What the Experts Say: Effects of Customer Experience on Future Sales

The buyer experience will determine B2B sales success; this is a premise of the Scale Your Sales Framework and a subject of debate on the Scale Your Sales podcast. To build enduring relationships with your most valued customers and generate repeat sales, you must concentrate on the buyer and the customer experience.?

The Scale Your Sales podcast discussion can go in any direction; however, these survey answers represent diverse views on the theme. Read the answers to the questions we posed to the expert guests of the Scale Your Sales podcast below.

To what extent does customer experience impact sales?

Jamie Shanks ?stated that one part of customer experience that is often rarely discussed is how it affects NET NEW sales 1-2 years down the road. If the CSM is "single-threaded", then very few "Fans" come down the pipe one year on during job change events into new companies.

Laura-Jade Harries ?stated that customer experience is everything. People buy from people first. If you suck to buy from, why would customers return, and why would they advocate on your behalf?

Carole Mahoney ?added that customer experience leads to referrals and introductions, whether further into the account or a new account. Customers will leave to go to other companies; whether or not they recommend a product or service in their new companies depends on their customer experience.

Kevin Gaither ?stated that the best sales process mirrors the customer's buying process.

From? Cynthia Zenti ?experience, the Client experience can easily make or break trust, relationships, and deals, which is why she fervently believes that every sales process should be designed to support the customer experience. From the first email or call to onboarding and follow-up, it needs to be customer-centric, cohesive, user-friendly and executed consistently.

What practical strategy could you offer that has enabled buyers to buy?

According to? Douglas Cole , the most successful B2B sellers are first-rate Strategists, Change Agents, and Decision Architects. They ask: "What will it take for my client to win, and how can we help?" (Strategist). They ask: "Where is the energy for change in the client organization, and how can I feed that energy?" (Change Agent). They ask: "What matters most to my client, and how can I get them to take action?" (Decision Architect).

Cynthia Zenti ?also mentioned going on a listening tour of your market. Get into conversations with the intention of gaining transparency into what challenges they are facing. Too often, we rely on published data on trends without first-hand knowledge of how it applies to your market.

Timothy "Tim" Hughes 提姆·休斯 L.ISP stated that there are three things you need. 1. Buyer-centric profile, 2. A digital territory, and 3. content to support the fact that you are an expert.

Laura-Jade Harries ?said to add value and add value, then ask. Sales is service and never forget that.

Jamie Shanks ?said to video every part of the process. How to onboard, what success looks like, and how to create greater utilization. Make everything transparent.

What is your view on whether or not diversity in the B2B selling industry has progressed?

Carole Mahoney ?added that there seems to be more focus on women in sales, and the data shows that companies with more women in sales and leaders perform better. But there is still much more to be done to include not only gender equality but minority equality as well.

Kevin Gaither ?stated he has been trying to get more women into sales leadership for years and is not convinced it's progressing. It frustrates Kevin when he still hears people say, "why are people so focused on getting more women into leadership?"

Cynthia Zenti ?argued that she does not believe it has progressed; if it has, it is minimal. In most instances, Cynthia sees it as a checkmark on a list or has been monetized. The checkmark has missed the mark when diversity is promoted as being "good for the bottom line" instead of creating a rich culture, expanding knowledge and experience base, and generating opportunities for marginalized communities.

From? Timothy "Tim" Hughes 提姆·休斯 L.ISP ?point of view,?diversity is progressing but needs to be faster. It's still too white, too male, and too middle class. The business must proactively recruit for diversity because the company must reflect society.

Laura-Jade Harries ?says it is slowly getting better, but she is unsure how deep it runs. There is equality and diversity with a physical presence, and then there is the mentality, which is harder to break and measure.

What one tried and tested strategy would you offer our listeners on how to scale their sales?

According to? Douglas Cole , five integrated choices scale your B2B sales:?

?1. Go-to-market strategy?

?2. Organization Alignment

?3. Competency model?

?4. Metrics and incentives

?5. Data and systems

Cynthia Zenti Zenti?says to focus on what you can execute profitably and consistently and scale that until you have the resources to expand. Then look at other verticals before introducing new products.

Laura-Jade Harries ?stated, Build an engagement strategy, not just a sales plan. Connect, engage, nurture. Then sales will come.

Jamie Shanks ?advised reverse-engineering customers using the "Sphere of Influence" to look for new "Fans" jumping from your customers into prospects.

From? Carole Mahoney 's?perspective, Buyers care less about your product and features and more about what they can learn that they didn't know before. By researching the industry, company, and individual buyer, you could offer a piece of data and correlating insight to buyers to frame questions.?

The final question asks if you were on a desert island alone, what one thing would you take with you? or b. Who is your Hero or Shero, and tell us why. But you will have to listen to the expert podcast interview to hear how they answered this. We ask this question to learn more about the personality of the expert influencers. Some answers are surprising from the most outstanding Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, eyeglasses, or a pillow.?

For more insights on the Scale Your Sales Podcast, watch the Show on YouTube or listen to the?#ScaleYourSales ?podcast on your favourite channel.

Which of the guest responses most closely matches your views??We look forward to your comments.

Thank you to all Scale Your Sales Podcast guests who generously shared their insights and experiences.

Please take a moment to listen to the full Scale Your Sales podcast interviews with expert guests and connections with the experts on LinkedIn.

Cynthia Zenti

Roderick Jefferson ?

Kevin Gaither ?

Timothy "Tim" Hughes 提姆·休斯 L.ISP

Carole Mahoney ?

Laura-Jade Harries

Jamie Shanks ?

Douglas Cole