Met expectations

INDUSTRY NEWS

Met expectations

Like Jared Leto dressed as a cat at the Met Gala, selling in today’s uncertain environment is full of surprises. Welcome to a new era of B2B sales, where hybrid selling, heightened buyer expectations, and recession fears make closing deals as difficult as navigating the red carpet in sequined platform boots. According to McKinsey & Company partners Candace Lun Plotkin and Jennifer Stanley, sales organizations should follow three maxims to drive sustainable growth in a challenging sales climate. Embracing the chaos can also propel you ahead of your competition. Or as Candace and Jennifer put it: “resiliency means looking for opportunity when others are looking for cover.” The cat is out of the bag. It’s time to adapt.

When KPIs align

All too often, deadlines for sales and marketing alignment projects are viewed like the expiration date on a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon – with complete disregard. As the once revered retailer learned, that can only go on for so long before things start falling apart. If you need further motivation, Gartner reports that organizations that align cross-functional KPIs are three times more likely to beat their customer acquisition goals. Whether you’ve yet to get started or have made some progress, Gartner outlines four levels of marketing and sales alignment maturity that will help you make steady and impactful progress. Plot your journey today. Like the window to redeem those iconic blue coupons in your junk drawer, time is running out.

All that glitters

Remember when ChatGPT was all the rage? Okay, it still is, but we now know about a few hiccups – like the tendency of generative AI bots to make things up. As a revenue operations leader, it’s fine to get excited about new technology, but any addition to your tech stack should be evaluated very carefully. The trouble is that all too often new technology is assessed based on broad criteria like optimizing processes or increasing productivity. According to Forrester principal analyst Katie Linford, customer obsession should serve as the foundation of your tech stack strategy. When you focus on customer experience, the revenue will follow – and that glitter is all gold.

IN THE GROOVE

Prospecting mastery

If you want a pipeline that can deliver more return on your time, you need to change how you research. Groove customer and Eltropy’s VP of RevOps, Greg Larsen, recently went on the Sell Better Daily Sales Show to have an in-depth discussion about how to prospect 3x faster by following proven list-building tactics. Couldn’t make it? Don’t fret! Check out our blog to learn key prospect research techniques from Greg, Sell Better Host James Buckley, and seasoned sales professional Patrick Seibt. With these best practices, you will not only find better opportunities, but also close them with more success.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Twenty years of sales

Neon, low-waist skirts, flip phones, door-to-door selling, Yahoo, AOL. If that doesn’t scream early 2000s, we don’t know how else to introduce this fashionably challenged time. Back then, sales was vastly different, and now, it’s a different ball game altogether. In a welcome blast from the past, the LinkedIn Sales Blog breaks down three trends that have changed B2B sales in the last 20 years and how to best respond. In a world where everyone knows everything, learning how to differentiate yourself will largely impact your selling success. And although everything does come back into style, we are hoping door-to-door selling and flip phones stay in the Paris Hilton era.

Going the conventional route

Michael Scott from The Office has an unconventional approach to sales. A quick search on ChatGPT for Michael’s sales methodology comes up with four commonly-used tactics: throwing out a “that’s what she said” in tense sales situations, sharing irrelevant personal stories, overpromising and under-delivering, and creating a sense of urgency by playing hardball negotiations. We recommend steering clear of his unique approach, and instead following a more conventional path to become a valuable sales leader. One way to get started is by learning how to understand the difference between sales skills and sales methodologies in this recent article from the Sales Readiness Group. We promise it is more jam-packed with helpful advice than the four tactics listed above. That’s what we said.

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