Not long ago, the tools provided to sales representatives were limited to a database, a small box of business cards, and a PowerPoint presentation providing a general overview of the company and its products and/or services, all while demanding that they bring in major accounts month after month.
It was in a salesperson's DNA to prospect, identify, converse, and build direct relationships with their counterparts, creating bonds of trust, credibility, and in some cases even friendship, in order to become a reliable source of information so prospects could educate themselves, compare alternatives, and ultimately make the decision to purchase the product or service being sold.Below, we highlight 3 of the main differences in sales processes that transformed with the arrival of the digital revolution.
In that past era, sales reps were tasked with driving marketing efforts to generate initial traction in sales processes. A salesperson was typically the first and only face buyers saw, from the initial discovery phase all the way through to the final purchasing decision.
Information about the products and services offered was delivered according to the salesperson's convenience or style; the pace and the key factors considered by the buyer in making a decision were centered around them. That is why the timing with which a salesperson entered a buying process was critical to maximizing their chances. If they were first, the concepts and criteria evaluated during decision-making were established by them, shaping the information so their products or services stood out above the competition.
1) Today, purchasing and decision-making processes begin on a website. With unlimited information at their fingertips, buyers browse to identify the key concepts and specifications required to define their purchasing needs.
2) Direct engagement with sales reps only occurs once the buyer already has clear ideas and specific questions regarding the options discovered during their online research, leading them to reach out directly to companies to speak with a sales representative.
3) It is estimated that with the emergence of automation tools such as Sales Automation, nearly 40% of the responsibilities previously managed by sales reps have transitioned to inbound marketing tools and technology solutions. Blogs, SEO (search engine optimization), social media, websites, forms, bots, and other technological assets are now responsible for identifying, educating, nurturing, qualifying, and ultimately routing prospective buyers within an organization.
This is only a small fraction of the significant transformation that doing business has undergone in the 21st century. It is also the primary reason digital industries have experienced exponential growth.
These tools understand the buyer journey prospects take to become customers, delivering value through how their technologies attract, manage, and log interactions between content and target audiences—once again enabling organizations to steer initial traction across sales processes.
Even when impersonal and indirect, timing remains vital. However, it is no longer the salesperson's timing, but rather the timing with which the company's messaging reaches a prospect to position itself as a compelling purchase option.
