It is a tough time for businesses and their sales organisations. The sales environment has experienced a significant transformation due to changes in society, economy, business models, technology and more. It is certainly not an easy thing to adapt to this new reality, but only the ones who understand and work intensely on transforming their business structures and processes will survive.
To assist you in preparing seriously for upcoming challenges and trends, we collected predictions in 2016 from today’s most respected sales leaders.
If you have any comments or predictions to make, please comment below the article.
Phone calls are here to stay - Derek Grant, VP of SalesLoft
"Only one in 17 phone calls gets answered now, but phone will become a more effective communication channel for selling, particularly around cold calls. 2016 will be the year of the phone."
"It will also be the year of inside sales. It's a more scaleable approach: it's easier to get salespeople up to speed, supports a more transactional business [...]“
The way to interact with salespeople has changed. While the desire for buyers to meet salespeople face-to-face has decreased – according to Accenture just 12 percent of buyers want to meet in person with a vendor -, new technologies such as email, social media and CRM systems have become increasingly important. What about phone calls? They are here to stay! Nothing will replace the personal touch and effectiveness of phone calls. In 2016, it will be crucial to develop effective omni-channel sales strategies in order to meet the buyer‘s omni-channel path of purchase.
Related: Taking the cold out of cold calling
The rise of Prescriptive Technology – Bob Marsh, CEO LevelEleven
"A lot of companies are talking about anything that's predictive: predictive intelligence, marketing, phone calls. But I think that we're going to see things that are more prescriptive. For example, specifically recommending to a salesperson, "Here's the content you should share with this prospect, here's the person you should call right now, because maybe they're most likely to answer the phone. Here are the leads you should follow up on because these are the most likely to respond to you." The more prescriptive recommendations a salesperson can access, the better they can invest their time in the right prospects."
Prescriptive analytics, which goes beyond descriptive and predictive analytics by also suggesting actions to benefit from the predictions and showing the implications of each decision option (explanation of prescriptive analytics). It is a solution that can transform the way salespeople make decisions and move prospects along the buyer’s journey. But Gartner is suggesting companies must first invest in understanding prescriptive analytics and its various approaches.
Stronger Alignment of Marketing and Sales – Chris Ashley, Sales Director Kissmetrics
“Marketings’ share of the customer’s journey will grow throughout 2016 as prospects rely more heavily on self-education through webinars, static demos, and online content. Sales and Marketing will need to work together to build processes that are effective in identifying and actively engaging prospects at each stage of the sales cycle. Sales professionals that previously relied on building initial rapport over the phone will need to adapt and learn how to utilize current technologies to open those same doors.”
The buying process is no longer linear and therefore marketing and sales departments have to understand the other‘s purpose and work together. The times are gone when marketing just defined market-product fit, created messages and get these tools over to salespeople who then pitch and close business. Sales can provide marketing with valuable information and vice versa (e.g. sales obstacles, customer feedback, competitive activity, buying behaviour, etc.). According to a Aberdeen Group study, highly aligned organisations achieved an average of 32% year-over-year revenue growth, while less aligned competitors saw a 7% decline in revenue. We need to keep in mind that the two departments basically share the same business principle: to keep the flow going in the revenue.
The emerging fight for tech-savvy sales talents – Andy McMillan, CEO Act-On
“As the demand for a richer, more personalized and connected user experience grows, the role of the sales professional will need to evolve with it. To do this, sales will need to turn to marketing automation technology to compliment the manual engagement typically facilitated by CRM technology. The sales professional must work hand-in-hand with the buyer, leveraging the latest in technology to delight the customer and deliver the expected outcome.”
It has always been difficult to find the best sales talents, the ones who are hard-working and have an outstanding desire to succeed. But today’s salespeople also need to be adaptable and willing to embrace change. There will be tools added to the buying as well as the sales process. Training on not only changing sales processes but also on how to leverage technology in that process is going to be a critical part for both sales leaders and sales teams.
Building positive and consistent momentum – Richard Lane, Managing Partner durhamlane
“As technology helps buyers and sellers alike to learn, adapt and engage, the ability to create positive momentum – consistently – remains a key attribute of the very best sales professionals. It can decide how high your business will go and how quickly you will get there. In the words of Dan Pink, a US business author, „Regaining momentum takes three times as much energy as retaining momentum“. Dan Pink was commenting on the process of writing and the quote was also used by Sir Dave Brailsford, Chief of the Sky team, regarding cycling. It is equally relevant for selling.”
Momentum is a function of mass and velocity. In terms of a sales performance these equate to
Quality x Quantity x Consistency = High Performance durhamlane’s Sales Mantra #5
In this video Richard Lane explains the Mantra. It’s a sales mind-set that helps to work at a Higher Level and results in improved sales performance.
The best sales professionals create positive momentum and apply their skills consistently. But once you created positive momentum don’t stop there. It requires continuous action or it will certainly turn into its negative. The two keys to momentum is achieving it, and maintaining it. Build a consistent and on-going cycle of measuring, testing and measuring again. Each time getting closer to the optimal recipe for quality, quantity and consistency.
Follow durhamlane on LinkedIn and on twitter @durhamlane to keep up to date with the lastest sales insights or call us for a free consultation on 0191 481 3800.
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