Breaking Through To Buyers In Economic Uncertainty

The last few years has seen the global economy sharply pivot as most, if not all, industries underwent a transformation of some sort in order to survive. Among these changes has been the drastic impact on consumer spending habits, from the basic manner in which they prefer to transact (‘card not present’ payments spring to mind) to the payment plans they either prefer or need in order to make purchases. The latter has seen a recent and increasing rise in the number of customers opting for the ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) method, for example.

Perhaps, though, the next biggest space to watch is the B2B and B2C sales arenas. 

The fear of a worsening economic recession coupled with how new digital technologies are disrupting both buying behaviours and the general status quo of sales teams around the world is already showing signs of impacting the sales game. The reality is that the nature of sales is already changing if your sales team is going to adapt, survive, and come out a lean, strategic selling machine, it’s vital that you get ahead of the game.

With this in mind, here are the top sales trends that we believe will help your business break through to buyers during times of economic uncertainty.

1. More Digital Touchpoints In The Sales Process

Here’s a statistic for you. By the year 2025, just two short years away, around 80% of B2B sales communications will occur digitally, and self-service functionality will have become extremely popular. That’s according to a prediction by Gartner.

The fact is that fewer people want the human touch as their primary means of interaction. Increasingly more consumers are embracing an omnichannel approach to buying that brings together digital and offline, so while your sales team may be all about the personal touch, and trust us, there are still customers who want to connect with other people to answer questions, assist with concerns, and solve problems, it isn’t worth ignoring the digital side. 

Too many consumers and even businesses want convenience, speed, and a tech-first relationship with sales representatives.

To that end, your business needs to improve its connectivity solution to support further digital touchpoints that are in pirated into a hybrid strategy – one that is capable of pivoting between online and offline.

A key example is our own Digitalisation Programme that accompanies our newly developed Customer Portal. By introducing this portal we’re now better equipped to provide customers with unmatched device and network management functionality that drives connectivity, operational efficiency, and improved CRM in their businesses.

2. More Informed, Highly Prioritised Sales Segment

It’s highly unlikely that any changes you make to your sales approach will have a high degree of success if your representatives don’t feel supported and equipped. This can be remedied by investing in initiatives that recruit digital-forward talent, train sales representatives on the hybrid sales approach, and promote collaboration. 

The truth is that you can’t ‘plug in and play’ a supportive sales culture. You need to build it through meaningful, long-term initiatives. In addition to increasing sales, a positive sales culture that includes opportuinities, like a mentorship programme or a compensation structure has the added benefit of attracting top talent and retaining your best employees. 

3. Demo The Challenge, Solve The Problem

Traditionally, companies have sought to demonstrate just how amazing their products and services are – touting the various benefits and USPs. But this year will see a heavy shift towards demos that focus on the issues their customers are facing. The emphasis is therefore less about what you’re selling and more on how what you’re selling solves the problem.

By creating a demo that highlights the specific challenges your product or service can resolve and the goals you can achieve for your customers, you’re able to showcase empathy, understanding, and that, fundamentally, you ‘get’ their pain.

Moreover, by demonstrating precisely what your product or service does you’re likely to reduce returns and disappointment as people know exactly what they’re buying.

4. Prioritise Existing Customers

It’s common knowledge that it’s way more expensive to onboard a new customer than it is to retain an existing one. It’s therefore unsurprising that this remains a top sales trend, however with a slight nuance to it in 2023. The key is not just to focus on customer retention but to actively prioritise your existing customers over new ones.

In today’s business environment, you can’t afford to simply maintain existing customers or wait for them to reach out to you. Instead, your sales teams should proactively and strategically engage with your customers, creating opportunities to upsell and cross-sell through personalised email campaigns and individualised offers, for example.

Personally speaking, through our Customer Portal we’re able to provide customers with device and network management functionality, such as geo-mapping, ring fencing, and a strong reporting engine to allow for reports on GSM network, as well as device performance. 

Some existing customers may have had or will have to undergo software development in order to benefit from this functionality, which has formed another layer to our customer retention strategy. 

If you’re looking for ways to unlock better connectivity in your business operations, enable you to take advantage of software that supports your sales teams, and transform your customer services, then connect with us. 

Let’s see how we can help your business today.