SOCIAL DISTANCING WITHOUT SALES DISRUPTION - Korn Ferry

Transcription

SOCIALDISTANCINGWITHOUT SALESDISRUPTIONConventional wisdomholds that “no one buysa million-dollar solutionover the phone.” While thismaxim no longer holds upuniversally, making timefor an in-person meetingsignifies importance andfocus and often alleviatesthe perception of risk.Strategic use of in-personmeetings, especially earlyand late in a sales process,correlates to better results.So what happens whenin-person meetingsaren’t possible?ASK THE EXPERTS: Leading Through and Beyond COVID-19

As the global spread of COVID-19 drivesmany commercial organizations to cutback on travel and meetings and adoptsocial distancing policies, many chiefsales officers (CSOs) find themselveswith large sales teams of frequent flyersgrounded in the office, functioningmore like inside sales reps.These drastic changes come at avulnerable time for sales organizations.Business buyers, heavily influenced bytheir consumer purchasing experiences,rapidly escalated their expectations forsellers in the past few years. Sellers aren’tscoring well against these new standards.CSO Insights’ recent research with 1,500sales organizations identifies severalnotable gaps: 31% of sales organizations saythey effectively identify and gainaccess to decision-makers 39% provide clients with insights& perspective to reframe thinking Only 40% indicate they successfullyuse questioning skills to revealbuyers’ realized & unrealized needs Slightly more than half (51%)articulate solutions well alignedto buyer needsSo it’s not surprising that the vast majorityof B2B buyers (77%) told us that theydid not see salespeople as a resourcefor solving their business problems. And,tellingly, sales organizations reportedto us that both customer retentionand depth of customer relationshipsdeclined over the past two years.With such headwinds, commercialorganizations cannot afford anunanticipated shift in how theysell to result in further distancebetween their sellers and buyers.WHATTO DONEXT?There are immediate optionsthat commercial firms cantake to proactively drive a(temporary) move to virtualselling that won’t resultin customer friction.

FOCUS ONPERSPECTIVESellers cannot waste buyers’Providing perspective stronglytime on check-ins or low-valuecorrelates with deep customerconversations. Politeness mayrelationships and allows sellerskeep a prospect in an in-personmore—and earlier—access tomeeting, but a virtual interaction buyers. In a virtual setting,that they find lacking almostperspective needs to comecertainly leads to themfirst and come often, from themulti-tasking and dividingmoment a seller contacts a leadtheir attention between theto implementation and beyond.seller and everything elseon their plate.To begin adopting perspective,create valid business reasonsFortunately, buyers in ourfor virtual meetings. What is thestudy shared that they havecustomer going to learn? Whatnot relegated all sellers toexpertise can you offer to clientsanswering RFPs. The difference? and prospects as they reshapePerspective. Perspective sellingtheir businesses in responseis an evolution of solution selling to COVID-19? Think about howin which sellers bring theiryou can help them and provideinsights, networks and uniqueinsights—not how you sellexpertise to educate buyers &them something.expand their points of view.

RECONFIGURESALES CONTENTVirtual meetings allow for more effective use of sales content.Sellers can seamlessly move from demo environments tocollateral and presentations, guiding conversations with agilitythat’s often not possible in person. So, it’s critical that sellersalign presentations to both the stage of the sales processand personalized to the situation.Take advantage of theopportunity that onlineconversations offer to revisitor create a content strategythat better equips sellers withprecise content useful in arange of settings—such asemail, social media or a webCONTENT DELIVERYALSO NEEDSENHANCEMENT. IT’SHARDER TO “READTHE ROOM” IN AVIRTUAL SETTING.meeting—and stages in thebuying process. Prepare forlonger sales cycles as clientsbring in additional criteriafor spending or postponedecisions. Make sure thatyour content helps thedecision-making process.Disconnected content requiresbuyers to spend more energysifting through informationand prolongs next steps.Content delivery also needsenhancement. It’s harder to“read the room” in a virtualsetting. Many a high-performingseller, sensing disengagedparticipants, chooses to turnoff a projected PowerPointto walk over to a whiteboardand map out a new approach.Sellers need replicate this in avirtual environment. By verballyacknowledging, checking forunderstanding and acceptance,confirming and clarifying,salespeople can determine ifcontent resonates with clientsor they need to course-correct.

