As buyers become more immune and intolerant of inefficient product purchasing and services for their organizations, many vendors appear to be taking the “quantity over quality” route with their sales methods, rather than refining their approach. According to the “What’s the Future of Sales” report from SAP, business buyers now receive an average of 64 approaches by salespeople over the course of a week. In some countries, the figure is much higher, with Mexican and Indian business buyers receiving 107 and 95 communications each week, respectively. France, the Netherlands and the Nordics fare a little better, ranging from 40 to 50 weekly calls, emails, social messages or letters. But the fact is buyers across the globe are feeling hounded by the vendor community.
While such communications are unlikely to have come from the same person, the resulting perception is that sales teams have become more intrusive. Perhaps understandably, 60 percent of businesses are generally less tolerant and trusting of salespeople. Furthermore, sales personnel may not be helping their case if they go in too hard or without sufficient information. Aggressive salespeople (48 percent), salespeople lacking relevant knowledge (46 percent) and unsolicited approaches (44 percent) are the biggest frustrations with vendors. As a consequence, it is not uncommon for buyers to block calls and otherwise avoid the initial advances of vendors.
“B2B buyers are so time-challenged, they don’t want the dog and pony show. They don’t want the dance,” says SAP Senior Vice President of Marketing Jamie Anderson. “They just want the vendor to be informed and to understand where they are and what they need at that point.”
