Manage My Employees

Article #49

The economics of selling today, for sales managers in particular, is getting really tough out there, especially in B2B.

It’s not a time for complacency or cruise control selling. Nor is it wise to take comfort in our so-called “locked-in” accounts when every competitor is coming after them.

A lot is changing, and sales managers are groping for levers to pull as they attempt to increase sales.

The new economics of selling is something I’m calling Salesonomics™ because it’s all about making sales, making more sales to existing customers, and making new sales—all profitably!

In the coming months I’ll be rolling out a new book titled Salesonomics™ as well as an on-site managed process for sales teams which I’ve utilized in a number of companies with great success (hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars in additional business landed). 

Consider just four significant shifts (changes) in selling and I think you’ll agree, it’s imperative to target accounts (1) not successfully sold to before, (2) protect existing accounts from competitor infiltration, and (3) expand business with existing customers where we have underdeveloped opportunities.

4 Changes In Selling B2B Today:

Commoditizing everything! Differentiation used to be much simpler. Now however, areas like specialty manufacturing, high tech firms, specialized service, medical device companies, financial planners and advisors, as well as numerous other firms face stiffening competition. This development along with narrowing technological advantages, the ubiquity of the Internet for commerce, globalization, and shorter lifecycles for competitive strategy causes buyers to use commoditizing as a means to intensify negotiations with suppliers.

Price mutilation. As discussed before commoditization is a common strategy with buyers today. If they can get salespeople on their heels and accept that “quality” (as one example of a decision driver) among competitors is equal across the board, this permits them to hammer away relentlessly at price since differentiation has narrowed. New entrants in a market niche often utilize price as a means to gain share initially, further exacerbating the pressures on all suppliers to stay in the game with lower pricing.

Busy buyers. Organizations are running lean and this means that buyers have less time to invest in researching our products/services, less time to think about whether they’re getting the best value for their money, and less time for sales calls from new salespeople. Only those salespeople with a highly effective approach to selling who bring clear, compelling value to the buyer stand even a remote chance of getting a phone call returned, or landing an appointment.

Assertively managing the business relationship. There is less room for error by buyers today, especially costly error. Consequently, buyers feel increased pressure to not make mistakes with big purchases. This also means that we can expect buyers to want frequent, timely communications. They will want to relate with our organization on expanded levels with other managers, tech, support etc. Relationships across our buyer’s enterprise, deep and wide, will be the rule of law in the future. Knowing us better gives them comfort and increases trust. You simply cannot develop too many relationships with customer’s today, especially given the move toward more collaborative buying teams—another hot trend you’ll see take hold if you haven’t already.

Mark Holmes helps companies increase sales, service and employee performance. He utilizes twenty-four years of experience advising, training, and coaching some of America’s most successful small and large companies. His ideas on employee retention, employee motivation, customer service and leadership have been widely featured in major national media like FOX, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, BNET and The Wall Street Journal.

*To inquire about Salesonomics™ or to contact Mark send an email

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