2016 will be the year of selling. In every industry.
As this year draws to a close, I’m seeing and hearing all sorts of cool stuff, so let’s talk about what to pay attention to next year. There are some pretty cool pieces of information that can give you an edge and make it a stellar year.
2015 we realized the importance of selling, and 2016 is for getting serious about how and why to sell effectively.
Read through these sales stats and predictions and decide where you want to focus your efforts. And you have to take a look at the awesome infographic on the future of selling!
(click here to listen to the podcast or the play button below)
I’m also quite excited to be one of the speakers for Soho Victoria, so if you’re in town, come check it out!
The Future of Selling
Buyer and seller interactions are changing. Over the coming years, sellers who bring more value and build trust will reap massive benefits long term. Buyers are beginning to see the importance of vendors as strategic partners, and sellers must develop their skill sets to align with these new and exciting conversations.
Buyers will expect more from salespeople. Better conversations, deeper insights, and specific solutions to their problems. They don’t want to waste their time being sold to, but will appreciate relevant and focused interactions.
Sellers need to simplify. With the increased complexity in technology, process, and communication, it will be more important than ever for sellers to keep things simple, stay authentic, and connect personally.
It’s time to get serious about your sales skills. The need to develop formal training and coaching processes and conversations is more important than ever. Over the past few years, companies have begun to realize that while the sexy new age of inbound marketing, social selling, and online funnels have been great for lead generation, there is a huge need to focus more on selling and direct customer interactions. And with the lack of formal sales training, it’s nearly impossible to sort through all the ways to develop yourself.
Technology does not replace the human interaction, but it still does matter. With the vast array of tools available for salespeople, it’s been easy to get caught in simply digital selling. The new way forward will require a hybrid sales approach that involves the use of pre-sales data and research, combined with highly insightful and focused sales conversations that help buyers immediately. An overwhelmed and over-communicated to customer will appreciate the value of this hybrid sales process, resulting in more non-competitive deals, higher average dollars per customers, and a shortened sales cycle.
Sellers need to chill out and be normal. If you read my blog, listen to my podcast, or hang with me on Whiskey Fridays, you know how much I talk about being authentic, spiritual, and not being a “salesy weirdo.” People WANT to buy your stuff, so stop selling like a weirdo and be more like two humans talking! Buyers are ready to trust, so don’t ruin it by selling.
2015 was the year of seeing the importance of selling and process. 2016 is now the year of investing in your sales processes and conversations to increase conversions and decrease selling time.
Sales coaching, along with coaching for pretty much anything, will see a big rise as most people involved in selling activities have no formal sales training and must rely on either incomplete information or old knowledge. With the pace of change, there’s not much time to try and “figure it out” so the smart money is on asking for some help and guidance
[Tweet “2015 we realized the importance of selling. 2016 is for getting serious about how & why to sell effectively. “]Some Cool Sales Stats for 2016 (Plus an Awesome Infographic!)
2016 is poised to be a big year for those who take advantage of it. As my team is closing out the year, we have realized that all of the hard work we did to ramp up 2015 is now really paying off. Look at these numbers below and ask yourself what you are going to take advantage of. Are you ready to rock your next year?
OFFER: And if you need help, we have started building our new sales coaching program if you are looking to get that support to achieve your goals. Whether you have a small business that offers services or are a sales rep that wants to kill it for your target, we have the ultimate conversation coaching system. It’s pretty awesome. I’m almost full for January, so most likely we can look at February unless you jump on it. Email me at joe@changegrowachieve.com for info.
Back to the numbers:
- 83% of businesses have agreed that the selling process is more complex, according to CEB. This will require a need for sellers to learn how to simplify their processes, communication, and their conversations.
- According to SAP, 80% of buyers know what they are looking for prior to speaking with a salesperson. This means that the sales conversation needs to be more meaningful and demonstrate value of the sales process, rather than that of the product or service. What value do YOU as the seller bring to the table?
- More than 90% of buyers want vendors to consider themselves partners aiming to win together. How will you position yourself as a strategic partner, rather than simply a vendor or a nuisance? Can you help your clients see around corners, uncover hidden opportunities, avoid landmines, or highlight blindspots? Are you committed to your customers success or just the sale?
- 39% of buyers are frustrated with an overly scripted sales process. If you want an easy tool to help you with this, check out my Sales Call Rubric. Ditch the script. And don’t wing it either!
- More executives and decision makers feel the increasing need to trust sellers and sales teams. How will you change your conversations and and create deeper trust with your clients?
- Inbound marketing will do wonders for sales – as long as the marketing message and the sales conversation are continuous and not disconnected. 47% of customers want to be provided a consistent experience, regardless of the channel. No matter how your customers end up in your system, do they get the full show? Are all your team members treating your clients the same? Do they truly believe that your entire organization has shared values? And do your marketing and sales conversations use the same language?
Now…check this bad boy out!!
[Tweet “Check out this infographic and stats on the future of selling in 2016 and beyond”]Sources:
SAP, CEB, Hubspot, Techcrunch, CIO
- Techsmith Camtasia 2020 Review & Tutorial: 10 New Lovable Features - May 30, 2020
- The Top 5 Sales Mistakes (And How to Fix Them) - October 26, 2016
- Sales Conversation Roadmap [VIDEO] - April 1, 2016