What Do #B2BmodernSelling And Independence Day Have in Common
How the independence began...
Liberty was declared on July 2, 1776, after the Continental Congress voted for independence. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed two days later by delegates from the thirteen colonies. July 4 became the birthday of American independence and an occasion to celebrate the freedom of the people. So much for American history.
But what does this have to do with #B2BmodernSelling now?
Not so long ago, sales had a lot of power. Salespeople used to be able to use knowledge and information as a closing tool. Today, we live in a world full of information, almost all of which is freely available. Buyers have no reason to ask a salesperson for information when they can find the same thing on a website or other trusted sources.
Just as the 13 American colonies cut their political ties with Britain, today's B2B buyers are also free
Many studies show that, on average, corporate buyers don't engage directly with suppliers until 50-70 percent of the way through the buying process. That means your customers are in the dark for nearly two-thirds of the buying process: forming opinions, learning technical specifications, creating requirements lists and narrowing down their options - all on their own, with no input from salespeople.
In one of our recent articles, we presented this topic in a well-founded way and backed it up with important figures. Read more here.
It's an obvious fact that B2B buyers want to handle most of their buying process themselves. If buyers preferred the old sales approach, they would continue to engage with it. But the data speaks a different language.
We need to ask ourselves, what do buyers value about this new process?
The main difference between the old and new sales models is choice. In the old model, buyers had little choice: they were dependent, and everything happened the way and in the time of the seller. Today, the buyer can decide everything about their buying process: when, what, how, and where.
So, if your sales and marketing process is not designed to give your buyer that kind of freedom of choice, they are also free to leave your buying process altogether and buy from a competitor.
The buyer likes to have freedom of choice and be independent - just like Americans back in the day. And the company that can offer him that freedom of choice will win his business.
Read more interesting stories around #B2BmodernSelling on our platform for savvy sales and revenue people to learn more about B2B sales and today's buyer journey... and sign up for our newsletter.
Happy Independence Day!
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