This coronavirus pandemic will go away and a period of normalcy will return again. At that time, will sales be identical to what it was before COVID-19? The pandemic changed how we live and sell, plus it upended sales processes. In-person discussions might not occur in the same way as it did before for quite a while. Remote presentations are part of the new normal, and sales engagement programs are important. Those are all temporary changes. How have you adjusted to the new normalcy, if you have not yet?
Thinking Digital First
This pandemic has sped up the frequency of not only usual change but also digital transformation quicker than we thought. Business-to-business sellers and buyers making transactions between them through digital tools is a usual situation. As per Mckinsey, over 3/4th of sellers and purchasers prefer remote engagement and digital unassisted service to in-person interactions. So, the path ahead seems obvious: Digital may be around for a long time.
While we should maintain a 6-feet distance between us, not much slows down due to the utilization of digital selling tools. In this form of selling environment, the speed of trade becomes more important than before. We no longer have to deliver PDF email attachments or board a flight and wait days for the next phases in the process of selling. In this day and age of instant gratification, sales processes that are not efficient and that take time will be unacceptable.
A digital-first approach changes conventional sales recruitment. The quality of being tech-savvy is in the JD (job description) for sales. Today’s sales professionals must be highly familiar with customer relationship management systems, sales enablement tools, plus contract automation. With the continuation of sales digitally, there will be more technical things required for sales recruitments.
Personalizing The Overall Digital Sales Experience
Nowadays, customers can tap more into knowledge and other forms of information than in the past. They can read other buyer reviews on the internet, seek tips from their peers, and compare the attributes of many goods before speaking to salespeople. If you wish to stay competitive in sales, then you should have more than the basic skills. It is vital for you to offer the kind of value that customers can get only from experts like you. Treating your lead as important than others will allow you to be more noticeable.
Besides prioritizing your potential customer, you must keep the whole digital sales procedure personalized. If there is no personal touch, then trust problems could emerge and it would be trickier to seal the deal. Using a personal sales video in proposal presentations and distributing agreements is becoming more prominent to personalize the said experience. Real-time chat has become an excellent channel for more engagement and confidence among leads.
Another must-have quality in the whole digital sales experience is empathy. You and your leads will keep needing empathy in the future normal period. Most salespeople wake up daily with a willingness to perform well, but something will make the day more human. Salespeople would like to answer their leads’ questions and offer a solution or two that could aid them in thriving, but it will not dominate all talks. Connecting at a personal level when kids require help with remote education or dogs barking when seeing mail carriers. All of us will be in this future normal situation together.
Treat Technology As A Person You Work With
Digital-first changes standard sales recruitment as well as co-workers. There is dependence on digital trade, so it will also be there on sales software for the professionals to personalize the experience and seal further deals.
It should start with a suite of technologies making sales automatic, covering proposals and e-signatures. Add to that the tools that allow connecting with leads through live data tracking, real-time chat, and video, and your sales staff will be noticeable. Having a strong technology fellow-worker team is more vital than before.
Sales will be different from the past. Legacy processes cannot progress in the same way as modern customers. Becoming digital-first, personalizing the experience, and creating a technological co-workers’ team will set you up for success in that new normalcy.
