MARKET VIEW 03
Alex Barros
CHIEF MARKETING & INNOVATION OFFICER
B2B Customer Acquisition: The role of human engagement in a world of digital-first enterprise marketing
The less you sell, the more you can actually engage with your customer.
How has the role of sales people changed in recent years?
The role of salespeople has become increasingly consultative. The best enterprise sales teams take the time to get to know their potential customers and to see if there is a need for their offering, rather than trying to simply push a product or service. The less you sell, the more you can actually engage with your customer. Discover the pain points of your prospects and if your offering solves them, then the discussion will progress naturally. This consultative and open approach, be it face-to-face or over video calls as many modern sales are, also builds trust organically between the buyer and your organisation. Once you have established whether your offering is a suitable solution for them, it’s then important to ascertain whether the cultures of both parties are compatible with each other - this is a key pillar of building long-term partnerships.
To stay relevant and be successful, companies must constantly evolve their sales and marketing efforts to meet the needs of their customers.
How important is content-led sales and marketing approach in modern B2B sales?
To stay relevant and be successful, companies must constantly evolve their sales and marketing efforts to meet the needs of their customers. In recent years, this has involved moving away from traditional, outbound sales representatives being the first point of contact in a buyer’s journey, to online content that is easily discoverable becoming the first point of contact. Buyers are actively searching for solutions to problems, so there is a real opportunity for companies to set themselves apart and excite their prospects by providing real value in their content. Take the time to get this right and you can benefit from a greater number of warm leads for your sales teams to contact. It’s worth taking the time to ensure that your value proposition is clear and consistent across all content and messaging. Make it clear who your value proposition is for to avoid wasting your own time and that of irrelevant prospects. If you have a proposition for a known problem that exists and there is a need for a solution, people will organically come to you to find out what that solution is.
Human beings are social creatures and we all need social interaction in some form - so why not use this to your advantage in the sales process?
ALEX BARROS
Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer BEONx
How can sales teams build trust, authenticity and credibility in a fast-paced digital world?
The human mind is very dispersed and we are bombarded with information 24/7. Marketing teams can help their sales colleagues overcome this challenge by researching, creating and sharing valuable information on the latest trends, innovation and education within their industry. This gives sales teams a selection of relevant content that they can share with their prospects to establish authenticity, credibility and trust in their relationships.
Trust, authenticity and credibility can also be established by attending and hosting relevant industry events - especially if one of your salespeople is speaking at them! These events are also a great opportunity for social interaction, which is a key part of trust building that we are slowly rebuilding after the global pandemic. Human beings are social creatures and we all need social interaction in some form - so why not use this to your advantage in the sales process? Something as simple as taking a buyer out for coffee goes a long way. It will be fascinating to see how new digital technologies, such as AR and metaverses, create new social experiences as remote working becomes increasingly common.
Beonprice’s hotel revenue management system optimises price and distribution based on consumer expectations and buying behaviour. They have developed the HQI™, the only index in the hotel market that measures the overall quality of a hotel to understand the competitive position and price elasticity of demand in the market.
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