Editor's Note: Enjoy this special encore post, which is one of our readers' favorites so far in 2021. It originally published on February 23, 2021.
One day we’ll look back at 2020 as a turning point in the world of sales. Trends that had been percolating for more than a decade sped up and crystallized as social distancing and stay-at-home orders uprooted some of the fundamental mechanics of selling.
But the shift to virtual selling has proven that the fundamentals of a great sale are still real relationships and customer value. And we’ve seen that you can still be present for your prospects even when you can’t physically be with them.
Still, flipping the script on traditional selling and succeeding virtually requires a renewed focus on three essential elements of B2B sales: building trust, demonstrating authenticity, and adopting a buyer-first mentality.
We explored these topics at Spark, where we brought together some of the strongest success stories of the virtual sales boom to discuss what being a world-class sales pro looks like in 2021. Here are some of our most striking takeaways to help you become a stronger and more connected virtual seller.
The Importance of Being Authentic
LinkedIn’s Jesse Rothstein was joined by Devin Reed, Head of Content Strategy at Gong, for a discussion on why authenticity is vital and what that means in the transformed world of selling.
Being authentic builds trust, according to Reed, who says that the old adage about people buying from people they like isn’t exactly accurate — people buy from people they trust.
In some ways, the inability to meet prospects face-to-face impedes our ability to demonstrate authenticity and develop trust. But in other ways, it creates new opportunities. For example, think about conducting a video call from your living room. “What's more personal than having someone over to your house?” Reed asks.
He believes that seeing faces on a screen makes a huge difference when it comes to creating personal connection. The data backs it up: Deals are 127% more likely to close when webcams are active. [Gong]
Not every buyer is comfortable on camera or interested in jumping on, so Reed recommends that sellers avoid being pushy. A good routine: flip your camera on first to set the norm. If the person on the other end doesn’t follow your lead, ask gently if they’d like to, but don’t apply pressure. It’s most important that they at least be able to see you.
"Seeing is believing,” Reed says. “You want buyers to see they're working with a human being — someone they can trust."
In the quest to establish authenticity, Rothstein emphasizes, your LinkedIn profile is a key touchpoint. Salespeople have their profiles viewed twice as often as the average user. Make sure that you’re projecting yourself in this space as a genuine, relatable, and approachable person with credibility in your field.
One final point, on which both Reed and Rothstein agree: sales is no longer about pitching products. It’s about solving problems. As Rothstein points out, this isn’t always a straightforward matter of offering guidance around a pre-established pain point.
“Often buyers don't know the problem that they need to solve,” says Rothstein. “As salespeople, we need to be not just the problem-solver, but the problem-finder.”
Principles of Buyer-first Selling
Craig Rosenberg, Distinguished VP and Analyst at Gartner, spoke on what buyer-first principles really are, and how it updates and changes traditional sales models. At LinkedIn, we’ve made buyer-first selling central to our vision for B2B sales in the new era; the data and research from organizations like Gartner have helped us arrive at our five-part framework.
Rosenberg explained what these principles mean, from his view:
- Learn, then Define: Instead of asking qualification questions, Rosenberg suggests rethinking the traditional approach and actively listening. Replace questions like, "Do you have budget?" with more exploratory questions about your prospect’s circumstances. Let them lead the conversation before you suggest solutions to their problems. “The checklist is simple,” Rosenberg challenges. “Do I understand the outcomes they're trying to achieve, and the obstacles in their way?”
- Share Readily: Sellers share a lot of content, but oftentimes it's "low-value, horizontal, and hopeful." In a buyer-first mentality, sellers aim to be relevant, timely, and drive engagement. Do your research on social media and platforms like LinkedIn. Use customer data to determine customers needs and deliver something legitimately helpful, without asking for anything in return. "What I'm encouraging is to just give," Rosenberg says.
- Solve, Don't Sell: Buyers want a customized buying experience. Say goodbye to the era of generic, memorized, templatized pitches and demos.
