Digital Sales Training Blog

Sales requires constant communication. You’re either writing an email, crafting a proposal or sales presentation, gathering information over the phone, asking questions during a meeting, listening to a client’s feedback, and the list goes on. Salespeople have to be expert communicators. This is especially true since the buying process has changed. Buyers are more informed, which gives them more power. In fact, according to an Accenture study, 94% of B2B buyers say they actually conduct online research before making a buying decision. And guess what? A report from Forrester stated that 59% of buyers prefer to do research online instead of consulting a sales professional because they believe that salespeople are likely to push their agenda rather than focusing on solving the problem.

Sales has changed quite a bit in recent years. This is because of new technological developments and a general shift in attitudes and behaviors regarding how customers make purchasing decisions. Adapting to this rapidly evolving world of sales requires motivation, flexibility, ongoing development and a proactive approach to selling. Sales professionals are expected to be experts in both their product and solution as well as their client's business. They must understand the cultural and generational buying habits of an increasingly diverse customer base while adapting to changing sales technology. Whew, that's a lot to live up to. But you don't have to let these changes get in the way of your sales success. You simply have to roll with the punches, as they say. Before we dive into how you can stay relevant in this constantly changing environment, let's take a look at a few statistics about how sales has changed. 94% of B2B buyers conduct some degree of research online before making a business purchase, with 55% conducting online research for at least half of their purchases. (Accenture’s State of B2B Procurement Study) Buyers are less concerned with the qualifying topics salespeople are usually most interested in: Just one in four want to discuss budget, authority, and timeline. It takes an average of 18 calls to actually connect with a buyer. Only 24% of sales emails are opened. 90% of top performing sales people now use social media as part of their sales strategy. And for sales reps that invest in social media, 64% of them hit their team quota– compared to only 49% of reps hitting their team quota that don’t use social media. Half of revenue is influenced by social selling in 14 common industries, including computer software, healthcare, and marketing and advertising. Nearly six in 10 salespeople say that when they figure out what works for them, they don’t change it. Don’t fall behind —here’s 6 things to know to help you stay relevant and to keep improving your sales performance.

More than 40 percent of salespeople say prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process, followed by closing (36 percent) and qualifying (22 percent) (HubSpot). But if you look closer, you can see that these three steps are all very related. If you're unable to generate good, quality leads then you won't be able to close the deal because the lead wasn't a good fit in the first place.

For salespeople, social selling is one of the most important parts of Digital Transformation. Social selling creates 45% more opportunities and allows you to outsell peers who don't use social media by 78% (Source: Forbes).

According to Salesforce, 61% of organizations engaged in social selling report a positive impact on revenue growth. Increasingly, B2B customers want to gather information online about potential partners before making a buying decision. Business leaders agree that digital can provide the opportunity for disruption as sellers are able to reach customers directly, but knowing how to drive digital growth remains a challenge for many businesses.

Are you prepared for digital transformation? Last month, we covered why it’s vital for salespeople to stay open to learning in order to leverage the benefits of digital. Today, we're going to help you take the next step in your digital transformation by focusing on 3 things you can do to improve your social selling status.