Wired for Sales

Let’s start with a few factoids straight from some of the latest customer surveys: (1) Millennials make 73% of the buying decisions in B2B sales. Your customers may have a different demographic, but I doubt it. (2) A survey found that 50% of B2B buyers feel that sales meetings often do not contribute significantly to their decision-making process, indicating a potential perception of wasted time. (3) Unless the customer sees the salesperson as adding specific value, over 80% see the time as a wasted distraction.

Forget your assumptions about establishing a cadence with customers through repeated sales calls. Today’s customer doesn’t want to “catch up” on current events or share sports stories. They want value, and they want it when they need it, not when your salesperson stops by. We aren’t addressing this important customer driver, and we need to remedy this quickly.

Here’s the rub: Most distributors have an inside department that functions as a customer service center, where representatives are trained to handle inquiries about pricing, delivery, order expediting, and general non-technical questions.

If a question requires technical or application assistance, the customer is routinely instructed to call their salesperson or product specialist. For a customer needing an urgent answer, delays can be frustrating. And, for the busy salesperson, this translates into a distraction from their schedule, or, in the worst situations, they need to cancel a sales visit to assess and respond to the customer’s situation.

Distributors better develop their plans for quickly connecting customers with technical and product-centric problem-solvers. There are some powerful reasons for this. First, such a move would enhance the distributors’ stance with customers, and sales growth would follow. Further, if done properly, this model would create a more efficient sales effort.

Strategically thinking about the future, most of the duties currently carried out by these inside sales/customer service departments will be replaced with automated responses or some form of AI-based responses. Because many of these inside folks are long-standing employees, efforts should be made to migrate them now, rather than release them later.

Set a new standard for inside salespeople. Make it a priority to transition from customer service to a knowledgeable sales approach. Technical product knowledge becomes the new focus. Sales representatives should be knowledgeable about product specifications, applications, and integration. Additionally, understanding industry standards and compliance requirements will help them engage confidently with customers.

Further, shift hiring practices to prioritize technical expertise. Candidates with backgrounds in engineering or technology can grasp complex product features and articulate them effectively.

Inside sales representatives should blend sales tasks with technical support. This permits them to address customer inquiries while also offering solutions that enhance operational efficiency. Performance metrics should focus on the ability to identify customer needs and propose tailored product-based solutions, rather than merely tracking transactional sales.

Equipping the team with technology to help with product selection and application will be important as well. For example, many of the best distributor e-commerce solutions come equipped with product selection criteria. In the future, this capability will include compatibility and application suggestions as well. These product configurators will allow sales reps to visualize and customize solutions, enhancing their ability to meet customer requirements.

Close collaboration with technical support and engineering teams will become a vital step in this endeavor as well. This enables sales representatives to access expert knowledge when dealing with complex questions, which boosts customer confidence. Distributors who have developed “inside” product specialists are seeing great results.

Finally, now is the time to consider strategies for the future of this long-serving group of people. Conversations with ERP providers and others point to massive growth of AI enhancements, accelerating the migration from inside customer service to something else. Redefining and re-engineering the position should be a priority before it becomes an emergency. Your inside team needs to be wired for sales, too.