Sales tech changes fast but has buyer behaviour really changed, or do B2B fundamentals still matter?
Working with sales organisations across industries and geographies gives us a clear view of how selling is evolving. AI is now at the forefront of everything from customer profiling and market segmentation to response and fulfilment.
Yet most of these advances are concentrated in B2C. In B2B sales, the fundamentals remain largely unchanged.
What has changed is buyer awareness. B2B buyers are more informed than ever, but alongside that has come a sharp rise in FOMWD (Fear of Making the Wrong Decision). With more information, more stakeholders, and more perceived risk, decision making anxiety in B2B buyers has increased rather than disappeared.
We saw this clearly in our recent work with the JB Hi-Fi Commercial sales team. The focus was not on adding more sales techniques or tightening scripts. Instead, it was about helping sellers support buyers through their decision making anxiety.
Through the Social Style & Versatility and Adaptive Selling programs, the emphasis was on adapting to how the buyer likes to buy. Sellers adjusted their communication style, pace and focus to reduce uncertainty and help buyers move forward with confidence.
The most effective B2B sellers are not those who push product harder. They are the ones who can stand in the buyer’s shoes, understand the pressure behind the decision, and guide the buying process rather than force a sales process.
And here is the key point. That is not new.
B2B sales has always been about helping buyers feel confident in the decision they are about to make. We may talk about products and services, but what we are really selling is our customer’s role/career/business success.
Sales tech has changed the tools but it does not seem to have changed what B2B buyers need. Now more than ever, they want to be able to trust you to help them make the right decision for themselves and their business - a very human need ...
Images above are of the recent 3 days with JB Hi-Fi Business. Thank you Jake and Stuart for a really fun few days!! It was also really good to work with a Sensis colleague from waaaay baaaaack - Jason Drummond.
