Television revolutionized the way marketers reached consumers and, subsequently, how salespeople sold. Personal computers fostered interactivity and increased sales and marketing applications for the B2B world. Now there is mobile — the so-called “third screen.”
“The first two revolutions pale when compared with this third screen revolution,” says Chuck Martin, author of “The Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers In A World Gone Mobile” (2011, Nicholas Brealey Publishing). “Smartphones, in which PC-type capabilities converge with mobile technology, are about to revolutionize the way people behave, interact, consume and live. Much of the technology for this revolution, in development for years, is now here and is already driving dramatic changes in consumer behavior.”
Salespeople face an unprecedented level of buyer awareness. Decision makers continue to trend toward self-education before making a buying decision. The Corporate Executive Board reports that 57 percent of purchasing decisions are made before engaging the vendor — a practice that negatively impacts sales execution and leaves many B2B salespeople struggling to meet their quotas.
According to Kurt Andersen, executive vice president of sales enablement at SAVO Group, which provides cloud-based apps that help sales teams leverage mobile technology. The only way to succeed is to change from a static sales process based on assumptions about the buyer to a dynamic process. “Businesses need to support their sellers with tools, training and information to ensure consistent, up-to-date and accurate sales messaging — and most importantly, they need to provide guidance on when and how to use these tools,” Andersen says.
But it’s not as simple as handing your reps iPads and a smartphones and sending them out to sell. New technology must be accompanied by training and a convincing demonstration of how it will improve efficiency and effectiveness — in other words, how it will help your salespeople sell.
“Whatever you do has to drive sales — it has to tie to a number,” says Andersen’s colleague, Scott Eidle, Director of Mobile Apps at SAVO Group.
This package of stories on leveraging technology to enhance the sales process will no doubt produce other thoughts on the topic. We will continue to provide more insights and showcase best practices in 2013.
