Soar to Success June 2021

W e have experience a great deal of disruption due to the pandemic over the past year. Some businesses were closed, others deemed essential were open but their teams worked remotely. Buyers were not meeting with current vendor salespeople not to mention new salespeople trying to win their business. What will the future of sales look like? Will we go back to normal like the pre pandemic model? Will sales be forever changed? What will the future of sales look like? I amhearing the above questions often enough to produce webinars and speak at sales conference on the subject of what sales will look like in the future. Before I sharemy prediction I want to share some research data by McKinsey. 70%-80% of B2B Decision Makers Prefer Digital and Virtual Human Interactions 77% Of B2B Decision Makers Prefer Video (Zoom, Teams) To A Phone Call With New Suppliers By Mark Allen Roberts What Is The Future of Sales And HowShouldWe Strategically Adapt? 89% Of B2B Decision Makers Said Likelihood of Virtual Human Interactions Will Continue The next data set comes from working with my clients and observing them strategically pivot how they sell based on market constraints. We conducted voice of the customer research for a large distribution company in the B2B space and over 63% of their clients preferred virtual sales to face to face. Why? Efficiency The customers shared they liked virtual engagement because it was quick, efficient and they could invite a number of purchase influencers to meetings. They went on to share it has bothered them for years that salespeople would show up without an appointment and consume hours of their time and distract their other teammembers. Working with large manufacturers in the B2B space we also experienced some change. Cost of Sales Anumberofmymanufacturingclientsexperienced flat sales compared to prior but a significant