a new era of selling is here. are you...

COPYRIGHT © 2017 FORBES

A NEW ERA OF SELLING IS HERE. ARE YOU READY?Four ways to transform and accelerate your sales cycle

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

INTELLIGENT LIGHTING FOR BRIGHTER TOMORROWS | 2


Table of Contents

Introduction | PG 3

PART 1

Staffing your team with the right people | PG 4

PART 2

Creating and instilling a marketing mindset | PG 9

PART 3

Doing more with automation and artificial intelligence | PG 12

PART 4

Connecting your data for a better customer experience | PG 15 Looking forward | PG 18


Mastering the art of selling is more complicated than ever. Widespread smartphone penetration is helping customers compare prices, research products, and weigh competing offers, all in real time. These customers are armed with information and eager for real-time engagement, expecting personalized service and experiences at every touchpoint. “Customers today are more educated, more demanding, and want answers right away,” says Tony Rodoni, executive vice president of SMB sales at Salesforce, a leading provider of customer relationship management cloud software for SMBs and one of Forbes’ Most Innovative Companies of 2016. “Today’s sales teams need to add more value to the customer journey.” To satisfy these demands, savvy sales teams are shifting from driving transactions to building compelling customer experiences. Gartner predicts that more than 50% of organizations will redirect their investments to customer experience innovations by 2018.

Introduction

1 2 3 4

INTRODUCTION | 3

More than simply catering to customer needs, there are tangible benefits to improving customer interactions. A Walker study reveals that, by the year 2020, customer experience will displace price and product as the key brand differentiator. But delivering always-on, personalized experiences can be challenging, especially if a sales team is bogged down by slow, inefficient processes. So how can sales teams keep up in a fast-paced and demanding environment?

This e-book will explore the four ways growing companies can accelerate sales in a highly competitive environment:

1. Staffing your team with the right people 2. Creating and instilling a marketing mindset 3. Doing more with automation and artificial intelligence 4. Connecting your data for a better customer experience

Together, these strategies can ensure customers are met with compelling and consistent experiences at every step of the purchasing path.

2018

2020

of organizations will redirect their investments to customer experience innovation.

50%

Customer experience will displace price and product as the key brand differentiator.

more than




PART 1Staffing your team with the right people


I n today’s hyper-competitive selling environment, a brand is only as good as its best sales rep. That’s especially true for growing businesses with modest talent pools and little margin for error.

A single slip-up by a well-intentioned rep can have a calamitous impact on a brand’s reputation – and revenue. But hiring the right talent takes more than evaluating a candidate’s skill sets and work experience. Says Rodoni: “When you hire talent in this environment, it’s more important to identify and hire consultative sellers than transactional sellers. Don’t hire an order taker – get someone who is actually adding value and representing the best interests of both the company and the buyer.”

Nor should sales reps rely on heavy product pitches. A whopping 80% of business buyers say it’s absolutely critical or very

important to interact with a salesperson who doesn’t try to sell them products they don’t need, according to the Salesforce 2016 State of the Connected Customer Report. The result is a new breed of sales associate – a fast-thinking problem solver and a valuable business partner. Moving beyond the traditional script of selling goods and services, this individual creates personalized customer experiences. In fact, customer experience is now ranked as the top KPI type used by many sales teams to measure success, according to Salesforce’s State of Sales report. However, as the role of the salesperson evolves, brands are embracing creative techniques for hiring and training top talent.

STAFFING YOUR TEAM WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE | 5

say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who doesn’t try to sell them products they don’t need.

80% OF BUSINESS BUYERS



How long have you been selling? What are your sales expertise? These are some of the most common questions asked of job candidates. But smart hiring managers look beyond the basics to find individuals that can kick-start the sales cycle. Curiosity, integrity, drive, passion – they’re among the capabilities Dan Ross, Salesforce’s senior AVP of commercial sales, recommends brands look for in a new hire. “Some of our best software reps had never sold software before joining us,” he notes. “In fact, some of our best closers had never closed a deal before working here.”

Another best recruitment practice for growing businesses: “Make sure you hire salespeople in pairs of two,” advises Rodoni. “Measure them against each other. After all, if you only have one, you won’t know if it’s the product, the process, or the people. You need to benchmark people against each other.”

Skills that can’t be taught

“Some of our best software reps had never sold software before joining us. In fact, some of our best closers had never closed a deal before working here.”

DAN ROSS


Grooming for growth

Training team members to learn the lifetime value of a customer is also critical to sales success. A customer relationship doesn’t begin and end with closing a deal.

