Are B2B Sales People Obsolete?

B2B Sales People

There have been a number of articles recently extolling a radical shift and the obsolescence of the B2B sales person as we know it. Yes, sales is changing as buyers have more power to research problems and solutions, before engaging a sales person. Businesses should embrace new sales and marketing tactics and solutions like social media, content marketing, and marketing automation.

There are many benefits for the sales team members to embrace these solutions as well as they can help them close more business faster. I do not feel that the sales person is going away, and sales hunters are still needed. If you need further proof, sign-up for a webinar from a marketing automation firm or stop by a booth at a trade show. I was at the Saleforce.com Toronto event this month and three of the booths I stopped by, all marketing automation companies, had sales people reach out to me directly, not just using their own companies marketing automation tools.

Here are a few of the best reasons why you still may need B2B sales people at your firm.

Inbound Marketing Isn’t Providing Enough Leads

It takes time to build inbound leads. When you are starting out with content marketing it is a drip of leads, not a flood. Your business may not be able to survive without an outbound sales effort.

You Have a Limited Number of Total Customers

If you have a small number of total customers due to the nature of your solution, then an outbound effort can be very effective. You need to close as many of those targets as possible to maximize your revenue. You can target each of the companies directly, maximizing your likelihood of closing them.

Tricky and Long Sales Cycle

The more expensive and complicated your solution, the longer it typically takes to close a sale. The sales journey to close may include an RFP, working with multiple line of businesses, pilots, working with other third parties, or other items that could complicate your sales cycle. Having a sales rep to keep the opportunity moving forward can be essential.

Sales Can Complement Marketing

There are so many great new marketing tools and strategies available today. Many work very well with an outbound sales effort. Using LinkedIn to share content or email marketing to stay top of mind with prospects are excellent examples of where the tools and teams can support each other.

Not Everyone Buys the Same Way

Customers and contacts at those organizations have different strategies for education for solutions. Give them the option of dealing with a live person if you cost structure allows it. Some targets may like using digital resources, while other may like connecting with people.

What Are You Selling?

If you are selling professional services, the customer is likely going to want to have a call at least and possibly a face to face meeting.

Is Your Solution Complicated?

It may be difficult for a prospect to find the right information at the right time from your site. Talking with prospects can help you understand their needs and then help them by providing the right information to support their decision. Yes, you can make your website easy to navigate and have all the right information, it still maybe hard for that prospect to find the right information.

Sales is not becoming obsolete. It does need to change with the times, and can still be an important part of the buyers journey. If you are interested in upping your sales game, check out our white paper on startup sales.

Are B2B Sales People Obsolete?