6+1 coronavirus lessons for leading sales organizations in a recovering market.
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 6:35 am
coronavirus lessons
For many sales organizations, these have been difficult months and it will continue to be that way. Some have taken advantage of the time and started their digital transformations (coronavirus lessons). It is surprising how Mexico and Panama are the countries with the greatest search for help in this field. Does the rest of Latin America feel comfortable?
There aren't many jobs where you're in an environment where you almost feel guilty about doing your job.
This was a common sentiment among many sales professionals when COVID-19 first struck, what have been the biggest coronavirus lessons?
Here are seven coronavirus lessons we’ve learned from witnessing the most effective sales organizations get back on track during these challenging times.
6 coronavirus lessons learned from successful sales organizations
Coronavirus lessons 1: digital transformation accelerates
Digital transformation was in motion long before COVID-19 hit the scene. Sellers have been using sales technology to connect with buyers for years.
But this current scenario, where face-to-face meetings are rare, forces sales professionals to adopt virtual selling tools more than ever. For example, our State of Sales report found that 77% of sales professionals are doing more video meetings.
It's unclear when face-to-face meetings will return. I've spoken accounting directors email lists to clients who have no plans to allow salespeople and vendors on-site for at least a year, even after their offices and factories reopen. (coronavirus lessons)
The bottom line: Being comfortable with building relationships in a virtual environment will be essential for sales professionals for the foreseeable future.
coronavirus lessons 2: Having the ability to lead through change is very critical.
In a recent State of Sales survey released by LinkedIn, 70% of sales managers said the ability to lead through change (coronavirus lessons) is more important than it was five years ago.
I guess sales managers would say that leading change is an even more important skill right now.
coronavirus lessons 3: Understanding the buyer's or customer's point of view (empathy) is essential to delivering value.
In this environment, sales professionals need to deeply understand their customers, so they can deliver value instead of worrying about revenue.
While some companies remain struggling, others are beginning to explore the possibility of buying again. And then there are additional businesses that are in growth mode during the current environment.
For companies that have been hit hard by COVID-19, this may not be the time to engage in business conversations. We are advising our sales teams to focus on how they can help potential buyers right now, and not worry about generating revenue.
And for the companies that are thriving, we are finding it acceptable to reach out and sell them good lessons from the coronavirus right now.
coronavirus lessons 4: When you have sales conversations, make sure it is directed to the CFO or CEO depending on the size of the company
In most companies, the appetite for non-valuable conversations is very low. Return on investment – the faster the better – has always been a factor in purchasing decisions, but it is truer than ever in the current climate.
For our outreach to potential buyers, our litmus test is: “Would this presentation pass muster with the CFO or CEO?”
The value story should be front and center in the language of the presentation.
While C-level executives are analyzing more deals on the buyer side, they are also more active on the seller side.
In fact, our sales teams are asking me and my executive team to engage in more conversations with buyers.
Companies require their purchases to be an integral part of their strategy, so we are seeing a lot of high-level conversations with our potential clients.
Coronavirus lessons 5: Data becomes more crucial in the marketing and sales process – Without data we will not survive.
A commitment to using data to analyze your market will be table stakes, if it isn’t already, this critique draws on coronavirus lessons.
This type of data can determine, for example, whether certain companies are more likely to invest and how their salespeople can effectively address buyer objections.
Data is also very effective for assessing which accounts, industries, and geographies are relatively financially healthy. Check out Segmentation .
By identifying the buyers most likely to make purchases in the current environment, sales teams will be more efficient in focusing their time on the deals that are most likely to close.
Coronavirus lessons 6: Your team needs to develop new skills
One way to make the most of this transition period is to have your sales team take a step back and use this period to learn new skills.
For example, sales leaders can use this time to teach their teams how to become thought leaders on social media or to become more effective in using sales intelligence technology like Business Intelligence. A very cost-effective program to help them with competitive and organizational intelligence.
Thought leadership is particularly crucial. It is one of the ways your sales professionals can build trust even before the initial outreach to a prospective buyer.
While your less experienced salespeople may be more comfortable using social media to distribute thought leadership, your more seasoned salespeople may have the industry knowledge to share insightful thought leadership that can differentiate them and your company.
For sales professionals looking to learn new skills in today’s environment, Ramping Rapid offers a series of free courses. Three courses that are especially relevant to today’s market needs: Empathy for Sales Professionals, Leading Virtual Meetings, and Remote Work.
