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A worldwide economic downturn is grabbing news headlines these days. Following the low interest rate decade from 2010-2020, companies are now waking up to a financial environment in which money is not cheap to borrow. These conditions have led to balance sheet restructuring, cost-cutting, and other efficiency-driven measures.
Increased pressure on sales has been a side-effect of these measures. B2B sales have always been challenging, but the downturn has ramped up pressure and increased quotas.
What can B2B sales teams expect moving forward and how can they successfully navigate this environment? I recently spoke with Itay Sinuani, CEO and co-founder of Demoleap, a real-time guided selling platform helping B2B sellers perform on sales calls using an AI assistant.
“During economic downturns or uncertain times, businesses may become more cautious with their spending and prioritize cost-cutting measures, and delay or scale back purchasing decisions,” says Sinuani. “This can result in longer sales cycles, increased price sensitivity, and heightened scrutiny of ROI.”
Customer-Driven Takes a New Meaning
Sales have always been customer-driven: provide a solution to the customer’s issue and you’re more likely to close a sale. However, digital solutions and modern consumer behavior are reducing the impact salespeople can potentially have on decision-making.
According to Gartner, sellers have little opportunity to influence customer decisions. The modern consumer prefers self-service solutions, and this has led to the rise of content marketing and social selling as key levers in the decision-making process. “Today, we are seeing more educated prospects,” says Sinuani. “The digital age has transformed buyer behavior, with customers conducting extensive research and seeking information independently. B2B sales teams need to adapt by providing value from the first interaction and become trusted advisors for the customer.”
Given these conditions, sales reps must be armed with responses to common questions and even anticipate the questions prospects will ask them. Technological solutions have been emerging to aid in this regard. Sales enablement platforms aim to reduce the manual work reps must execute when closing a sale, leaving them free to read the room and anticipate buying objections.
Demoleap, for instance, gives sales reps dynamic playbooks and an AI assistant to guide them in their live calls, reducing the pressure and heavy cognitive load a rep often experiences as a human being. The platform also provides in-call buyer insights, such as anticipated buying objections based on prospect feedback, further enabling reps for success.
Rethinking Sales Training
The upshot of evolving consumer behavior is that sales teams need better coaching and training. However, this doesn’t necessarily translate to organizations conducting more seminars or role-playing exercises. Given the economic conditions, companies cannot afford to spend too much time ramping up salespeople.
Instead, real-time training and standardizing playbooks are becoming more common. AI’s rise has opened new possibilities in this regard. Sinuani highlights an example of the impact AI can have on the sales process and decrease ramp-up times. “Cognitive limitations are the key factor that prevents sellers from performing at consistently high levels on every call,” he says. “Demoleap’s real-time approach addresses those limitations and uses AI to give each rep “infinite memory” and a clear path to success.”
“It replaces traditional learning and coaching with AI, real-time guidance to run high-level qualification, discovery and live sales demos,” he continues. “With a click, sales managers can share their winningest playbooks with the entire team instantly.”
AI-driven sales enablement tools can reduce ramp-up times and help sales leaders distribute winning techniques throughout their organization. Standardizing playbooks also reduces sales cycles, giving organizations a way to estimate close-wons from their pipeline more accurately.
A Joint Responsibility
With the continuous rise of sales enablement tools, it begs the question: how much of the responsibility falls on the reps versus the managers and leaders? Many sales enablement tools focus on the managers’ roles, but the reps are the ones working down in the trenches.
According to Sinuani, the responsibility is shared. “The overall responsibility of sales success depends on the sales team as a whole, from the sales reps to the managers and leaders,” he says. “Still today, most of the sales stack is targeted to make the sales leaders’ jobs more efficient. CRM, call coaching, forecast tools – are all tools for sales management. It should be a joint responsibility – the organization should spend equally on both the leaders and the sellers and provide tools that help sellers outperform.”
“While sales reps are primarily responsible for executing sales activities, sales managers and leaders play a crucial role in setting the overall direction, providing support, and creating an environment that enables sales success. The effectiveness of the sales team often relies on a strong partnership and collaboration between sales reps and their managers/leaders.”
The Future of B2B Sales
B2B sales have become more challenging, but organizations can leverage the right technology to overcome the odds. While buyers are preferring more self-service in the buying cycle, sales remain rooted in solving critical issues. By focusing on that pillar and using technology to get insights faster, salespeople can overcome challenges and meet their quotas.
Sinuani concludes, “We believe in sellers. The human touch is a crucial part of the sales process. In B2B, people are buying from people. Today, we are experiencing a new sales motion that is between PLG (product-led growth) and SLG (sales-led growth). On one hand, buyers want to move faster and quicker to understand the product and the experience, but on the other hand, they want to consult with a trusted advisor to guide them through the buying decision… It is our job as sales leaders to ensure that sellers on the frontline are equipped with the same level of technology and knowledge as the buyer.”