Rather, with Bain & Company reporting that it costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one, it makes more financial sense for sales leaders to train reps to build partnerships and deliver value throughout the entire customer life cycle.

That’s especially important to growing businesses that rely heavily on customer loyalty for repeat business, reliable cash flow, and brand building. By prioritizing customer touchpoints – not transactions – a brand can move beyond the traditional sales experience and grow as a company.


more expensive to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one

BAIN & COMPANY

6 TO 7 TIMES

EXISTING

NEW



Retention rulesOnce the right people are in place and properly trained, effective retention strategies can ensure the best possible return on investment.

Mentoring programs and on-the-job training can improve performance and boost employee morale as high-performing sales teams are 2.5 times more likely to have an effective coaching process, according to Salesforce’s State of Sales report.

Offering employees a clear path to greater pay and recognition can encourage greater commitment. And making innovative technology tools – such as automation and artificial intelligence – readily available to workers can provide a powerful incentive for them to stay. Millennials in particular demand an unprecedented degree of connectedness and mobility from their workplaces to remain on the payroll.


high-performing sales teams are times more likely to have an effective coaching process2.5

SALESFORCE




PART 2Creating and instilling a marketing mindset


U pdating hiring practices and training methodologies are a couple of ways growing businesses are adapting to a new era of selling. But adopting a marketing mindset is equally as

important for growing businesses. “Today’s customers expect that salespeople are with them for the long run,” says Rodoni. “They don’t want someone who is just pushing products; they want someone who will understand their problem and recommend the right solution for it. Customers want you to accurately answer the question, ‘What would you do if you were me?’”

For salespeople, that means looking at everything through the eyes of the customer. The old paradigm of marketers generating leads and sales qualifying them is fast crumbling. Today’s sales forces are borrowing a page from the marketing playbook: seeing the selling process as a prime opportunity to build a positive customer experience.

CREATING AND INSTILLING A MARKETING MINDSET | 10

“Customers want you to accurately answer the question, ‘What would you do if you were me?’”

TONY RODONI



View to a thrillConsider, for example, G Adventures. The Canadian adventure travel company could have relied on a traditional selling model to grow the company. Instead, G Adventures created the role of Chief Experience Officers (CEOs) – a global team of tour guides that work with call-center operators to offer high-touch, 24/7 customer service. Travellers are viewed not as consumers, but as potential lifetime partners and brand advocates. And every employee – from call-center operator to CEO – can collaborate on making a client’s interactions with the company consistent and positive. This new-found marketing mindset isn’t meant to displace marketers, but to encourage greater alignment. Sales teams must work hand-in-hand with marketing to achieve a seamless and personalized customer journey.

In fact, 73% of sales professionals say collaborating across departments is absolutely critical or very important to their overall sales process, according to Salesforce’s second annual State of Sales report.

CREATING AND INSTILLING A MARKETING MINDSET | 11

73% of sales professionals say collaborating across departments is absolutely critical or very important to their overall sales process.

73%

SALESFORCE




PART 3Doing more with automation and artificial intelligence


O nce reserved for sci-fi novels and blockbuster action flicks, innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence are gaining traction as critical sales tools. Customers want always-

on, personalized experiences. Yet many sales teams can’t focus on customizing the customer journey because they’re bogged down by time-consuming administrative tasks and inefficient processes.

In fact, a recent study by Adam Rapp of the University of Ohio discovered that 32% of front-line sales managers’ time is spent managing their sales team, but as much as 44% of their time is spent managing information and performing administrative tasks. Rapp’s research also revealed that managers who spend more than four hours per week managing information experience a reduction in productivity. Intelligent technologies promise to change all that.

DOING MORE WITH AUTOMATION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | 13

of front-line sales managers’ time is spent managing their sales team

32%of their time is spent managing information and performing administrative tasks.

44%BUT AS MUCH AS



DOING MORE WITH AUTOMATION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | 14

By analyzing sales data and using machine learning and predictive analytics algorithms to serve up actionable insights, AI helps sales reps make smarter decisions to serve customers better.

From sci-fi fodder to mainstream excellence

Artificial intelligence is already the top growth area for sales teams, with 139% growth in AI usage expected over the next three years, according to Salesforce’s State of Sales report. And Narrative Science reports that 44% of executives believe AI’s most important benefit is “automated communications that provide data that can be used to make decisions.” But algorithms aren’t the only things that get smarter with every interaction and additional piece of data. AI is helping sales teams get to know their customers in ways never before possible. By combining and crunching the right data sets, brands are removing the guesswork from identifying leads and targeting high-value customers.

