• Fallon’s Chairman on Getting Clients to Take Creative Risks (hbr.org)