As a Salesman, are you still following the old Blue Books
I still remember it was the fall of 2001.
From the Telecom and Office Automation Industry, I joined the IT bandwagon like many.
I had no prior experience in IT.
I was a salesman and was responsible for Territory Sales coverage for Wipro for their IT products business.
Back then the Internet was in its infancy, and we just started with our office e-mail in MS Outlook.
Even the travel statement was manual.
Soon after joining Wipro, my boss gave me a bunch of printed documents called MPG ( Marketing Price Guidelines ) and told me to go and sell.
I was at a complete loss and frustrated.
What kind of organization have I joined?
I had no orientation and training on the products, and they were asking me to hit the market.
My idea of learning that point was that one very auspicious moment would prevail, and a wise man in the trade will tell all the tricks on how to carry out the job.
Alas! That did not happen.
Thank god, I had little self-esteem left and figured out how to read configurations and the price list myself.
Since then, every two to three years, I was handling some different Products and Services businesses and have never feared learning them.
Of course, we have the internet and Google.
Those days we used to carry pamphlets or brochures which we used to give to the customers.
Customers valued our technical knowledge and wanted to hear more about what new features are added to the products.
Fast-forward to 2021, after two decades, I wonder what has changed in Salesman’s life?
Leave occasional glory, laurels, and hefty commissions; life still may be pretty the same- Quota, Reviews, CRM updation, Price pressure, Demanding boss, etc.
Has the underlying Sales Process and Skill requirement for IT sales undergone change?
I think so, in fact, quite dramatically.
Let’s see how they are evolving today.
- Customers are more empowered today.
Gone are days, the customer used to depend on company salesman, and technical literature to know what is happening in the industry. They are all well-informed today, more knowledgeable, and better networked. They do not have to look forward to the company's salesperson explaining features; they want to know. Information is no more a novelty and providing information alone is of no value add. Customers are resourceful today, and most of the time, they do their research and figure out things for themselves.
2. Selling is about building a partnership.
From Feature-based selling to Consultative selling to Business value-based selling, selling has evolved. Authentic selling is a great help for customers. You are essentially helping them solve their business problems and stay ahead of the competition. Customer is not interested in buying what you got to sell; they are keen to buy how are going to deliver the value.
3. Selling and Buying are happening all the time.
You may be thinking that the customer will depend only on the formal sales engagements to decide on the purchase. Today, the all-pervasive flow of information across platforms and various touchpoints and the rise of content marketing has kept customers hooked all the time. There is a fierce battle among companies to grab their share of attention in an extremely cluttered environment. Creating that sense of being present in your target market across the platforms all time and in a unique way is of paramount importance. Do not be surprised if the customer knows better than you about the competitive landscape in the market. They would have done their homework already. Customers are being persuaded all the time without even realizing the same.
4. Not the CIOs are only buying
You have heard that today Information Technology buying is not restricted to CIO’s office only. Businesses today exercise more involvement and even sometimes drive the whole buying process of Information Technology and Services. Over the last couple of years, the Digitalization of the entire Business process became so central that CDO, CMO, CFO everybody has a definitive role to play. So IT sales have become more broad-based today.
5. Moving away from Capex
The customer does not want to own the car; they want to reach the destination. Customers today do not want to be Asset heavy. They have no interest in buying big capacity and running the same at 60 to 70% of utilization and managing them. Also, worry about obsolescence and refresh. They are happy to pay for the usage and keep the book light on Assets.
6. Personalised Solutions
The customer wants to see that the solution will actually work for him; he does not want to buy it because it worked for others which they can’t relate to. Customers are looking for personalization to the requirements. They want to know how did you solve similar problems in a similar industry. They need solutions that are unique to them.
7. Relationship and Value Proposition have to go hand in hand
Customers may like your face, but they will like the value proposition more. Customers definitely value a good relationship with the IT partner, but they need people who match their agility, and speed and deliver value. They are ready to work with niche and boutique firms and not necessarily knock on the incumbent and old friends' doors all the time. They are ready to experiment with new, niche, and smaller players as well. So, there is no premium to the vendor's size and experience if it does not add to the offerings. Today, customer always incubates ideas and explores emerging technologies to figure out how they solve some of their stubborn business problems. So, today Proof of Concept (POC) and Co-creation, Joint Development of MPVs, etc., is no more board discussion but real practices.
8. Digital way of selling
The Digital way of selling is gaining so much momentum. COVID has hastened the entire process. Today, nobody would tell the salesman, “Come over for a coffee, and we will talk about a new project.” Customers have accepted the new Digital way of selling, and they know that it will stay even after COVID. Eventually, both Faces to Face and Virtual ways of selling are going to co-exist.
Now that the sales process is going through so many changes, how can the salesperson’s skills not change?
Of course, it needs to change; you can not use your dated sales skill in the new Digital Age.
It is not about having only fundamental skills like Relationship Building, Communication & Presentation skill, Questioning skills, Domain knowledge, Technology Understanding, Sales Acumen, etc, but much beyond that.
Because of rapid changes in technology and constant disruptions in business models, customers are under constant pressure for Businesses Innovation to stay ahead of the competition.
They need a true advisor, not a mere salesperson, who can help them with the insights built carefully by analyzing the intersection of Industry and Technology trends.
They want a salesperson to understand their business better to articulate Business Value better by providing the right selection of technology.
There is constant pressure on today's salespeople to upgrade their skills to match the rapid changes happening in Business and Technology.
So, today’s salesperson has to be lifelong learner and ready to re-skill and upgrade themselves all the time.
They have to learn new digital ways of selling, network effectively, and be creative all the time.
Selling is now going to be even more creative and challenging at the same time.
Those who prepare better win the race, so it may be your time now to relook at your old Sales Manual; re-evaluate whether it is serving you well or whether you need to hone your skill by adopting newer ways.
