Human Business Evolution by patriziasoliani | CC BY 2.0
A shocking statistic was recently revealed in a study by Forrester Research. In the report, “Death of a B2B Salesman,” Forrester predicted that by 2020, 1 million U.S. B2B salespeople will lose their jobs to self-service e-commerce.
Now, before you start scouring the Internet for a new job, B2B salespeople should hear this: Your jobs are not at risk of going extinct.
In fact, as James A. Narus pointed out in his Harvard Business Review article, B2B sales jobs are not going to disappear—instead, they are going to transform. The traditional role of B2B sales is headed for a dramatic shift in response to digital transformation.
Evolution can be described as the gradual development of something, from a simple to a more complex form. That’s exactly what’s happening with B2B sales. What once involved walking door-to-door or picking up a phone, now includes the following steps in order to redefine the sales process:
Rethink the Buyer’s Journey and Redesign Your Sales Funnel
B2B salespeople need to consider how their customers are utilizing digital media in order to search, purchase, and educate themselves about their product. In fact, another Forrester study, revealed that in today’s new digital age, 70-90% of the buyer’s journey is complete prior to engaging with a vendor. This means that the role of sales is dramatically shifting from being the sole source of knowledge on the product to the “educator, negotiator, consultant, solution configurator, service provider, and relationship manager.”
Besides considering the buyer’s journey, the sales funnel is also undergoing a redesign. Previously, most of a salesperson’s time was spent at the top of the funnel, finding qualified sales leads and converting them into prospects. However, since customers are now more informed than ever due to technology, salespeople must focus their efforts near the bottom of the funnel, closing deals, providing excellent support, and maintaining long-term sales relationships.
Evaluate All Aspects (Not Just Cost) of Your Mobile Technology Solution
As pointed out in an earlier Mediafly blog post, Enterprises are Misusing Mobile Apps, it is not enough to purchase a mobile solution and expect immediate results. While Mediafly believes that technology gives companies a competitive advantage, we also encourage you to do your research to make sure that the solution you choose to invest in will be the best fit for your enterprise.
Purchasing a solution is just one step in the mobile journey. Onboarding and adoption are all aspects that should also be considered when implementing a mobile solution. That is why we suggest finding a company to partner with rather than purchasing a one-off custom app. This will result in a scalable solution and a more positive end-user experience.
Reimagine, Retrain, and Redeploy Your Sales People
Narus says it well when he states that salespeople now play a crucial role in “discovering the ‘something more’ that customers want.” As we previously stated, customers today know more and more about the products they want to purchase. For instance, review sites like Yelp have created a completely transparent sales environment for local businesses.
These days, a salesperson’s role is to add value to the overall buying experience by educating the customer on the benefits. In order to survive in this new role, salespeople need to identify the unmet needs of the customer and successfully demonstrate how that product or service can solve their unmet needs. No longer “order takers,” salespeople now have to evolve into the role of “trusted consultant.”
We should not see mobility of the enterprise as a giant asteroid set to destroy the B2B salespeople’s role. Instead, we should see the new technology shift as a change to the B2B salesperson’s DNA. By making a few tweaks to the traditional sales process, B2B salespeople will evolve and become as strong as ever.
What other ways do you think the B2B salesperson should adapt in order to survive? Comment and let us know!
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