Virtual sales: Five success factors
The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating digital B2B sales - according to a study by Bain & Company, virtual sales is the tool of choice for the vast majority of companies. However, many expectations are still not being met. What factors need to be taken into account to make virtual sales a success?
The Corona crisis is also changing sales between companies, and virtual selling is now also becoming very important in the B2B sector. In its study "Virtual Selling Has Become Simply Selling," the international management consultancy Bain & Company determined that 92 percent of the B2B sales managers surveyed now prefer digital business relationships. This corresponds to 17 percentage points more than in May 2020.
Virtual sales and purchasing: from low-cost variant to standard
Purchasing has also discovered the benefits of digitization, according to another result of the study. For example, 79 percent of those employed there recognize the efficiency of virtual sales, compared with just 54 percent a year ago. They particularly value faster and more frequent communication, more cost-efficient transactions and the ability to reach more potential contacts. Around 250 sales and purchasing managers in the B2B sector worldwide took part in the study.
"The shift toward digital B2B sales has accelerated noticeably once again due to the impact of the Corona pandemic," explains Dr. Eric Zayer, Bain partner and B2B commercial excellence expert. "What was once seen in many places as merely a low-cost option has now become the preferred channel for most buyers." Increasingly powerful and affordable virtual solutions have enabled B2B companies to continuously virtualize their activities, even for more complex transactions.
Comprehensive strategy instead of small steps
Digital sales channels have undeniably been able to play out their advantages. This, of course, arouses further desires. "However, given the rapid increase in the use of digital B2B sales, the associated expectations are also growing," notes Dr. Tobias Umbeck, Bain partner and sales expert. According to the Bain study, respondents believe there is still room for improvement in practice. In fact, companies are reporting rising closing ratios and revenues from virtual sales channels, but these still fall short of their own forecasts. For example, executives and sales staff were prepared for a win rate that was in some cases significantly higher than was actually achieved on average.
Five success factors
"In order to exploit the full potential of virtual sales, it is not just a matter of turning individual digital adjusting screws," emphasizes Umbeck. "Rather, leading companies have adapted their strategy in all dimensions of the virtual B2B market." Overall, five factors are crucial for success:
- Attract clientele early. According to the Bain study, around 80 percent of enterprise customers know exactly what they need even before their first contact with sales staff. More than 35 percent even have a clear preference for a supplier. Digital information channels are now more popular among purchasing managers than exhibitions or trade shows. When researching online, it should therefore be possible to find the desired product categories quickly and application examples should be easy to access, for example through demo videos. If there is interest, it is advantageous to contact the supplier as easily as possible - via chatbots, live chats or in person.
- Align virtual services with customer expectations. Efficient B2B companies make product and sales managers available for personal consultation only if the corporate customers explicitly request this. Specialist personnel are deployed in a targeted manner to answer questions or demonstrate products. This makes the sales process leaner and reduces costs.
- Develop scripts for sales scenarios. With the help of sample templates, sales and specialist departments can prepare precisely for the various customer interactions. For example, who contacts prospects in what situation and provides what information? In addition, sales scripts enable better training and performance evaluation of the company's own staff and thus increase their efficiency.
- Intelligently strengthen sales teams. Systematic, data-driven analysis of customer behavior complements traditional sales training. Machine learning helps sales staff to increasingly convert potential deals into actual sales and create new cross-selling opportunities. In addition, when hiring new employees for virtual sales, the focus is on their digital skills, which increases the talent pool.
- Special software solutions for specialist departments. The flood of product and marketing tools overwhelms many teams involved in sales and customer contact. Leading B2B companies therefore use specially tailored software solutions for data analysis, the sales process or customer service in the various specialist areas. Not least because of the time saved, sales staff can ultimately also focus more intensively on the key revenue drivers for their own company.
"Virtual B2B sales has become a matter of course for everyone involved, and this is true regardless of whether the pandemic continues to subside or whether a new crisis occurs," notes Bain expert Zayer. "Those who adapt decisively to the new market conditions and customer demands now will use the crisis as an accelerator and improve the clout of their sales force."
Source: Bain & Company
