Overview

These five trends are changing sales!

Ordering sports shoes, fridges or groceries from bed at three in the morning using your smartphone? This is no longer a problem – shopping has become incredibly convenient. And what decision-makers have long been accustomed to and greatly appreciate in their private lives, they increasingly expect in the business world too. Suppliers should provide comprehensive information about their products and services online and ideally be accessible at any time and on various channels. By the time the first contact is made with a sales representative, potential customers have already acquired a great deal of knowledge, demand very specific information on all possible details and want to receive a binding offer quickly. Those who fail to deliver are quickly weeded out. After all, there are numerous providers worldwide with a comparable portfolio – and in addition to quality and price, speed is also playing an increasingly important role. From the decision-makers’ point of view, this is absolutely understandable. However, this presents companies – and sales in particular – with considerable challenges.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to these challenges. However, a look at current trends provides impetus that each company can implement individually.

Trend 1: Digitalization of sales channels

The digitalization of sales channels will be decisive for business success in the future. This is also the view of the almost 2,800 sales managers surveyed in a study by management consultants Roland Berger. One example: Ideally, customers will not only be able to add the desired product to their digital shopping cart with just a few clicks, they will also be able to customize it to their liking beforehand using an online configurator. And preferably not just on a PC in the office, but also on a smartphone or tablet while on the move. Despite increasing autonomy, personal contact with the customer is by no means becoming obsolete. However, sales must adapt to new requirements. After all, customers expect to be able to reach them at all times – on the analog or digital channel they prefer and at any time.

Trend 2: Added value through more knowledge

Even if the customer expects to find all the information about a product or service online, it is generally not possible to resolve all ambiguities in this way. This is why personal contact with a sales representative is required at some point in the purchasing process. This usually involves clarifying details about the product or tailoring it to individual requirements. The standard program of more or less promotional statements is therefore no longer enough for sales today. The specialist knowledge of every sales employee and within the entire sales organization must increase considerably, and information must be easily accessible at all times. This is the only way for sales to offer customers added value. Another point: answers must be given directly. Putting the customer off until next week because the sales employee first has to enquire about a possible delivery date in production no longer works.

Trend 3: Improved collaboration across departmental boundaries

Because speed is becoming increasingly important, it is important to run through internal processes as smoothly and, above all, as quickly as possible – before the customer decides to go with the faster competitor after all. In many companies, however, the process is often bumpier than expected: the desired product has to be coordinated with production, purchasing and other departments. This results in a large number of documents that either gather dust in paper form in desk drawers or are stored digitally in opaque folder structures – the search costs time and nerves. It is therefore extremely important to improve collaboration across departmental boundaries. This can usually be achieved by digitizing internal sales processes in addition to the sales channels.

Trend 4: Service as an information and distribution channel

Even after a successfully completed purchase, the company remains in contact with the customer – or at least it should. And like any good relationship, this also needs to be maintained. This is where service comes into play, ensuring that the milling machine always mills as it should, for example. If the service does a good job here, it strengthens customer loyalty enormously. But that’s not all. Sales can also benefit from receiving information about the customer’s situation: Are they basically satisfied with the product or should critical points be actively addressed? Does the customer currently have additional needs and which services could be of interest to them in the future? The service employees pick up such valuable information as they go along. It is important that this information is then systematically passed on to the sales department. Here too, good collaboration is the decisive factor. And it also works the other way round: if the service department has close and trusting contact with the customer, it can cross-sell and up-sell very effectively. Service itself then becomes a sales channel.

Trend 5: Intelligent technologies for optimized processes

Intelligent technologies help to avoid getting lost in the flood of data and information during sales talks, thereby wasting valuable time. Internal processes are also accelerated if all information is not only stored in a central location, but also linked with each other. This not only improves communication and collaboration between departments, but also the monitoring and control of individual processes. This leaves more time for the essentials: Providing customers with the best possible offer with competent and personal advice and successfully closing the sale.