What has been the biggest change in sales in the last year?

Another big change is that sales organizations are finally coming to understand that social technology must be integrated into their overall sales process. If buyers are checking us out on social sites and the web before making a decision to engage, then guess what, we need to have a strong, compelling brand and content that entices that buyer to want to know more.

@Tibor: I believe the market percentage may be greater than 25%-30% depending on the types of services/products that we sell, but I also agree that sales opportunities lie in the ability to capture the attention of the buyer who doesn't know they have a problem, which needs to be addressed, or they are (for whatever reason) choosing to ignore the issue. As Keith Eades, author of Solution Selling would say..."No pain, no change." We help them see the pain, they may be more willing to buy into a solution that solves the problem.

Carlos
What I am saying is that any given time, some 70% (some will say 60% some will say 80%, let's call it 70%) is not either actively in buying mode, or consideration mode, but in what the sales industry refers to as "status quo". Complacent, set in their ways, all set, some have described it as "happy and not looking". This last group is not looking for a solution at that time. This can change for a number of reasons, something can trigger a change in mode, (I think there is an award winning book out there on the topic), and they will move from status quo to curious or open to ideas, but still not actively looking to buy. When they cross into this group, then yes, what you state in your original response applies.

My comment was focused on the 70% status quo, some of these people may be active social media users, but not for the purposes of buying a solution, since by definition, they are not seeking a solution. I come from the school that if you are really a sales pro, you spend your time engaging with people who seem to be in "status quo", and be the catalyst for moving them to the other modes. The sales that come from the 30%, those who are actively scouring the web and interacting in social media, looking for alternative to what they have in place now, are to me bonuses, as I really had little to do with creating the sale, other than taking the order at the end. As you state: "60-80% of the buying journey is complete before a buyer engages with the sales rep", so the rep can take little credit for being at the right place at the right time. Engaging with someone who has not started the journey, had no intention of starting the journey, and taking them through the cycle is sales.

One other consideration, there is an element of self-fulfilling prophecy at play. If you spend your time using inbound marketing, looking for buyers in the social sphere, you will find that type of buyer. If you spend your using outbound methods you will find that type of buyer. I hope you will agree that one should be doing both, not one vs. the other as many like to frame it these days. There are hosts of buyer, and companies that have yet to fully commit to social media, who are still spending money on a host of things, and if one relied solely on one path to buyers, they would miss out on a lot of revenue.

Hope that sheds a wee bit of light; enjoying the discussion, please comment.

Tibor

Carlos nailed it. The BIG change is in buyer behavior. Salespeople who don't do their homework and approach buyers in the way that Carlos outlined are missing the point and the opportunity. It surprises me how resistant some sales execs and their teams are to this new way of thinking. Buyer have spoken...salespeople need to listen!

I have adapted by learning to #1.master the customer interface, i.e. satisfaction.
#2. Engage in Customer Dialogue - buyer decision cycle - sales role is to be the most resourceful agent within their decision process (be decisive - don't give a way the store) we are not educators, we are resources that enable decisions for those that want to experience the benefits of our value proposition. - This is the real battleground to attain the prize of "Trusted Adviser"
3. Manage the sales cycle, execute value proposition, cultivate preferred target customers, nurture their ideas, monitor their information consumption behavior, identify verify, validate and communicate with key players early on - define tipping points within their decision path.

I keep an observation log to help monitor, measure and move strategically throughout the sales cycle. Create descriptive markers that capture behavioral patterns, key player additions or subtractions, types of questions and information requests. Keeping track of this allows me to gauge the power of intent. Over time it proves reliable benchmark for predictability. In addition a healthier investment of time, money and resources allocated to business development.

Not all prospects are worth pursuing or acquiring. Listen and learn from your preferred target market decision patterns, Where do they search, how do they gather information, who is most actively engaged in the investigation process and why are they seeking your input at that particular time?

Selling is more exciting then ever.

@Barbara, I am not hung up on the percentage, the key is that the majority of the market is in what the sales industry has come to define as "Status Quo", and by definition is not likely to engage in the process of looking, either on the web, social media, or elsewhere. So, as we agree it will take the skills of a sales person to initiate and maximize the engagement.

I would like to take an aspect of your response and perhaps extend the discussion, you mention "No pain, no change", but is it always about pain. Some of my most successful engagements have been with companies who have an objective, say maintaining their competitive edge in one instance, another is to ensure year after year of exceeding budgets, both positive, not rooted in pain. Without getting into word games, is it always about pain, or by strictly looking for pain, are we missing opportunities with people who have a vision and are willing to fund attaining it?

Larger deal sizes+Drop in Key Client numbers+ Long sales cycles+High complexity in team formations at clients end+Pull on Discounts/Price Challenges+Better Sales methodologies

I echo Carlos' response. For B2B companies that aren't sure if what he describes are affecting them - here are a few questions to ask yourself?

- Is less than 50 percent of your sales force making quota?
- Are your sales cycles getting longer, especially on the front end?
- Do qualified prospects engage then disengage only to return 6-12 months later and buy?
- Are you finding that lead scoring actually does not isolate high-closing opportunities?
- Are you unclear where your prospects went and who they talked to before contacting you?

if you answered 'yes' to 3 or more of the above questions - your prospects are engaging in a buy cycle that is social, self-directed, trust based and transparent, to them but not to you. To drive growth you need to align to your Buyers' Journey. Visit my blog http://blogs.forbes.com/christinecrandell to learn about how to do that.

I would say that one of the biggest change has been the advent of CRM and social media and the need to not only monitor prospects, clients and leads. Metrics or the use of them in a whole new way to follow behavior so as to get more info about the people to deal with has made it easier to sell, service and upsell your products and services.