Companies are having to deal with longer, more complicated buyer journeys.
More buyers want a so-called rep-free sales experience. Meanwhile, GenZ wants more information, proof points, and peer recommendations, and they constitute an increasing proportion of buying groups—which have grown to 13 people, on average.
And making things even more complicated, many buyers report that they were unhappy with their most recent B2B buying experience.
Put all that together, and sales and marketing teams face a conundrum: Offer a seamless "self-service" buying experience that is expertly supported by sales and marketing outreach across a wide range of stakeholders. Also consider that many companies also sell to different kinds of buyers in different markets—such as SMBs and enterprise buyers in North America, the EU, and APAC, where everyone has different needs, budgets, and levels of technical maturity.
Sounds impossible. But the closer companies come to delivering it, the better.
And by working closely with marketing and with outlying sales teams, sales executives can deliver.
The High-Touch/Self-Service Experience: Facing the Buyer Conundrum
Although B2B buyers say they like self-service, they also admit that the purchase journey is complex and they need a trusted adviser to help them make an informed decision.
That requires the knowledge and support of a salesperson as well as great messaging and content from Marketing that helps the buyer feel in control but also supported.
Accordingly, talent strategy is critical. As the buyer journey becomes more complex and personalized, team members need to deliver value to a variety of stakeholders with shifting needs. Leaders must build teams that can navigate such complexity and understand sophisticated buyer needs before and after sales close.
Sales and Marketing must work together, focusing on specific strategies to create the experience that will turn prospects into customers. However, sales leaders must also communicate carefully with sales teams to get feedback about buyer differences, such as cultural needs in different regions or specific product needs for different ideal customer profiles (ICPs).
The first step is to create ICPs that can guide the marketing and sales strategy for specific regions, products, or buyer types. ICPs should include the typical buying group stakeholder profiles, what actions they take, how decisions get made, and how they get input from sales members with relevant experience.
Next, Sales and Marketing should look at different buyer journeys, key stops along the way, and places where things stalled or failed. Considering that 40% of buying decisions end in no purchase, identifying where things have gone sideways is critical to delivering a more successful experience in the future.
Today's buyers must feel both supported and in control. Especially now, when they want speed, local relevance, and proof that they're making the right decision.
A Blueprint for Sales Leaders
Leaders must meet buyers (and their sellers) where they are and then create a strategy to move them forward by driving revenue and retention.
Team Alignment
Successful global team integration and onboarding hinge on clarity and cultural alignment. Once that's in place, the next step is unifying Sales and Marketing around shared revenue targets—which prevents silos and ensures everyone speaks the same strategic language.
In addition, open lines of communication to create a continuous feedback loop, which will expedite a feeling of inclusion for global team members as well as provide necessary feedback for Marketing regarding regional needs.
Leveraging Data
When creating a shared ICP, data is the key. The most important insights include signals that reveal buying intent and regional buying patterns so sellers can time their outreach effectively and ensure it's relevant to specific needs.
Other important data to consider includes sales metrics, such as sales velocity and regular win/loss analysis to identify where teams are losing and why and how to find more winners.
Sales leaders also need to create continuous feedback into sales enablement, to inform ongoing ICP alignment.
Balancing Executive and Regional Strategies
Sellers need to adapt to the needs of their buyers and prospects at a global and regional level. Sales executives need to empower the teams to move at the pace of each market with localized strategies while effectively rolling up to companywide goals.
It's important to establish strong leadership in-region to better understand that market, speak the language, identify buying habits, keep tabs on competitors, and sell in a way that is culturally relevant (dinner and golf may or may not be the right approach!)
Knowing When It's Working
With good data in place, sales leaders and their marketing counterparts should have the insights they need to identify sticking points and discover approaches that are driving pipeline and revenue.
Marketing needs measurement in place to see what particular content, assets, events, or points of outreach work best in one region or for a particular ICP to be able to further improve and personalize. Sales needs detailed revenue and pipeline metrics that tie directly to each action at a buying group and stakeholder level to identify patterns of their own.
Although activity still drives pipeline, today's winners align every action directly to the evolving buyer journey to more quickly turn insights into revenue.
