Be Different or be dead

July 23, 2018

The traditional sales model is dead for these 6 simple reasons

Source: Unsplash

The traditional sales model is dead for these 6 simple reasons.

Adapt or die —we have seen this consequence play out for centuries.

Particularly now, in this post COVID-19 era, it’s a matter of survival for sales to pay attention to the changes in the environment that demand a change in the way sales has been practiced prior to the pandemic; many of current sales fundamentals are not sustainable in the new normal.

If sales is to maintain relevance in today’s world, a transformation of the way it is practiced is required. Not just incremental change, but a completely new approach. Blowing up the old model; building a new discipline.

This is why traditional sales practices are no longer relevant:

1. Customer choice

People have virtually unlimited choice today from a variety of suppliers whose numbers that grow daily. In particular, COVID-19 has caused a completely unexpected increase in the online business.

During lockdowns and in an effort to maintain physical distancing, consumers are turning to the internet to buy what they need. And businesses have literally stopped buying as their customer base is drying up while everyone is forced or stay as close to home as possible and governments try to figure out how to open up the economy safely.

The expansion of the selling market to include more players — including DIY — increases the competitive pressures on traditional sales to attract and keep customers.

Customers wield much more power now than they did mere months ago and traditional sales will have to discover how to successfully play in this much different world.

And with the proliferation of competitors comes the need for sales to be much clearer on why people should buy from their organization as opposed to the competition; unique selling propositions in the old sales world have been woefully inadequate and confusing to potential customers.

And they need to talk to value and not continue to flog the “buy from me because our prices are cheaper than anyone else” message which is tiring and quite frankly untrue in the majority of instances.

Reasons to buy must be much clearer and specific otherwise sales will falter and die.

2. Individuals not crowds

Personal markets where the wants and desires of the individual are taking a dominant place in the demand for goods and services, replacing products which are positioned for mass markets based on the average common needs of people in a crowded market segment.

People want their cravings taken care of; they are turned off by the assumption that they are like the crowd in any way.

Crowd-based mass market messaging is therefore becoming less effective and is returning less as a communications investment. Targeted personalized sales communication to individuals is required to ensure customers get the precise value they want.

3. Switching suppliers

Customers are becoming more fickle and are able to switch suppliers with ease. Barriers that once existed are disappearing as switching costs approach zero.
Customers use this opportunity to hop from one organization to another much more frequently than in the past.

The only defence against this is for sales to create strong barriers to customer exit, an imperative that has never been given a high sales priority in the past. This involves paying more attention to loyalty considerations in the sales process than simply trying to push product.

And because of high market churn, acquiring new customers relies more than ever on obtaining referrals from the existing customer base, again stressing the need to build strong customer relationships.

4. Teamwork

Sales is less of an island in the organization. It is only one element an organization has to deliver as part of the organization’s value proposition. The sales identity is rapidly blending with marketing and customer service to respond to the holistic needs of a customer.
Customers are forcing sales itself to provide better customer service.

Customer loyalty has to be earned at every touch point be it personal contact, an organization’s web site, communications media and social media.
All customer interfaces must work together seamlessly and synergistically and must carry the same message and engage the customer in the same way.

Sales will be challenged to give up their traditional narcissistic view and adopt more of a team view of what they must contribute.
Sales gunslingers which were saluted in the past will be admonished in the future.

5. Customer ideals

People are buying more and more from organizations that align with their values and belief system — social responsibilities, environmental-friendliness, philanthropic intent and so on.

If sales can’t (or won’t) take the time to discover the ideals held by each and every one of their clients, they will seriously damage the relationships they have with their customers and jeopardize future sales opportunities.

6. Flogging is passé

No longer is it acceptable for the salesperson to flog products and services at people; people hate the process and simply won’t buy.
Sales must move from this approach and rely on creating an engagement approach that people actually enjoy and not feel pressured into a purchase.

People are buying experiences now rather than product functionality and technology. They take for granted that the technology is state of the art and that the product will deliver what it says it will. What makes someone buy from one salesperson and not another is how they feel about the sales individual as a person — are they likeable? — and the sales process they are being put through.

The product flogger is obsolete as will be the organization that continues to try and use it as the sales role.

The insightful ones are quickly moving to a world flogging fan relationships and customer intimacy is the new normal for sales.

New sales muscle is required to address these new realities.

Are you re-inventing your sales machine?

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 7.23.18 at 04:33 am by Roy Osing
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