There’s truly no going back to the old world of meeting buyers and building relationships face to face. The B2B sales world has changed forever, full stop
As a result airlines, trains, hotels, car rental, loyalty schemes etc. will all need to adapt to survive – and luckily most of them will fundamentally change shape and thrive
And so of course will ‘enterprise’ software firms.. or will they?
IMO there’s a big problem. You’d imagine technology firms would be all over this opportunity. Aren’t they super creative, innovative, agile and dynamic? Isn’t that what tech’s all about?
Honestly, the answer is no. Every day I talk to sales leadership about the need to change .. to adopt a more digital approach, to become more buyer centric, to focus on value and customer outcomes and how to succeed in the new hybrid world – but increasingly I sense that there’s a very real, deep rooted fear of change and doing things differently
After riding the wave of growth for many years, senior tech executives are reticent to take risk. Honestly, they have become the very luddites the technology world has laughed at
This is the problem of years and years of easy growth. Complacency has set in and ultimately many tech firms will quietly waste away in the fog of past success
I’m told almost daily by sales leaders that they couldn’t possibly ask their sales organization to do things differently. Yes, they’re happy to provide them with more support tools and data – but they’re not planning to fundamentally change the way their sellers sell or the engagement process they follow
Sales leaders, it’s time to get a grip! Just because you have a fully trained MEDDIC team or the latest edition of SFDC, Seismic or Gong – it doesn’t mean you’re ready for the new world of B2B selling
These methodologies and tools simply won’t enable sellers in the face of increasingly large, remote buying groups or ballooning product choice (much of which will be product led)
Just like the hospitality industry, fundamental and transformational change is required
B2B buyers want to engage digitally – but they also want in-person ‘guides’. They don’t want to be sold to or pushed – but they do want subject matter experts to help to make sense of the solution landscape and their challenges. They don’t want dinner – but they do want help with managing consensus and building a strong value case
Sales teams need to adapt to this new buying paradigm. They need to transform their approach and their skillset if they’re to survive
At cuvama we’re helping technology firms make the changes necessary to thrive. Our customers are forward thinking CEO’s and CRO’s who are willing to embrace change and know that simple tweaks won’t win in the new buyer centric, hybrid world. They’re already seeing double digit performance increases in new logo wins, expansion and retention
If you’d like to know more about the success our customers are enjoying – then please get in touch.
