When it comes to the sales call, the selling company must meet the buyer where they want to be met. Now I’m not just talking about the coffee shop, or the sales presentation itself, but at every level of buyer expectation. Today we’re explaining how SKURA Sales Enablement software puts the buyer’s desired channel, knowledge, and decision journey stage in focus.
Today we’re going to take a comprehensive look into three gaps that exist across B2B sales. The theme of the gap is ‘buyer expectations’ and the gap is… well, not meeting those expectations.
These expectations are:
- Channel;
- Knowledge; and
- Decision Journey.
Real sales enablement closes the gap in these areas and empowers a more adaptive sales process with technology as a major enhancer, rather than inhibitor, of sales excellence.
Before we get ahead on that topic, let’s delve into sales enablement software.
RELATED CONTENT] Are these gaps unfamiliar, or perhaps you need a refresh on the trends influencing the sales process in 2015? Feel free to download the first chapter of our “Sales Enablement Success” series which details the four major shifts happening RIGHT NOW in both sales and marketing. Click the link below for more.
What is Sales Enablement?
Many offer definitions for sales enablement but it can be most promptly defined as any system that can help drive value at the critical point of interaction. It always starts with the customer and works backwards. If used correctly, users can measure its benefits through:
- Effectiveness: Improve your rate of closing from better interactions
- Optimization: Shorten the sales process by improving your response time
- Education: Speed up training time for new sales reps, products, and services
- Efficiency: Increase selling time by eliminating manual call reporting
If you’re new to sales enablement, may I suggest reading our post, “What is Sales Enablement? A Sales Enablement Definition for 2015”, for a more comprehensive look at the topic.
Minding the Gaps with SKURA Sales Enablement Software
1. Channel Gaps
In a previous post we talked about the influence of channels on digital content management and communications, you can find it HERE. The phrase “the medium is the message” has a renewed meaning when you consider the current world of medium-ubiquity, or, omni-channel communications.
If you’re new to the idea of omni-channel, I suggest starting HERE with our Introduction to Omni-channel post. The situation is quite black and white. Buyers now use several devices to interact and this is limiting the effectiveness of digital sales aids, as some may not be supported on the device or OS in question.
In fact, while buyers continue to add mediums to their engagement roster, sellers continue to rely on email, phone, and in-person interactions almost exclusively. In a PulsePoint study, fewer than 1 in 7 marketers rated their organization as strongly/somewhat effective across all of 13 crucial multi-channel elements (Source: PulsePoint 2012).
They named this discovery “the great digital divide”.
How to Meet YOUR Buyers on the Channel THEY Desire?
If “the medium is the message”, what message does it send to not interact effectively through that medium?
We’ll avoid the rhetoric and conclude with “not a good one”.
SKURA sales enablement solutions eliminate the challenge of multiple channels by making every channel accessible on any device, anytime, all the time. The SKURA mobile sales application uses three solutions to make omni-channel a reality for any seller.
Digital Content Accessibility – SKURA software is built on the premise that device doesn’t dictate functionality. A sale can happen anywhere and your device on hand must be capable of delivering value to the critical point of interaction. SKURA works on any device, online or offline, and can open any piece of digital content marketing, including rich multimedia files and 3D images!
Device Agnostic Sharing – Let’s face it; email, phone, and in-person are the mediums that everyone understands. In 2015 it’s all about delighting the buyer digitally, and SKURA software lets any seller share any digital content asset to any device. The moment that call comes in, your sales presentation starts, and to the buyer’s convenience.
Co-Browsing – Sharing is great, but what about live digital sales calls at the touch of a button? SKURA turns inbound sales reps into real time sales presenters through co-browsing. Regardless of how the buyer called in, or how you’re reaching out, co-browsing lets any sales rep interact with any buyer on any device, anywhere on the planet! Forget meeting-planning, SKURA sellers are always meeting-ready.
2. Knowledge Gaps
We recently covered the topic of empowered buyers and explained how an empowered buyer impacts the sales process in THIS ARTICLE. Empowered buyers are heavily influencing the sales process and this is having an impact on the way that sellers add value to the decision journey.
You can learn all about the impacts through THIS INFOGRAPHIC, but essentially, “74% of today’s buyers conduct more than half of their research online before making an offline purchase”. However, “despite the digital shift, buyers still want a personal connection” (Source: Forrester Research, 2015).
That “personal connection” is all about content that helps solve meaningful business problems and delivers a total sales solution. Unfortunately buyers feel that “80% of sales people they meet with have an agenda focused on presenting their products, rather than understanding the buyer, their company, and its business challenges” (Source: Forrester Research, 2015).
How to Meet YOUR Buyers with the Knowledge THEY Desire?
You would think that buyers self-educating about your product/service would make it easier to sell to them since they’ve already filled up on “descriptive” content. Though this isn’t case, as illustrated in THIS POST about a declining state of sales effectiveness, at SKURA, we see opportunity where others see challenge.
Digital Content Design Suite – Software for sales enablement allows sales reps to tailor digital content communications in the field for any buyer. Our mobile sales application doesn’t simply limit the seller to a bank of content assets. It goes further, allowing the sales rep to design new content with appropriate assets they have on hand for a contextually relevant interaction that always adds value to the buyer’s current knowledge.
3. Decision Journey Gaps
The unidirectional sales funnel no longer applies and buyers now progress along a decision journey that moves in every direction and changes with both internal and external influences. The new decision journey and appropriate digital content strategies have been examined in THIS ARTICLE.
For our purposes here you should know that the average buyer typically progresses through 50-75% of their decision journey before they engage with a salesperson (Source: Harvard Business Review, 2014).
Unlike in the past where it was appropriate to treat each new buyer as a first-time interaction with the brand, today’s buyer wants a conversation that adds value to past interactions and takes into account the progression of need/solution awareness.
Generic intro emails won’t fool an empowered buyer, meanwhile, positive outcomes will be experienced by sales reps who start the discussion with a keen appreciation for the buyer’s current decision journey stage.
How to meet YOUR Buyers at THEIR Decision Journey Stage
You can start with THIS ARTICLE about which digital content types to use for each purchase decision stage but continued success depends on a closed loop marketing system that creates sales and marketing alignment in all customer facing communications.
Integrated Automation Platforms – SKURA knows that mapping and mastering the decision journey depends on sales analytics software that integrates with CRM, Marketing Automation, and Cloud Storage for seamless digital content rating based on actual interactions and real outcomes.
Predictive Analytics – Integration is nothing without an engine that compiles that info and gives you actionable feedback. SKURA sales analytics software is built into every module of SKURA, and even works offline, to shed light on any interaction. Sales reps will know exactly what, how, and why a buyer was influenced, and where to invest future selling time for sales wins.
SKURA helps you meet buyers where they want to be met. Channel, knowledge, and decision journey gaps are eliminated with tools to drive value at the critical point of interaction.
Want to see and feel real sales enablement software? Request a demo and let us show you a more adaptive sales process.
