How Technology Transforms B2B Salespeople Into Sales Heroes with Mary Shea

When humans can’t find ways of solving problems, technology steps in and does the job.

The same principle can apply to B2B sales.

The evolution of enablement technology in B2B sales has allowed sellers to be more efficient and effective.

At the same time, buying teams has changed, and culture is increasingly important to the success of any organization.

What are the main changes that impact B2B salespeople, and how can they deal with them? Mary Shea, B2B sales expert, former Forrester Analyst, and currently the first-ever Global Innovation Evangelist at Outreach, joins us in this podcast to dig into how B2B sellers can level up their game.

What aspects have and haven’t changed in B2B sales?

In B2B sales, more things have changed in the last five years than fifty. Though we live in a world where the voices of B2B sellers are amplified by technology, the relationship-building aspects will never change.

People always buy from people. Thus, empathy is an essential piece of the equation, and B2B sellers should authentically connect and empathize with the challenges and pains of their customers.

Nowadays, digitally native millennials are primary decision-makers and influencers in any B2B sale. Recent studies show that the number one preferred channel buyers had for interacting with sellers was remote or virtual.

There are also likely to be multiple buyers involved in the sale process, between eleven and twenty-two people on the buy side evaluating a product or service, depending on its complexity. These days, procurement and finance – whether it’s the CFO or VP of Finance – are inserting themselves pretty early into the cycle.

“The research I’ve seen shows that sales leaders value in sellers a range of different attributes, but they love relationship building. So I do think the relationship-building piece will never change.”

Mary Shea, Global Innovation Evangelist at Outreach

Remote or virtual versus in-person meetings

We know that the number one preferred channel for interacting with sellers is remote or virtual. But do buyers favor this method in all sale stages or just the first meeting?

There is no definite answer to that question. What we do know is that buyers value efficiency. A remote buying cycle can increase efficiency in the early stages, so buyers might prefer to meet remotely at first, and then conduct final meetings in person. However, people still crave interaction, and they do want to meet their salespeople. Think about changing the locations of these in-person meetings, and think about capitalizing on industry events as well as utilizing company headquarters.

Is technology the answer to all problems?

Salespeople have more tools than ever. Some are great and help them manage various business aspects and produce the best results. However, some organizations are throwing new tools at their sales reps instead of changing their behavior.

At the end of the day, it’s about having the right talent, upskilling and reskilling that talent, collaborating, optimizing processes in your workflows and go-to-market, as well as adopting the right sales tech stack.

Is sales automation taking humanity out of selling?

Actually, it’s the opposite. Automation puts more humanity back into selling, as it allows sellers to step away from low-value, repetitive tasks and open up a world where they can do more research, have more conversations, get the right data, and understand how to present that in a meaningful way to their customers and prospects.

“Automation is bringing more humanity to the sales process and, quite frankly, more humanity to the selling role.”

Mary Shea, Global Innovation Evangelist at Outreach

Now that you know how technology can transform B2B salespeople… learn how to apply other tactics and tools for a disruptive B2B marketing and sales strategy. Check out the full list of episodes here: The B2B Revenue Executive Experience, and instructions on how to rate and review the show are here.

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