Is this the death of a (traditional) salesman?

​As we move from the physical footprint to the virtual and digital footprint, we are all wondering will Covid-19 change the way businesses undertake sales, account management and marketing activities?
 
Some say that the lock-down virtual selling effect has leveled the playing field for small businesses and startups. Many of whom thrive on devising creative ways to sell, suddenly everyone is in the same position selling from a distant and virtual perspective with location and budget to market no barrier.
 
Before we can look forward, we need to look back.
 
Let’s first consider what the role of the traditional sales team looked like pre-COVID-19…Ordinarily sales representatives/agents would drive the length and breadth of the country visiting customers, travelling overseas to site visits, attending international trade shows all with responsibility for territories and specific regions. Sales representatives and agents by their very nature and job description would normally spend most of their time on the road and in meetings.
 
So, what will the future look like for those professions? Will distancing become the norm and will virtual work and business be a mainstay? Will the sales professional or account manager be allowed to meet customers face to face in offices? Will digital sales channels become the norm?
 
There are still so many questions.
 
Management Consultancy McKinsey & Company raised an important point recently, “In many ways, the changes in customer behaviour are an acceleration of digital trends that were in motion before the pandemic hit. We believe we are at a digital inflection point, where B2B sales operations going forward will look fundamentally different from what they were before the pandemic.”
 
I couldn’t agree more. Without the face to face interaction the sales teams are at their desks looking to engage with their contacts and customers. They need a different strategy and a new way of communication style needs to prevail. Picking up the phone for the initial ‘interest’ call or catching up with a customer over a zoom call will require more creative ways to engage. Right now, sales teams are competing with the  busy zoom diary of their key contact!
 
To get your (sales) digital foot in the door requires a new way of communicating. 
 
We know that content is king but now the elevator pitch is even more important. Sales teams will need to use other practices when communicating with contacts and customers. They need to be even better known to their target customer and right now, the best way to do this is with digital content. This can be done via thought leadership pieces, you tube videos, virtual meetings and a catalogue of digital content creation.
 
It’s time to get creative so your digital (sales) voice sits at the top of the ladder when it comes to competing with other digital communications and internal communication channels.
 
This is where PR and marketing support functions come into their own. Now is the time for sales and client account management to work closely with PR and marketing teams to devise a creative digital communications style and message that stands out from the crowd. The new communication for these teams is helped by the creative content that comes from the marketing teams. What we say and how we say it means we get a virtual audience and a competitive advantage. The channels we use can also assist the sales and client account management teams.
 
This is where the creation of good content is more important than ever, it can highlight the how-to or the benefits to business for your product, online digital advertising, digital exhibitions – be it an industry platform or your own online event. All of which give the sales and account management teams something to take to their audience to gain interest.
 
It’s time for the sales and marketing teams to work well together and make content and elevator pitches king.  
 
 If you’d like to discuss your new sales communications strategy and how to leverage your sales teams’ ‘virtual and digital’ footprint do get in touch with the team at 3-Eight Communications Ltd – we’d love to hear from you.