The basic sales methodology has always been a 4-phase approach: Identify, Connect, Explore, Advise. You turn strangers into leads, leads into qualified leads, and then create opportunities to turn leads into customers. It’s a tried-and-true procedure that has worked for decades, and one that has always relied on interpersonal communication and relationship building. And it’s typically bookended with a handshake. So, when the pandemic struck in 2020 and every meeting went virtual, sales teams were faced with one of the steepest tasks imaginable: making sales through a screen a “personal” experience.
At the time, lockdowns, physical distancing, and Zooms seemed to be the “new normal.” Sales teams, like many, had to find ways to not only make virtual meetings engaging. They had to make their approach more personal – more human. This is backed by a Sendoso survey which reported, “91% of revenue leaders believe building a human connection with their buyers has become more important to closing sales since March of 2022.” And the results spoke for themselves, as the same survey showed a 64% client retention and deeper client relationship, all with 54% more closed sales.
That’s all well and good on paper, but how did successful revenue-generating professionals actually do it? Furthermore, how long were they prepared to work this way? The latter question, like much of 2020 (and even 2021), was unclear. After all, everyone believed this to be the “new normal,” right? The former question, however, focuses on a simple concept with complicated execution: Knowing the buyer and their priorities.
While the idea of sending personalized gifts is one way to butter up a lead, it doesn’t garner the trust necessary to build a long-lasting and lucrative relationships. That trust is created by conveying how to solve the customer’s needs while consistently delivering relevant and memorable customer experiences. In essence, closed deals rely less on charm and more on value-adding touchpoints. In a virtual setting, however, this requires sales teams to leverage first-party data to better personalize the end-to-end buyer journey and take their CX to the next level. And, according to Adobe, the organizations in 2020 with best-in-class customer experiences were 3x more likely to outpace their competitors who took a more mainstream approach.
By early 2021, top sellers had embraced all of the aforementioned strategies and approaches. This was the “new normal” …until their worlds were once again turned upside down by the actual “new normal.”
2022 is Almost Over. So are Pandemic-Driven Restrictions. Is Sales Back to “Normal”?
The short answer is no, but it’s a little more complicated than that. With the icy grip of the pandemic and its accompanying isolation and uncertainty all but behind us, interpersonal communication is back on the rise. However, not everyone is eager to go back to the normalcy of pre-2020. Many have found comfort and safety in working from home, while others have decided to maintain social distancing as their new way of life.
This creates a hybrid sales environment for revenue-generators, one that incorporates everything they knew before the pandemic and the lessons learned during it. So, while the skillset is there for sellers to navigate their way through the sales cycle with respect to customers’ personal preferences, success for sales teams in their “new normal” is contingent on their ability to pivot and balance their approaches according to customer wants and needs. After all, COVID left some inevitable scars on society, as McKinsey & Company found only about 31% of B2B buyers want to return to in-person sales.
How Long Will This “New Normal” Last?
While more and more people are reacclimating to in-person meetings, many are set in remaining as virtual as possible. Where that number plateaus, however, remains to be seen. Fortunately, the lessons learned in 2020 and 2021 have empowered sellers to handle whatever the future throws at them.
In sales, the name of the game is and always has been knowing the customer. And the “new normal” for sales teams is not much different. The trick now – the lone caveat – is knowing how comfortable the customer is with starting and ending the cycle with a handshake.
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