For instance, an AI system can reveal a customer’s readiness to close a deal, a particular segment’s buying behaviors, a sales team’s top performers, or the prospects most likely to generate profits. AI shines a light on all of these blind spots, illuminating the sales pipeline so sales reps can determine the best time and channel to connect with customers. Gleaning information from customer-interaction data also levels the playing field, letting smaller players compete with industry stalwarts. Emboldened with information they’ve collected on their customers, these growing businesses can begin to deliver more personalized and predictive customer experiences without the luxury of a global workforce or sprawling IT environment.

ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE

believe AI’s most important benefit is“automated communications that provide data that can be used to

make decisions.”

139% growth in AI usage(expected over the next three years)

44% of executives




PART 4Connecting your data for a better customer experience


G rowing businesses are always adding new systems to their IT infrastructure. However, as an IT environment expands, it can become riddled with data silos – disparate and disjointed

pools of customer information. As a result, salespeople often lack a unified, integrated view of their customers.

This is particularly dangerous in today’s omni-channel universe. Customers are engaging with brands through multiple channels and devices. Their journey may start with an internet search over a smartphone, carry over to a web-based ecommerce site, and end in a customer support call with a live agent. Building a customer experience that reflects these varying preferences is critical:

65% of business buyers are likely to switch brands if a company doesn’t make an effort to personalize communications to them, reveals the Salesforce 2016 State of the Connected Customer Report.

When data is siloed, a sales rep has no way of knowing about previous interactions a customer has had with the brand. Are there any open service issues that might derail moving a deal forward? Are there any insights from other team members engaged with the same customers? With a 360-degree view of the customer journey, and visibility into sales reps’ interactions with an account, sales teams can better understand customers’ challenges and needs, and how to add value to growing accounts.

CONNECTING YOUR DATA FOR A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE | 16

are likely to switch brands if a company doesn’tmake an effort to personalize communicationsto them.

65% OF BUSINESS BUYERS


CONNECTING YOUR DATA FOR A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE | 17

Turning bytes into insights Fortunately, the right technology tools can break down data silos and unlock the value of customer information. Take, Sturtevant, for example. For years, the family-owned business was saddled with six unconnected databases, making it difficult to even keep track of a contact’s email address. However, by integrating these data sets into a centralized hub, the company enabled information to flow among sales reps all over the globe for a holistic view of the company’s customer base. This insight is critical to providing a compelling experience throughout every touchpoint. Customer service needs to understand how certain marketing and sales efforts are impacting various customers, and what can be done to improve results.

“The value of a connected business is not only to help you be more efficient and grow faster, but to gain a view into all of your customers,” says Rodoni. “And that requires stitching together customer information from various systems.”

The benefits of a comprehensive customer view aretwofold: On the one hand, it’s an opportunity for salesreps to understand customer behavior in context andpinpoint the right times and channels to take action.For growing businesses, connecting the dots createsa solid foundation for making executive decisions oneverything from product planning to marketing spendto new hires. Either way, this unified view helps tocreate exceptional customer experiences.

“The value of a connected business is not only to help you be more efficient and grow faster, but to gain a view into all of your customers. And that requires stitching together customer information from various systems.”

TONY RODONI



Looking ForwardA new era of selling is here. As consumer demands rise, and it becomes more costly to acquire customers, growing businesses need to adapt they way they go to market. A new breed of salesperson: empathetic, fast-acting, and data-driven. You need to instill a focus that goes far beyond just closing the sale. You need to instill a marketing mindset. Salespeople need to learn to build long term relationships with customers; to understand customer needs and sell the best solutions for them. It’s equally as important that you support your team with the right technologies. Growing businesses have the most to gain from automation and artificial intelligence—instead of replacing people, these technologies will free them up to build relationships or tackle more complex issues. And in today’s data-rich environment, it’s critical to connect all the systems that run your business so that you can share information between teams, and everyone can know your customers better. Talent that’s trained to add value, closely allied sales and marketing teams, reps rich in AI’s predictive powers, and leaders willing to recognize that customer experience is as much about mindset as it is computer models—these are the strategies businesses need to grow.

LOOKING FORWARD | 18



ABOUT FORBES INSIGHTS Forbes Insights is the strategic research and thought leadership practice of Forbes Media, publisher of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com, whose combined media properties reach nearly 75 million business decision makers worldwide on a monthly basis. Taking advantage of a proprietary database of senior-level executives in the Forbes community, Forbes Insights conducts research on a host of topics of interest to C-level executives, senior marketing professionals, small business owners and those who aspire to positions of leadership, as well as providing deep insights into issues and trends surrounding wealth creation and wealth management.

a new era of selling is here. are you...

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