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In the age of the customer, where only customer-obsessed enterprises will survive, far too many companies remain overly invested in expensive and commission-driven offline sales resources. The truth is that eCommerce is both more convenient for buyers (whether B2B or B2C) and more efficient for sellers.

What does this mean for the sales organization?

Empowered buyers demand exceptional service, when and where they need it. Successful salespeople understand the need to deliver value with every engagement opportunity. How can you do this efficiently?

In a recently published report  “Death of a (B2B) Salesman”, Forrester Research analyzed the impact of digital disruption on sales organizations.

Their findings were that broadly speaking, buyers fall into four different types. These are based on a combination of the complexity of the product or service they are seeking and the buying environment within which they operate.

Understanding these different buyer types and using this knowledge to learn more about yourself as a salesperson, what seller type you are, and what skills you need to succeed in a digital world is what will make you successful in this digitally dominant environment.

Below is a quick summary of the different seller types and some recommendations on best actions forward. Perhaps you can identify with more than one…

·       If you mainly function as an order taker, you’re the most vulnerable to displacement since you’re likely selling to pre-decided, ready-to-transact, empowered buyers who can purchase more efficiently through self-serve eCommerce websites. Move now to raise your skill set and ability to deliver value in every engagement.

·       If your strength is being an explainer, enumerating the value of products and services over the phone or in person to clients, you’re not safe either. Your buyers are increasingly leveraging content (e.g., via FAQs, using how-to videos, and leveraging syndicated user generated content), putting you at risk of losing your job to self-serve eCommerce websites. Embrace technology and identify areas where you can augment the knowledge buyers will increasingly come armed with.

·       If you’re a navigator, you excel at leveraging personal relationships and knowledge of B2B client internal operations — value that technology cannot easily replace. Successful navigators typically have intangible and hard-to-train qualities and high emotional intelligence. Seek opportunities to upskill into a consultant sales position by leveraging these traits.

· If you thrive in consulting situations, you are typically strong at relationship and solution selling, effectively integrating yourself into the key functions of your clients' business and engaging in "problem-finding." In other words, you are not under threat from advances in technology or changing buyer behavior since you already understand how to leverage these disruptions to understand your customers' problems better. 

If you’d like to hear more about how organisations are overcoming the challenges of selling to the digital buyer,  register for our upcoming Mastering Sales in a Digital World seminar. You’ll hear a presentation from guest speaker Michael Barnes, VP, Research Director, Forrester; as well as insightful customer stories.

We hope to see you there.