For our second blog post in the series ‘The Modern Sales process’, we’re looking at what makes someone a “Modern Buyer”...
Let’s all say it together – today’s buyer has all the power. We’re all the person with the keys. It’s a hard pill to swallow, admitting you don’t have control, but once you do you can really start to level the playing field.
Modern buyers are very efficient at tuning out interruption
Think about this for yourself –
When was the last time that you were actually caught by a cold call?
How many unsolicited emails do you you actually open and read?
Modern buyers know how to find their own information
For every competitive space, there’s a product or review site out there.
For even the most niche of industries like Automotive and Motorsport, there are a dozen active online groups and forums.
A ‘Think with Google’ study found that ‘Today's business buyers do not contact suppliers directly until 57 percent of the purchase process is complete’.
This probably isn’t new and this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone because we are all modern buyers.
Yet most sales teams in Automotive are trying to sell to modern buyers with a legacy sales process and unless you change and evolve you will struggle to survive the future.
Just think about your own buyers journeys for the latest products you’ve purchased. I know personally I have tried to avoid salespeople as long as possible. I conduct my own research, check websites, read reviews, etc.
Trying to sell to modern buyers with a legacy sales process is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole... It just isn’t efficient or effective in selling to the modern b2b buyer in Automotive.
Something’s gotta change!