The Salesperson Is No Longer What They Used To Be
11 May 2015
Read by 2865 persons
New skills are required to work in sales. You'll always need interpersonal skills, but the modern sales manager must also master a host of new tools.
If there's one profession that has been greatly transformed in recent years, it's that of salesperson or sales manager. So much so that many observers believe that to be a good salesperson, you have to stop selling!
Why such a change? Because customers have completely changed the way they behave. The ease with which they find all the information about products means that they now consult a salesperson when they are at an advanced stage of their information gathering.
Communication, Strategy, and Adaptability
It is up to the salesperson, through several very good questions, to understand where the process is and how much time they have to make suggestions to the customer. In some cases, this can go very far. "Sometimes you have to "unsell" because the potential customer has acquired a lot of information that doesn't match what the salesperson and their company want them to remember," explains Frédéric Lucas, founder of Prima Ressources, a company specializing in sales team performance. So, gone are the days when the salesperson gave their pitch to convince and sealed the deal with a good handshake.
In fact, it's quite the opposite: the salesperson must adapt to how the customer has decided to buy. The new salesperson therefore has a prospective role and that of an advisor rather than a product promoter, as noted by Nigel Robertson, regional coordinator at the Business Development Bank of Canada.
The sales process has therefore shifted from the product to the business strategies, needs, and objectives of the potential customer. Many experts talk about "consultative selling" or a consultative approach. To succeed in this new relationship and in front of the informed customer, the salesperson will need to be able to:
The relational approach has therefore become very important, and networking and technology have replaced travel and long meetings. It is therefore necessary to develop virtual relationships, long-distance relationships through social networks, professional networking sites, and targeted forums, and more; in short, be very connected!
According to Greg Alexander, sales and marketing consultant and CEO of Sales Benchmark Index, the new salesperson must also, among other things, master marketing automation tools, personalized and geolocated content creation and social and viral sharing, as well as produce and disseminate interesting content via social networks. The 2.0 salesperson, what!
Required Attitudes
Mastery of technological tools and the acquisition of skills are certainly essential, but that's not all. The new salesperson is also a personality and a state of mind. "It takes a strong desire to succeed and a lot of persistence, because in the current context, the salesperson must commit to doing everything that needs to be done, at high speed, because a sense of urgency animates the new salesperson-customer relationships," says Frédéric Lucas. Other experts emphasize leadership, tenacity, and the ability to work as a team.
A great wind of change has blown through the sales profession to respond to multiple technological transformations, consumer behavior, and transactional speed. Enough to offer a whole professional challenge to those eager for challenges!
Louise Bouchard.
Workopolis.com
Published April 30, 2015.
Posted online May 11, 2015.
If there's one profession that has been greatly transformed in recent years, it's that of salesperson or sales manager. So much so that many observers believe that to be a good salesperson, you have to stop selling!
Why such a change? Because customers have completely changed the way they behave. The ease with which they find all the information about products means that they now consult a salesperson when they are at an advanced stage of their information gathering.
Communication, Strategy, and Adaptability
It is up to the salesperson, through several very good questions, to understand where the process is and how much time they have to make suggestions to the customer. In some cases, this can go very far. "Sometimes you have to "unsell" because the potential customer has acquired a lot of information that doesn't match what the salesperson and their company want them to remember," explains Frédéric Lucas, founder of Prima Ressources, a company specializing in sales team performance. So, gone are the days when the salesperson gave their pitch to convince and sealed the deal with a good handshake.
In fact, it's quite the opposite: the salesperson must adapt to how the customer has decided to buy. The new salesperson therefore has a prospective role and that of an advisor rather than a product promoter, as noted by Nigel Robertson, regional coordinator at the Business Development Bank of Canada.
The sales process has therefore shifted from the product to the business strategies, needs, and objectives of the potential customer. Many experts talk about "consultative selling" or a consultative approach. To succeed in this new relationship and in front of the informed customer, the salesperson will need to be able to:
- gather and analyze relevant and strategic information;
- actively listen, observe, and identify needs;
- learn about different competing products and new products on the market;
- gather information very quickly;
- understand the challenges and issues of client companies;
- adapt their negotiating behavior to the client's business strategy;
- manage "the sale" as a "project" by working with other departments of their company (marketing, finance, production).
The relational approach has therefore become very important, and networking and technology have replaced travel and long meetings. It is therefore necessary to develop virtual relationships, long-distance relationships through social networks, professional networking sites, and targeted forums, and more; in short, be very connected!
According to Greg Alexander, sales and marketing consultant and CEO of Sales Benchmark Index, the new salesperson must also, among other things, master marketing automation tools, personalized and geolocated content creation and social and viral sharing, as well as produce and disseminate interesting content via social networks. The 2.0 salesperson, what!
Required Attitudes
Mastery of technological tools and the acquisition of skills are certainly essential, but that's not all. The new salesperson is also a personality and a state of mind. "It takes a strong desire to succeed and a lot of persistence, because in the current context, the salesperson must commit to doing everything that needs to be done, at high speed, because a sense of urgency animates the new salesperson-customer relationships," says Frédéric Lucas. Other experts emphasize leadership, tenacity, and the ability to work as a team.
A great wind of change has blown through the sales profession to respond to multiple technological transformations, consumer behavior, and transactional speed. Enough to offer a whole professional challenge to those eager for challenges!
Louise Bouchard.
Workopolis.com
Published April 30, 2015.
Posted online May 11, 2015.
