THE NEED FOR A KNOWLEDGEABLE SALESFORCE
A new vision of sales effectiveness
Elearning Software
For a sales executive to be effective in this new environment they must have or have access to the right knowledge at the right time to sustain and even accelerate the buying cycle. Sales executives have always been knowledge workers, but with the advent of the buying cycle, they must now become the ultimate knowledge workers who are expected to provide value beyond what prospects can so easily discover on their own.
The traditional sales process has changed radically in the past five years. As Sirius Decisions points out in its 2007 Sales Assumptions Research Brief, what used to be a process managed by account executives is now one managed by the buyer. Buyers have taken control of the flow of information – shifting the relationship from a sales cycle to a buying cycle.
The catalyst for this shift is the Web, which has revolutionized how businesses interact with prospects and customers. One of the major changes is that marketing organizations are now much more integrated in the buying process. Marketers are the ones who posses market knowledge, complete research, read analysts reports, study competitors and conduct programs to attract prospects. At the same time, they educate the market and differentiate the company, its products, and services.
Information instantly available
Historically, sharing this information with prospects and customers was controlled by account executives as part of the sales cycle. In the Web era, this information is now instantly available through web sites, webinars, and online marketing campaigns that offer case studies, product brochures, customer testimonials, and white papers. The Web has also made it easy to find analyst commentary and recommendations, buyer reviews, price comparisons, customer lists, relevant blogs, and other valuable information.
As a result, buyers have a much deeper understanding of a company’s offerings – frequently before ever engaging with a sales executive. Sometimes these well-informed buyers have even gone through a selection process, disqualified some vendors, and created a short list even before their first sales executive interaction. It is this dynamic that has produced the power shift from the sales cycle to the buying cycle.
In the full article...
With underneath button you can download the full article 'The need for a knowledgeable salesforce'. Here you can read about the following subjects:
· Traditional knowledge transfer: At odds with the buying cycle
· Revolutionary selling requires and knowledge support
· Collaborative sales readliness
· Sales knowledge management
· Measurable improvements in sales performance
· Expanding the value: marketing effectiveness
· Conclusion
- Wat is een leer content management systeem?
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