GROW & MINENETWORKSIn-person meetings often lead toconvenient introductions to additionaldecision-makers, rapport-building anda first-hand view of the client’s workenvironment. Sellers new to workingvirtually now need to capture thisinformation and gain these connectionsonline by enhancing their social mediapresence. Using social networkingeffectively and following social selling bestpractices helps sellers identify and engagethe six or more buying influences typicallyinvolved in a complex purchase. And itprovides a vehicle for sellers to shareperspective between formal meetings.Social networks also provide opportunitiesfor connecting customers with peerswho share similar challenges. In times ofdisruption, business buyers look outsidetheir company for validation and insights.Mutual connections help engender trustand establish credibility with buyers notused to buying complex solutions fromsomeone they have not met, or thosefacing more conservative spendingrequirements.Creating these connections can befound internally, as well. Some of themost powerful players that a sales teamcan bring to a conversation includerepresentatives from customer success,service and product development. Mostdeals don’t merit the cost required to loadall those team members onto a plane fora sales call. Virtual calls, however, areanother story. Take this opportunityto think through how to marshal moreresources across the organization topartner on sales opportunities.

RETHINKWHERE SELLERSSPEND THEIR TIMESellers spend less time in actual sales interactionsthan in the past, now down to 32% of their week.By shifting to virtual selling, the 10% of seller timespent traveling can be reinvested in other activitiesthat improve results. But without careful planning,those saved travel hours could be easily absorbedinto forecasting, reporting and other internal andadministrative tasks.Avoid administrative creep by considering yoursales process. Customers and prospects now facechanges to their business models in response tothis global crisis, which will drastically impact howthey buy and, therefore, how sellers need to sell.Sellers and leaders need clear frameworks and toolsfor account, opportunity and call management torethink and reprioritize their work. A formal salesprocess provides clear direction on what sellers andleaders should do to succeed.Our studies consistently show that the more formalthe sales process, the better win rates and revenueattainment. Structure provides the flexibility torespond to unplanned conditions.SELLERS SPEND LESS TIME INACTUAL SALES INTERACTIONSTHAN IN THE PAST, NOW DOWNTO 32% OF THEIR WEEK.

MAXIMIZEAVAILABLETECHNOLOGIESOur annual Sales Operationscalls—the resulting transcriptsStudy shows that the averagegive sellers more complete andsales organization uses tenaccurate call notes and providesales technology tools. Yetcritical details to sales managersmany, if not most, underutilizefor coaching. Even somethingthese tools. How does youras simple as using videoorganization use engagementcan demonstrate focus andplatforms, customer successdiscourage multi-tasking.platforms, social sellingtools or lead scoring tools?Adoption starts with salesConsider even the mostmanagers and internal meetings.utilitarian tools: You likely haveUnfortunately, when salesconference call recording orexecutives rated sales managersweb meeting technology withon key capabilities, “ensuringuntapped potential. Ensuretool and technology adoption”that salespeople understandranked among the items wethe advanced features of thesestudied, with only 27% oftools and use them to createorganizations claiming it is ainteractive and engagingstrength. Your leaders mayexperiences. For example,need additional support toask customers to record keymodel the way.

CUSTOMERINTIMACYMATTERS MORETHAN EVERRegardless of the setting, selling at its heartremains the act of acquiring, growing andretaining business relationships. Building thoserelationships requires a series of “definingmoments,” which is any time a customer orprospect evaluates their seller, their experienceor their relationship against their expectations.The vast majority of defining moments areneutral; they meet expectations. Negativedefining moments fall short. Positive onesexceed expectations and drive loyalty—and itis just as possible to achieve them in a virtualenvironment as in a physical one. But they don’toccur spontaneously. Commercial organizationsaccustomed to more frequent, and morein-person engagement need to revisit theirprocesses, methodology and skills to proactivelydrive the positive defining moments thatcreate customer intimacy in this new,constantly-changing environment.

Byron MatthewsCEO, Miller Heiman GroupPart of Korn FerrySeleste LunsfordCEO, Miller Heiman GroupPart of Korn FerryASK THE EXPERTS: Leading Through and Beyond COVID-19

Perspective. Perspective selling is an evolution of solution selling in which sellers bring their insights, networks and unique expertise to educate buyers & expand their points of view. Providing perspective strongly correlates with deep customer relationships and allows sellers more—and earlier—access to buyers. In a virtual setting,