selling success in the age of change

Selling success in the age of change

Sales Innovation Expo, InsightBee Event Report

2016 Innovation Award for Best Lead Generation Tool

Speakers

Speakers

Seminars

Seminars

Exhibitors

Exhibitors

Attendees

Attendees

5000

3000

95

56

81

85

79

69

The Sales Innovation Expo and B2B Marketing Expo were co-located, running concurrently across 2 days.

Sales Innovation Expo

B2B Marketing Expo

Welcome to the Sales Innovation Expo, InsightBee Event Report. We attended the event, listened to the speakers and then wrapped up all the key insights into one easily digestible report for you to enjoy. The sales landscape has shifted. Innovation and change are the only constants: thanks to the Internet, knowledge and power are firmly in the consumer’s hands, while data and automation are redefining the role of the sales rep. To thrive in this environment, salespeople need to behavemore like entrepreneurs, radically rethinking the way theywork and focussing on putting their customers first andadding value to their customers’ organisations.

The act of buying and selling has changed forever.

“ The only thing that’s changed in the last 40 years is everything.”

Bob Etherington, Bob Etherington Group

“ We need a hard reset on the way businesses think about going to market.”

Tiffani Bova, Salesforce

BUY

BUY

Technology has changed everything. We now live in a bottom-up economy where buyers are in control.

“ It used to be ‘caveat emptor’ - because salespeople had all of the information and all of the control. Now the control has shifted and it’s become ‘caveat venditor’ - ‘seller beware’.”

Bob Etherington, Bob Etherington Group

“ An empowered consumer with access to Google can self educate – so what’s the salesperson’s role?”

Tony Hughes, RSVPselling Pty Ltd

“ The unintended consequence of innovation is that the customer has become more disruptive.”


“ The whole notion that we have to have salespeople in order to do business is untrue. By 2012 85% of interactions between businesses will be done without human intervention (Gartner).”


“ In 2020 22% of salespeople will not have a job (Forrester).”

Bernadette McClelland, Leadership Expert

Not only is technology empowering buyers, we’re also using it to automate the sales process and traditional sales roles are being eroded.

But while new technology is changing the way we sell and making it more efficient, sales still benefits from a human connection.

“ We have allowed sales to become dehumanised: technology doesn’t entirely displace the need for a human-to-human relationship.”

Deb Calvert, People First Productivity Solutions “ You need to simulate a face-to-face experience. We found if we put a photograph of the seller in their email footer, sales went up.”

Ken Krogue, Inside Sales

To navigate the upheaval technology has brought to sales, salespeople need to radically rethink the way they work.

“ Salespeople need to behave like entrepreneurs. Every salesperson should be thinking: How can I disrupt myself? How can I disrupt my own profession?“


“ People want to do things better. But dramatic results come from doing things differently”


For a start, sales teams need to be better and more efficient.

“ The biggest thing that gets in the way of steady growth is an inefficient sales team”

Colleen Francis, Engage Selling Solutions Inc.

“ If someone isn’t a team player, it doesn’t matter how good they are, they will drag your team down.”

Jas Hawker, Mission Excellence

FEEDBACK

Sales teams need to model themselves on other high performing teams. And learning from your mistakes is the first step.

“ A debrief is the single most powerful tool you have. To fail to debrief is to commit to make the same mistake next time.”

Jas Hawker, Mission Excellence

“ The best companies in the world are learning from failure. As a salesperson, if you can take feedback, you can improve.”

Gordon McAlpine, The Sales Club

It’s equally important for salespeople to understand what they’re doing right. If you don’t know what’s working – how can you replicate it?

“ Managers aren’t forcing top performers to become conscious of what they’re doing successfully. It’s not important to know that you’re a success, it’s important to know why you’re a success”


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In the modern age, salespeople can only succeed by putting their customers first.

Seeing things from your customers’ point of view can make a huge difference.

“ The new competitive battleground is customer experience. Those who focus on giving exceptional customer experience outperform the market.”

Tiffani Bova, Salesforce “ Buyers are expecting a lot more – they don’t want a superficial relationship.”

Deb Calvert, People First Productivity Solutions

“ Throw the sales process out of the window and start looking at the buying process.”


“ I’m a consumer. And I take my buying habits to work with me.”


“ What we get at B2C is what we expect in our B2B lives.”


“ We have to start selling B2-all. There really isn’t a separate B2B and B2C market anymore.”


You need to recognise that B2B customers and B2C customers aren’t so very different. Our experience as consumers has influenced how we buy when we’re at work.

It’s never been more important to know your customers.

“ You need to understand your customers’ challenges; what’s keeping them awake at night.”


And to do that you’ve got to stop talking and start listening.

“ In the early stages your sellers should be doing about 20% of the talking.”


“ Customers are already telling you what they want from you. You have to work out how to hear it and what to do about it.”


“ People that ask questions are the best salespeople – no doubt about it”


Once you understand your customers’ challenges then you’re in a position to do what they really need you to do – help to solve them.

“ Your buyers want you to do something unexpected and totally unique to them.”


They are expecting you to provide them with new insight and a new perspective on their own businesses.

of buyers will buy from the first person to educate them with insight (CSO).”

of buyers expect insight from the seller.” (corporate executive board research). But 85% of sellers fail to meet expectations. (Forrester Research).”


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95

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Buyers aren’t looking for a basic transaction, they want to buy into something which has the potential to make a difference to their business. To be a successful sales person you have to strive to add value to your customers’ organisations.

“ It’s not about selling products anymore, it’s about selling change.”


“ Customers don’t want a transactional or a transitional transitional experience. What they want is a transformational experience – someone who can inspire them and help them transform their company.”

Bernadette McClelland, Leadership Expert

“ You need to transcend the transaction… it’s about your sellers creating value out of thin air.”


InsightBee

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2016 Innovation Award for Best Lead Generation Tool