Throughout the Think Small series, we’ve been exploring a core message: Marketing to SMEs means embracing a whole new way of selling. It means not relying on past tactics – including ‘defaulting to digital’.
Earnest and Imperial College London ran a study to find out how B2B buyers make a purchase. As you’d expect, online makes its presence felt across the purchasing journey.
- It enables them to research and compare products and services.
- Makes it easy to get the opinions of peers and experts.
- Provides a huge choice of where to buy.
But our study also revealed buyers feel overwhelmed by how much information is out there – especially when they’ve limited time to do their research. There’s also a healthy scepticism about the reliability and integrity of the information available. And this is leading to a desire to interact with real people and feel reassured they’re making the right decisions.
Cue the B2B sales rep.
Be ready to interact throughout the purchasing journey
Despite suspicions that B2B buyers are becoming more autonomous in the digital age, our study highlights small business want to interact with suppliers. Half of respondents said they’re having multiple conversations across different channels before buying.
The study also revealed buyers fall into two distinct segments, based on the degree of independence or interactivity they prefer. The majority (68% of respondents) fall within the ‘interactive’ segment – they want to engage potential suppliers across the purchasing journey. The ‘interactives’ also see value in speaking with the sales rep. This segment is three times more likely than the ‘independents’ to prefer talking face-to-face, and twice as likely to prefer phone calls. The ‘independents’ (32%) are more likely to buy without interacting with suppliers at all – and they prefer online channels when they do. They’re three times more likely than the ‘interactives’ to prefer web chats. And they see the sales exec as more of a hindrance than help.
From the above figures it’d be easy to assume buyers are sat waiting for a sales rep to call. You’d be wrong. Buyers want to engage sales teams on their terms – when the time is right. And this is where stores and reps can weigh in.
Reps’ knowledge and bedside manner really matters
Our study showed that as buyers’ trust in store visits increases, time spent researching falls. So a personable, well-informed sales exec who can advise a customer on what’s right for them can be the clincher (even if the customer ends up buying from the brand online).
In our study, 55% of respondents said they’re looking for suppliers who ‘share their own business values and vision’, with 38% even describing their regular suppliers as ‘good friends’.
Clearly, it’s vital the customer believes the sales rep has their business’ interests at heart, not the brand’s. Which means helping, not selling – a theme that runs through the whole Think Small campaign.
3 quick ways to build a better sales repEducate your sales execs on what SME customers care about (and what they don’t) so they know how best to position your offering.Train them on how to make an emotional connection with buyers – no trust, no sale.Embrace technology like video conferencing and live chat, so they can give buyers all the help they need if they can’t meet in person.
The takeaway
Online features heavily throughout the buying journey, from first awareness to research to purchase. But the sales exec still has a big say in convincing prospects to buy – as long as they adapt their approach.
- Move away from the hard sell.
- Take the time to understand the buyer’s business.
- Build a rapport and become a trusted adviser.
In a nutshell: Be the brand that’s trying to help, not pushing the sale.
