by Art Waskey | Jan 29, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Personalize the Sale
I have an older car which I use for fun when family comes to visit. As it gets only occasional use, the battery often needs charging. I went online to shop for a charger and found a large assortment of options. However, I had no idea which charger was best for me so I headed to my local auto parts stores. In the first store, the rep showed me three options but gave no recommendation. At my next stop, I talked with a rep who was a charger user himself. He asked me about my specific needs and handed me the charger I should buy. His personalization of the sale was invaluable to me. As a salesperson, it is important to keep in mind that the perceived value of a product or service is how it looks, feels, and sounds to the buyer.
Tailor your Solutions
The online marketplace offers lots of product choices at low prices. In the absence of appropriate descriptive information, however, price doesn’t help you select the right product for you. According to Laura Ramos, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester, “Sixty percent of customers will stop doing business with sellers that do not tailor solutions to meet their exact needs.” “Forty-three percent of buyers feel embarrassed in front of their peers if sellers’ presentations are not customized to their specific needs.” In the example above of the battery charger, I could have purchased the product online at a lower price. However, it would be of little value to me if it was the wrong charger.
Enhance Perceived Value
Remember, the perceived value is how a product or service looks, feels, and sounds to the buyer. Always present an organized and knowledgeable sales plan that enhances the perceived value of your solution. Personalized perceived value positions enable the seller to build strong, value-driven, long-term customer relationships.
The Value of Peace of Mind
The personalized attention I received from the store rep in the example above added perceived value to the charger I purchased. Going forward, I may still look online for information and prices. But I will buy my auto parts from the local, personalized, added-value distributor who offers me peace of mind that I made the right choice. Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.
by Art Waskey | Jan 23, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Job-Hopping on the Rise
Today’s labor market is marked by a shortage of talent and many new job options. These factors enable younger employees to pick their spots and social media has accelerated the job-hopping process. Employee retention is now a serious issue for most companies. According to Grant Thornton Consulting, about 68.9 million American workers left their jobs in 2021 — 70% of them voluntarily. The company also reports that over 20% of American workers took a new position in the last year. Forty percent of those are already looking for new jobs.
What Motivates a Move?
Additionally, to address the issue of job retention within your company, you need to understand what motivates the movers. Here are some of the primary reasons for changing jobs today.
Advancement opportunity – Careers are no longer linear. Today, the quickest way up the ladder is with a job change and social media makes that fast and easy. Finding a new job is often more expedient than asking for a promotion. Many times the next step in an organization is limited by the positions available and employees may choose not to wait.
Company loyalty – Companies are no longer seen as being loyal to their workers. In recessionary times, through reorganizations, and as a result of corporate buyouts, the Y and Z generations saw their parents laid off. As a result, Gen Y and Z workers try to build their own unique career paths by moving on before someone moves them out.
Salary increases – Zippia, an online recruitment services provider, reported that in 2022 the average salary increase when changing jobs was 14.8% while wage growth was 5.8%. Today, it is often easier to switch jobs for a hefty pay increase than to ask your boss for a raise.
Better culture – A top reason why people change jobs is to be part of a better work culture. According to Shelby Palmeri of CareerPlug, 72% of employees surveyed reported leaving a job because of a toxic workplace. 51% said they plan on leaving their current job for the same reason.
More perks – The younger generations are looking for a good life/work balance —more personal time off, a shorter time to earn it, and perks. Company matching contributions to 401K saving programs, student loans retirements, flexible hours, and work-from-home are options new workers are seeking.
Work on retention
Lastly, examine your company’s culture carefully to identify weak spots in job retention. Provide competitive compensation packages and clear career path opportunities. The best way to build loyalty and prevent job-hopping is to value your workers.
Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.
by Art Waskey | Jan 16, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Pricing strategy
One of the top distribution subjects in the last two years has been pricing strategy. In 2021 and through the first half of 2022, systems were related to dealing with supply chain shortages. More recently, inflation has been a problem to address. Customers are experiencing increases from all their major suppliers. In this scenario, how does a distributor maximize its price increase attainment?
Pricing trends and profits
It is easier to increase prices during volatile times. In a review of distribution sales in 2022, Andy Szal of Industrial Equipment News reported, “Strong pricing trends have helped the robust revenue numbers amid stubborn inflation, and despite concerns about where things could be headed in coming months, the economy seems to keep humming along.”
While strong pricing helps beef up revenue numbers, how much of those price increases translate into profits? When we increase prices by 8% to match inflation, for example, we often see only a 6% price attainment.
Sales strategies
Here are some sales strategies you can deploy to strengthen margin and profitability and to maximize price increase attainment.
Promote your added-value worth – Before making your price increase announcement, have your sales team make a list of all the added-value solutions you offer. This should include order accuracy, pricing consistency, on-time performance, and product availability. Given this information, customers are more likely to accept your price increases.
Create a cross-functional price evaluation team – There are always reps that tend to give up on pricing more quickly than others. To offset this, create a cross-functional team that has the authority to make pricing decisions on deals below specific margin thresholds. The team should include members who are versed in determining criteria for maximizing account margins. Reps can be coached by the team on how to make better trade-offs for company profitability. Your percentages will increase.
See the value
In addition to supply chain issues and inflation, B2B channels continue to put the squeeze on distributor pricing pressure. It’s more important than ever to remember that you can’t sell a price increase if you don’t see the value of the product or service yourself.
Promote your added-value solutions and work as a team to maximize your price increase attainment.
Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.
by Art Waskey | Dec 19, 2022 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Changes and Challenges
As 2022 comes to a close, it’s time to formulate a plan for 2023. I find that webcasts are a great way to acquire relevant information and ideas. They offer reviews of the changes and challenges of 2022. These include the rapid progression of digitalization, a renewed focus on economic, environmental, and social sustainability, coping with product outages related to the war in Ukraine, and inflation, to name just a few. This all makes creating a productive plan for 2023 a complex process. How do you move from current best practices to the next practices that will help you succeed going forward?
Next Practices
In addition, a mindset for the New Year must include a reflection on the past. In his webcast, “Accelerate Your Productivity Pathway – 3 Areas of Focus for 2023” Paul Pretko, Industry Executive Advisor, stated that business processes have moved from the age of Best Practices to Next Practices.
Furthermore, the Best Practices of the past have leveraged technology to do things better and faster. We are now shifting to what Pretko referred to as Next Practices. These are revolutionary new processes focused on doing more with less. Next Practices involve innovations with distinctly different applications, such as fully automated warehouses. Advanced digital vendor-managed inventory (VMI) platforms and cutting-edge omnichannel enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications are also Next Practices.
The Three Cs
When planning for 2023, look to integrate technology that is comprehensive, convenient, and contemporary. Pretko called these the 3 Cs. Distributors need Comprehensive systems from start to finish; systems that provide a Convenient user experience; and Contemporary services that incorporate technologies like AI.
Pace your Planning
Lastly, the pandemic accelerated changes in business practices. Your challenge in 2023 is finding ways to take your business and employees through these changes cohesively. To attract and integrate the best of the new generation with the old requires adding technology at an acceptable, step-by-step pace. Lead with care to tap into the best from each generation as you move into your next practices for 2023.
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by Art Waskey | Dec 12, 2022 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Digital natives
The pandemic impacted the role of the outside sales rep (See adjusting-to-changes-in-sales-process-relationships) but what about the make-up of their target audience —the B2B customer? Since the early 2020s the profile of the purchasing professional has changed. In the buyer population, Baby Boomers are rapidly being replaced by Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996. Many in this cohort have already joined the management ranks of B2B buyers. Zoomers (or Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012) are also becoming buyers. Selling to this group of digital natives requires new sales strategies.
A preference for digital interactions
Jason Smith and Paul Demery explain in a recent article that “Many millennials and Gen Z buyers are keeping their distance from traditional sales calls, preferring digital self-service…” A survey of 172 B2B marketers also finds these buyers are showing a strong preference for digital and virtual interactions.
A recent report from Digital Commerce 360 lends further support to the swing toward digital selling. In it MSC Industrial Supply Co. CEO Erik Gershwind relates that the company has been busy improving its entire digital offering. As a result, digital commerce sales increased 17% to $2.28 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 3, 2022. By comparison, total sales grew 13.8%.
Today’s purchasing agents use online digital content, blogs, infographics, and videos for making buying decisions. Smith and Demery write that digital content represents 72% of a buyer’s journey. They explain that while in-person events are among the top three strategies, they come in third after online customer case studies and white papers or e-books.
Personalize your research
Today’s sales professionals must be digitally savvy. Growing sales requires a firm understanding of each client’s business and specific customer roles. Use CRMs to conduct thorough customer research and learn the degree of influence your prospect has within the organization. Find out the key factors that shape their pain points then structure your value proposition accordingly. Digitalization enables personalized outreach to clients. Use it to succeed with the new generation of buyers.
Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.
by Art Waskey | Dec 5, 2022 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Changing Sales Dynamics
In the book, Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters states: “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention”. As a result of digitalization, sales dynamics are changing at an accelerated pace. Furthermore, this has caused a lot of confusion. To put the chaos in order, I find that taking the time to plan a solution to the problem is the best approach. As Collin Powell said, “There is no secret to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Let’s look at how to build a successful sales team for the digital age.
More Proactive Inside Sales
Alternatively, prior to the pandemic, the distributor sales strategy was based on the complementary pairing of outside salespersons with inside customer service teams. Each group had contrasting skill sets. Additionally, the outside team was the face of the company that brought in the customers, while the inside group took care of the details. They worked together to satisfy customer needs.
With the introduction of digital capabilities like ERPs, CRMs, eCommerce, and AI-driven customer analytics, the dynamics of selling have been radically altered. The digitizing of customer data has enabled businesses to become increasingly effective in identifying and meeting customer demand.
However, today’s inside sales team has new resources that enable it to take on more complex roles. With customer analytics and AI-generated insights on their desktops, they can be more proactive and less reactive.
Reframing the Outside Sales Team
Moreover, With the changing role of an inside sales team, the outside sales team’s value proposition role shifts. Although, it becomes less transactional and more like that of a counselor/partner/profit producer. According to McKinsey & Company, companies that personalized sales and marketing were 60% more likely to grow market share in 2021. Additionally, 72% of B2B buyers said they would actively look for a new supplier if their current one doesn’t offer a consistent customer experience across all channels. The sales relationship’s basis in trust remains critical. However, the client must believe the field rep is working in the customer’s best interest.
The Objective
The objective of a successful digital sales team is to remove any stress caused by these developments. Lastly, an effective digitally integrated sales program includes the elements covered above. It can eliminate much of the confusion that can be caused by a lack of understanding. Put your carefully constructed digital sales strategy plan in place today.