For many sales organizations, these have been difficult months and it will continue to be that way. Some have taken advantage of the time and started their digital transformations (coronavirus lessons). It is surprising how Mexico and Panama are the countries with the greatest search for help in this field. Does the rest of Latin America feel comfortable?
There aren't many jobs where you're in an environment where you almost feel guilty about doing your job.
This was a common sentiment among many sales professionals when COVID-19 first struck, what have been the biggest coronavirus lessons?
Here are seven coronavirus lessons we’ve learned from witnessing the most effective sales organizations get back on track during these challenging times.
6 coronavirus lessons learned from successful sales organizations
Coronavirus lessons 1: digital transformation accelerates
Digital transformation was in motion long before COVID-19 hit the scene. Sellers have been using sales technology to connect with buyers for years.
But this current scenario, where face-to-face meetings are rare, forces sales professionals to adopt virtual selling tools more than ever. For example, our State of Sales report found that 77% of sales professionals are doing more video meetings.
It's unclear when face-to-face meetings will return. I've spoken accounting directors email lists to clients who have no plans to allow salespeople and vendors on-site for at least a year, even after their offices and factories reopen. (coronavirus lessons)
The bottom line: Being comfortable with building relationships in a virtual environment will be essential for sales professionals for the foreseeable future.
coronavirus lessons 2: Having the ability to lead through change is very critical.
In a recent State of Sales survey released by LinkedIn, 70% of sales managers said the ability to lead through change (coronavirus lessons) is more important than it was five years ago.
I guess sales managers would say that leading change is an even more important skill right now.
coronavirus lessons 3: Understanding the buyer's or customer's point of view (empathy) is essential to delivering value.
In this environment, sales professionals need to deeply understand their customers, so they can deliver value instead of worrying about revenue.
While some companies remain struggling, others are beginning to explore the possibility of buying again. And then there are additional businesses that are in growth mode during the current environment.
For companies that have been hit hard by COVID-19, this may not be the time to engage in business conversations. We are advising our sales teams to focus on how they can help potential buyers right now, and not worry about generating revenue.
And for the companies that are thriving, we are finding it acceptable to reach out and sell them good lessons from the coronavirus right now.
coronavirus lessons 4: When you have sales conversations, make sure it is directed to the CFO or CEO depending on the size of the company
In most companies, the appetite for non-valuable conversations is very low. Return on investment – the faster the better – has always been a factor in purchasing decisions, but it is truer than ever in the current climate.
For our outreach to potential buyers, our litmus test is: “Would this presentation pass muster with the CFO or CEO?”
The value story should be front and center in the language of the presentation.
While C-level executives are analyzing more deals on the buyer side, they are also more active on the seller side.
In fact, our sales teams are asking me and my executive team to engage in more conversations with buyers.
Companies require their purchases to be an integral part of their strategy, so we are seeing a lot of high-level conversations with our potential clients.
Coronavirus lessons 5: Data becomes more crucial in the marketing and sales process – Without data we will not survive.
A commitment to using data to analyze your market will be table stakes, if it isn’t already, this critique draws on coronavirus lessons.
This type of data can determine, for example, whether certain companies are more likely to invest and how their salespeople can effectively address buyer objections.
Data is also very effective for assessing which accounts, industries, and geographies are relatively financially healthy. Check out Segmentation .
By identifying the buyers most likely to make purchases in the current environment, sales teams will be more efficient in focusing their time on the deals that are most likely to close.
Coronavirus lessons 6: Your team needs to develop new skills
One way to make the most of this transition period is to have your sales team take a step back and use this period to learn new skills.
For example, sales leaders can use this time to teach their teams how to become thought leaders on social media or to become more effective in using sales intelligence technology like Business Intelligence. A very cost-effective program to help them with competitive and organizational intelligence.
Thought leadership is particularly crucial. It is one of the ways your sales professionals can build trust even before the initial outreach to a prospective buyer.
While your less experienced salespeople may be more comfortable using social media to distribute thought leadership, your more seasoned salespeople may have the industry knowledge to share insightful thought leadership that can differentiate them and your company.
For sales professionals looking to learn new skills in today’s environment, Ramping Rapid offers a series of free courses. Three courses that are especially relevant to today’s market needs: Empathy for Sales Professionals, Leading Virtual Meetings, and Remote Work.