Here are my predictions for sales in 2012, enjoy and comment
Merging of sales and marketing departments
Sales and marketing function bradley witham within companies will fuse together during 2012 and onwards. Research shows that buyers progress along our sales cycle and by the time salespeople are interacting with them, the buyer has moved more than half the way through the whole process on their own steam. This means the buyer has done all their research, has found solutions to their needs and just wants someone to wrap things up for them, at the lowest commodity price. The key for salespeople is to get involved in the bradley witham traditional work of marketing that is to create noise to encourage in-bound contacts and engage with customers earlier than they normally would.
Real-time customer tracking
Google are “making hay whilst the sun shines” in this prospecting tool.
Customers involved in their buying process often catch research’itis, particularly the Generation X customer (born 1965 to 1980). Research’itis means they have their noses in the internet to satisfy their needs. Technology is there now to real time track these customers in action, to watch their every move. You can then contact them whilst they are red hot in the buying mode by phoning, texing, emailing, instant messaging, Skype them.
Shrinking attention spans
From both customers and salespeople alike. A product of the internet, request for attention from every corner and multimedia entertainment means we all have much shorter attention spans especially Generation Y (born 1980 to 2000).
The implications are clear – we must shorten the time we spend with customers. Bear in mind they’re doing over 50% of the old sales cycle themselves; our role is much more intense and involves closing. We just have to do this in small chunks; bite sized enough to keep their attention. Salespeople need to learn to communicate with customers in tinier sound bites, one message emails, instant messaging that gets to the point, texing, Twitter.
On the other hand, the equally pressing issue is the attention span of most salespeople being shorter than a nat. Huge distractions lie in the social media space, the swelling of hand-held devices, wifi everywhere, means we are being constantly interrupted. Even better time management skills are the key.
QR Codes
Will become as common place as bar codes and most people still won’t know what they mean. I like to think QR codes allow the download of data from one person to another. Images of the Matrix when Trinity needed to learn how to fly a helicopter. The steal for salespeople is to make sure they use them on all marketing to ensure their social media, blogs etc are downloaded into their customer’s worlds, instantly.