5 Rants + 1 Rave: This Is How You Modernize Your Sales Right Now.
Peter Strohkorb
Sales Growth Consultant to Leaders of B2B Services / Tech Businesses in Australia, USA, Online | Salesforce-endorsed Sales Expert | 100+ LinkedIn Recommendations | 2 Books | 200+ Sales Articles | ?? PeterStrohkorb.com ??
Please forgive me, my dear readers.
Today, I’ve got to get something important off my chest.
Some well-meaning but long-overdue straight talk.
It's about b2b selling now in the post-pandemic era.
I've go to get something important off my chest. ??
You see, I have been involved in sales and marketing in its many guises for more than 30 years. I have worked in sales leadership roles with SMEs, Not-For Profits and a few multinational corporations.
Over that time, I believe I have earned the right to have a point of view, to have an opinion on selling.
On what works. And on what does not.
Here it is:
The b2b sales industry is stuck in a rut, globally.
There is a BIG PROBLEM with the way we sell. But, instead of fixing the problem, many sellers choose to ignore the problem, hoping it will go away by itself.
It won't go away.
Why?
Because Sellers have been following the same old selling model for 120 years.
And guess what?
It's no longer working!
If you want details, I outlined the reason (and the rationale) in this article I called: "Ambush or Engage? How Your Buyers Want To Buy Now."
Back to addressing the problem:
Sellers seems to only want to fiddle around the edges, preferring quick fixes, short cuts and magic bullets, instead of proper sales strategy. Silver bullets, instead of actual sales model transformation and modernization.
My colleague Tiffani Bova once called out this syndrome, using an automotive analogy:
"Sellers just don't want to change the tires on the car while it's moving."
The price they pay is measured in massive Dollar losses: Unreliable pipelines, deferred deals, missed quotas.
Sales Leaders have no choice. They simply cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.
Sellers now need to adjust to a changed selling environment.
Here are five reasons the sales industry has painted itself into a corner:
- IMHO, the sales industry has become used to short-termism and tiny event horizons that only look as far ahead as the next end of the month, the quarter, and the fiscal year (whichever comes next).
- I lament that there are more than a thousand Sales Tech apps with Ai and data analytics that are now sold as quick-fix miracle cures that no-one will get fired over, even if they don't even deliver the promised results.
- There are many sales leaders just stuck in their ways. They can not get themselves to stop and think about how the sales environment has changed and how they may need to respond and adapt.
- Even worse, when sales targets keep getting missed, their first response it to do MORE OF THE SAME. They just keep following the same outmoded lead gen practices that they KNOW are no longer working.
MORE cold calls? MORE emails? MORE LinkedIn invites that no longer work?
That's crazy.
5. Next, they can't stop focusing on what they're selling, instead on how buyers want to buy.
Now for the good news:
You can change. Right here. Right now.
There has never been a better time to modernize your selling.
The pandemic has given you the unique opportunity to be a true Sales Leader. Now is your chance to lead from the front and to make a real difference. Lift yourself and your teams out of the corner.
Lead your team on the way to sales growth and success.
Why not check what you are doing right now and discover how it compares to Modern Selling?
This free 10-Point Modern Selling Assessment will show you exactly what you need to do to modernize your sales in just 3 steps:
1. Just answer ten quick multiple choice questions
2. Receive your results instantly
3. Qualify for a complimentary Advisory Call with a Modern Selling Specialist
What are you waiting for? Go ahead right now, click the button.
You'll be glad you did.
Here's to your sales success!
- END -
About
Peter Strohkorb is the Founder and Principal of Peter Strohkorb Advisory, the international Sales Acceleration Advisory firm with a growing list of happy clients specializing in advising b2b services and tech companies in the USA, in Australia, and in the UK.
Our motto is "More Sales, Faster", and that is exactly what we deliver to our clients.
Contact
Australia: +61 (0)411 865 301 [email protected]
USA: +1 (628) 246-1242 https://peterstrohkorb.com
Win more than you Lose | Advise CEO/CRO on win rate strategy and execution | 1:1 & group coaching on win rate improvement. | Host of The Win Rate Podcast | Visit AndyPaul.com to learn more
3 年Peter No one can argue that B2B selling isn't stuck in a rut. The change has to start at the top. Sales leaders have to be willing to put themselves on the line to lead the transformation. Not enough are prepared to do that.
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3 年Part of the "managing" problem comes from an overwhelming sales stack. Managers spend too much time learning, training, and fiddling with the sales tech rather than focusing on the practice and process of sales. The attempt at (over)automation distracts from the original goal which was interacting and building a RELATIONSHIP with a prospect. Hard to find "trust and rapport" when you've got 12 sales tools to master.
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3 年Peter, sales and marketing should be working together and can work together. The sales process today should be examined closely. We have done this with every other department. It's time sales receives an upgrade.
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3 年Peter, No logical person would challenge your direction to “Stop focusing on how you sell and focus instead how your customer wants to buy.” The rub is this, many organizations don’t know how COVID has changed their buyer’s purchase process, and worse, they’re at a loss how to find out. Given that uncertainty, the easiest thing to change is nothing. Easiest, but certainly not the safest.