- Deliver Value: Go beyond providing valuable content as a way to nudge prospects toward a purchase. The way Rosenberg frames it, we want to ensure a customer’s time-to-value and illustrate it in a clear way. “How about we show a calendar of when they're going to see value, and at what points ... and we live up to it?” he says. “As a salesperson, we work to understand how the customer is going to get there, and make sure they do.”
- Earn Trust: Want to win year-over-year? One of the biggest pivots urged throughout Spark is that salespeople should think bigger than just the sales cycle. “It’s going from a transactional mindset to building for multi-year business relationships and partnerships,” he says. Don’t stop sharing readily, solving problems, and delivering value after a prospect becomes a customer. Stay in touch and show you care. "Set up a monthly check-in with your customers. Just do it!"
Based on what Rosenberg is seeing first hand and what Gartner’s research continues to uncover, Rosenberg says he’s extremely encouraged by the direction of the sales field at large.
“I have seen so many of you move to buyer-first in 2020, and it paid dividends,” he says. “It's not just better for us, it's better for the buyer, and that's so important."
Developing New Skills for the New Era of Sales
Having great people skills is a decisive advantage for sales professionals, But those people skills can be much harder to convey without the benefit of face-to-face interactions. Irina Soriano, VP and Head of Enablement at Seismic, advises today’s sellers to focus on letting their personality and expertise shine through in the digital space.
“You have to build new skill sets,” she asserts. “Things have changed, and we have to adapt, because this, right now? That's not going away.”
Among the key abilities that salespeople should be seeking to develop or hone:
- Virtual networking and presence
- Leveraging data for your sales strategy
- Sharing meaningful content that has a purpose
- Sharpening writing skills
A big takeaway: show that you are an active and engaged member of the professional community to build confidence and trust in your expertise by leveraging social media. Even the most old-school of sales pros recognize that reputation matters, a lot. But the stakes are higher now and the dynamics have transformed. Buyers don’t need to rely on word-of-mouth to learn about sales reps they consider working with — they can easily research for themselves.
“If you call me and want to sell me software or programs, and I can't find any activity from you on LinkedIn, I'm very likely not going to take that meeting with you,” Soriano says.
When it comes to adapting in a new B2B sales environment, Soriano adds that the most important thing any seller can do is, “improve your social media visibility, a little bit, day by day.”
She knows this doesn’t come easily or naturally to everyone (herself included). To help provide direction, Soriano offers this advice: “Pick a very specific purpose, and align your LinkedIn and social media engagement to that purpose. It could be your expertise or profession. Or, it could go beyond that — a passion or interest. Having that clear purpose will help you share valuable content that your audience is keen to engage with.”
Empathy in Practice
The word "empathy" abounds in sales these days, to the point where it may be attracting some skepticism.
"Most people see this as fluff," admits Morgan J. Ingram, Director of Sales Execution and Evolution at JB Sales Training, while kicking off an interview with Cully Eisenbeis of Edward Jones. "So we've got to hear what your thoughts are."
"It's not really fluff if you're being genuine, transparent,” Eisenbeis gets it, but paints a key distinction, “And using data to identify how you can make each customer interaction an opportunity to bring value."
"Like we say at Edward Jones, almost every meeting: Don't think about your customer, think like them."
As Eisenbeis notes, reaching this level of transparency doesn’t need to be so vaguely theoretical as walking a mile in their shoes. Data offers concrete clues and real understanding. As Ingram suggests, data is a more direct learning approach.
“If you want to develop genuine curiosity and have more empathy, have a roundtable,” he suggests. “Invite your top five or 10 customers you like working with and get insights from them. Also, your clients can share insights with each other to make it even better.”
In order to think like your customers, and to develop powerful lasting relationships, we need to show that our interest in them goes beyond the business outcome we’re trying to achieve.
In some closing advice from Eisenbeis, “Just reach out. Don't reach out in a sales way, or a business way. Just reach out.”
Find Your Spark in 2021
The above takeaways only scratch the surface of what you can learn from the sales professionals that came together at Spark - watch the whole event on-demand any time. We hope that you’ll feel energized after diving into some of the inspiring sales stories that came from Spark.
So go ahead -- find your spark and ignite your sales this year. You’ve got a powerful community in your corner.
Topics: Events
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