In a business atmosphere that’s adapting to new technologies and consumer demands at a faster pace than ever before, it’s no surprise sales tactics are also changing. Salespeople in modern business must periodically analyze their performance, identify weak points, and learn new sales techniques based on changing customer needs. If you want your employees to be their best, they need to be ready to adapt.
The Five Forces of Change
There are five main forces that drive change for sales people: the threat of new people and competition, suppliers’ bargaining power, competition among existing firms, negotiating power of the buyers, and the threat of substitute services and products.
- Competition among salespeople. Marketing and inside sales roles have been consistently expanding and eroding the position of the B2B outside salespeople. In turn, this has sparked a golden age for inside the salespeople, but makes positions much more competitive for the outside salesperson.
- The threat of new entrants. There are always advancements changing the entire industry. Job automation is the biggest challenge right now as artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual/augmented reality are switching up the game. It takes polished skill to compete with technical advancements for both inside and outside salespeople.
- Threat of salespeople substitutes. Self-service and e-commerce advancements are putting more pressure on B2B sales.
- Bargaining power of the buyers. In this area of customer power, salespeople have very little influence and control. Success is dependent on adaptability.
- Bargaining power of the suppliers. It’s easy for even the smallest businesses to get supplies from across the world. Although it offers more opportunities, it also means salespeople have to work with more and more business partners. Being able to bargain with other companies may determine whether or not you keep a comfortable arrangement.
Preparing for Change
Even though the world is always changing, there are ways salespeople can prepare for whatever the future holds. One of the best ways to keep up with the crazy pace is by taking sales training courses from SNI. We always build the programs based around the current market trends so you’ll have exactly what you need.
Sales training courses from SNI are engineered to teach you how to adjust to these five factors of change, plus give you an edge over your competition. When your livelihood is on the line, you need to be able to roll with the punches, stay current, and prove to your customers that you’re the best around. Period.
