Survival of the Fittest - Sales teams need to adapt, or get left behind

Thanks to Mr. Darwin, everyone is familiar with “survival of the fittest.”  Those who don’t adapt to changes in their environment may not thrive and succeed. Nowhere is this truer than in the business environment.

Despite this, we see a lot, and I mean a lot, of people slow to adapt to the fast changes in sales due to technology.

Take sales for example.  Over the years sales reps have earned a somewhat negative reputation for being slow to pick up on what’s happening around them.

New sales tools? --No thanks, I prefer my Filofax and phone book.

New software? --I want to continue using my CRM.

Social Media? --Why can’t I just call my prospects?

Lately though, we are noticing a few changes. Sales leaders are advocating the need for reps to be quicker to adopt new trends.

The reason?

Prospects that are adopting digital technologies are leaving sales behind. Very suddenly, a salesperson is no longer the primary source of product knowledge. Tech savvy prospects are picking up new trends, discussing new markets and buying the most talked about things among their peers before salespeople  even know they exist They are faster and smarter than they once were. This phenomenal rise among smart buyers has occurred in just the last few years.

What does that mean?

It means that there is a need, a burning need, for sales reps to become smarter and faster adopters of whatever the internet throws at them. Yes, the internet. The rampant creation and consumption of information across the web has resulted in less time for a sales rep to make an impact on buyers. Your traditional buying cycle does not look like it used to. It is shorter with far less opportunity for sales involvement.

What is the solution to this?

The foremost idea to understand is that you need to become friends, best pals rather, with the internet.

You can-

1. Beautify your website
2. Optimize it for search engines
3. Optimize it for mobile devices
4. Create helpful new web content regularly
5. Teach your sales reps to be social
6. Adopt the Big Data way of life

And moreover, acknowledge the evolution of sales by enabling your reps the right way.  Enabling the sales team is your best bet in the long run. This will help them to outpace the buyer and get re-involved in the sales race.

With changing buying trends, your sales teams’ needs are also changing. Are you effectively addressing those changes? Or are you getting by solely with your traditional methods?

Stop denying evolution. Enable your reps to survive this changing world of sales.

Join Sales Enablement thought leader Craig Nelson in enabling your sales teams effectively, in this webinar http://bit.ly/ZAUFmy on October 30, 2014.