The State of B2B Sales in the post-COVID Era

by Jimmy O. Blogger

COVID-19 has plundered almost each and every livelihood and diminished lives in every possible manner. Although it is not sure to predict the pervasiveness of this pandemic’s destroying capabilities, early signs of absolute economic disruption are plenty bright. One might not be able to guarantee the extent of the pandemic’s destructive capabilities. However, the early signs of absolute economic disruption is clear.

Taking care of the staff and customers becomes priority 1 for sales leaders across the globe. As a result, an essential facet of the issue is adjusting to the new normal. It is an established fact that consumer buyer behaviour is changing with the turbulent economic landscape. Although in tandem with the digital transformation efforts before the pandemic, leaders need to reorient the way they sell. Despite the digital transformation efforts before the pandemic, the leaders need to reform the selling strategies. B2B sales post-COVID is going to see a fundamental change. Here are some of the ways how we see the future panning out.

Changing Landscape of Industry Events

What should you know?

With the lingering of the new usual, we notice that one of the primary sales drivers, industry events, has thoroughly stopped functioning. As the new usual continues, we find ourselves in a time where one of the primary sales drivers, industry events, has ceased to function thoroughly. For B2B Sales leaders, this is the time to reassess their strategies and commit to make more contents. double down their efforts on making more content, Further, they can facilitate more podcasts, webinars and promote work on fostering better relationships for their prospective target market.

It is also the time for B2B sales rock stars to shine in the digital world, with the help of their marketing counterparts. Working lunch with clients are in the past now as one must acknowledge that Gone are the old ways of taking clients out for lunch and then discussing the deal, your target market lies in the palm of your hands. Depending on the individual perspective of this disruption, Unfortunately, or fortunately, depends on how you take this sudden disruption, the only way to reach your clients is virtual.

The Way Forward

It is not all bad news though, this is an opportunity to keep going with the times and make sure that your target market is well served. One can certainly confirm that because if the product was needed to function before, they are still needed. Additionally, the good news is, they hardly have any other opportunity to reach you, so make yourself visible in the world and see how soon the MQL (Marketing Qualified Leads) turn into customers.

The Paradigm Shift in Messaging

What should you know?

Extensive communications from every place possible, has removed the boundary between personal and professional lives. With this influx of information ensued, your client needs to know quick, mission-critical, non-faff information only. This is possible only when the goals of your primary communication are crystal clear and concise. The attention span has diminished because of pre-2020; the mind was focussed on work when at work, and not otherwise. Now that homes have become workplaces as well, B2B sales turn into a game of swift, agile, precise and concise communications.

Way Forward

So how do you accentuate these conversations? Simple, ask them what they are feeling with the business, how are they dealing with the new developments? The pandemic situation is pretty substantially changing the landscape of the industry, and with that, B2B leaders can further understand what the customer wants and how this behaviour will possibly change with time.

With better relationships with your existing clients, it will be easier to pave better ways with your new clientele, understanding their vision and actualising their business changes with the value obtained by your product.

Post COVID Customer Spend Patterns

What should you know?

Ask yourself this, where exactly does my product lie in the spectrum of my customer? How do I uniquely position it so that the value is clearly articulated to the client? If you find that these questions are easy to answer, go with your gut feeling for the sale and with the confidence that you had before this pandemic.

If the buyer sees value in your product offering, they will immediately grab hold of the opportunity. One definite advantage of this sudden digital transformation is that the buyer intent is crystal clear, and can be adjudged across any level of the funnel.

The Way Forward

Was your solution selling like hot cakes before the pandemic? Is it not selling now? If the answer to both of these questions is a yes, you should re-evaluate your positioning and strengths as the epidemic has got nothing to do with the inability to sell.

Coming together as a team, marketers and sales folks should not pursue the hard selling strategy, as multiple touchpoints might turn the prospect away from the sale. Transactional B2B sellers should reposition themselves as more consultative. You cannot give up the idea of everything going back to normal, and if you are running out of patience right now, you might be backing away from a possible future sale. The times are tough, but the situation will turn for the better, and when spends are back to normal, the products which were steadfast on their beliefs will stand robust.

Patience is the key.

Back to the drawing board

What should you know?

An essential yet easily forgettable aspect of any formidably disruptive situation is the presence of existing clients. By giving the right situational analysis and how far deeper into the account, your skills can take you to your marketing colleagues will help them and in turn you with Account-Based Marketing.

Existing clients are goldmines which are often ignored because B2B solution sales folks are mostly hunters and not farmers (frankly early stages needs lesser farmers if any).

Another opportunity which the pandemic provides itself with is the idea of going back to the drawing board and reimagining your ideal customer profile. Your product sells, and it is reasonably priced, people are buying it, but have you ever thought of exploring new horizons with the existing capabilities?

The Way Forward

No magic 8-ball is going to tell you when the pandemic is going to end, but your marketing team might be able to give you a better understanding of what next to sell. So, stick to the basics, understand your customers better, and foster long-term relations. Trust your product, and look for newer places and ways to sell the value proposition.

New Ways to Sell

What should you know?

Indeed the situation is dire, and it has not given us enough time to slow down and think. What it is though is that it is familiar to everyone, so if your communication mediums have changed, the very same thing has happened to your buyer. Mind you, the world is working still, and the products needed before are yet required, the question is, are you willing to bite the bullet and show your best self, virtually, in webinars and while delivering the product?

Way Forward

Your buyer is facing similar issues; they are also working from home, they are also juggling through multiple tasks, and here comes the human, compassionate element which B2B sales rockstars are famously known for.

As the situation continues, B2B sellers need to be patient, and their target markets and even their existing clients are making some hard decisions. But this does not mean that the work is over, far from it actually, sellers and marketers need to reorient the way they have understood their customer.