Challenges and Priorities of Sales in 2022

As the pandemic hit, people have started adapting to it. The same happened with businesses. They started using services like cloud and automation to make sure they are at their 100% at any time. After this long, some areas and fields are getting back to normalcy.

Although, one field is still exhibiting some fundamental changes compared to what it was years ago. The field we are talking about is sales. In this article, we are going to focus on these challenges and priorities that have changed sales.

Let’s identify and overcome these challenges and priorities with the help of research our team has done for you.

The Virtual Trust:

Those days are so gone when a salesperson used to pitch a prospect face to face. There was no barrier. Making eye contact and having good body language was a thing. But now, there is a virtual wall between a salesperson and a prospect. This virtualization is the game-changer.

In 2022, there will be some big changes in the landscape of sales. Before all this, sales reps could go onsite to pitch their customers. They could compare their products with their competitors and convince prospects why theirs is better than competitors. This kind of personalization was the key to a successful pitch.

Now, a salesperson needs to leverage technology to overcome this gap. Personalizing messages, emails, and IVR is now easy. One can do all this with just a few clicks. They only need to focus on the clever way to make a personalized approach to these businesses.

Strong POV and Clear CTA:

Another concern that a sales rep should be worried about is reaching a decision-maker. Reaching to any man is not how sales work. You got to be talking to the person who can finalize the deal. Even with your charm, timing, or personalized messages, targeting a non-decision maker is a waste of time.

"I believe that non-personalized sales email blasts will become even less effective. Reps will need to ensure they've not just researched an account, but that they come with a strong 'point of view' and a very clear call to action, regardless of medium." Jaume Manos, Hubspot Sales Manager.

The Great Product is not Everything:

When it comes to sales, having a sound product is not the only factor that can bring more sales. The quality of your product alone is not enough to close a deal. Everyone in the market is obsessed with the latest technology. All the competitors are housing their products with the same technology that your product has, so how are you going to differentiate your sales from competitors?

It all sounds simple, but in reality, it is not. To make a difference, you need an A-team of sales reps just like your product. This team needs to play their A-game by including a clear ROI, buy-ins, exclusive buy-ins to make the deal more legit and practical to understand. If not, deals will be lost to time or a ‘no discussion’ situation.

Adjusting to a New World:

COVID is the only reason to bring big changes like remote working, virtual meetings, or communication/ management tools in our work life. Sales and marketing are also affected as much by the COVID. Representatives are using digital marketing tools, outreach tools, scheduling tools to adapt to this new culture.

As time passes by, some businesses have been wondering, ‘Should they continue this culture or go back to pre-COVID culture? Should they start doing in-person meetings, conferences, shows?’

It all depends on the businesses which direction they want to go today. But, one thing is for sure that sales professionals are going to face a big change. Whether a company moves forward with remote work or not, it is salespersons who will be making changes to their strategies to cope with the new world.

The Uncertainty of Productivity:

Prospects’ buying habits are one of those things that can affect the productivity of your sales and marketing team. According to a report, if a company is thinking of adapting the remote culture for sales, some struggle around efficiency and cohesion will be there.

According to a report, COVID has affected the buying process and habits of the prospects. Due to this, sales representatives need to be more creative to create more opportunities. In this uncertain time, leaders and managers are being asked to make their team productive while getting establishing growth.

This is the leaders and managers need to guide their team with their experience while the team is adapting to changed habits of prospects.

Interest Over Pitch:

Pitching to a customer with zero interest in your product is a complete waste of your time and money. It doesn’t matter how well you conducted the pitch. Zero multiplied by anything will remain zero.
Sales reps need to adapt the buyer-first approach to redefining the sales process after COVID. Reps need to research how prospects want to buy and how they can complement it with their sales process. As the market has changed, we need to change the mindset of the sales team too and swap it with a new one.

Take Help of Social Media:

There was a time when social media was a distraction for working people. But now, it’s a great marketing and branding tool. Social media is indirectly part of all kinds of marketing processes. Taking advantage of social media to create demand for your products is a ‘must have’ skill now.

As per the data from Linkedin, 78% of businesses using social media to sell products can outsell those who don’t use social media. Also, in 2021, 18.9% of SMEs believe that social media is the best sales drive channel.

Having a good grip on social selling can benefit a business in 2022. It is not something new. Social media, as a sales driver, has been here for a very long time. It is just COVID that highlighted the channel more.

Fin:

2022 has proved itself another tricky year with all this heat between Russia and Ukraine. It for sure will bring some ups and downs in the market and it again will affect the sales and marketing. As long as sales reps and managers show adaptability, persistence, and commitment to solving new problems, nothing can stop them from showing growth in their sales chart.