THE FUTURE OF B2B SELLING

Today, AI-powered buyers have equal or greater access to information than sales professionals. It's time for your company to shift away from discussing product features and solutions and instead focus on understanding the needs, struggling moments and desired outcomes of your customers. No one cares about them... except your product team.

Features, Benefits and solutions are Dead

My first article on this topic, buried features and benefits back in 2011. Yet, they are like a zombie apocalypse (a dreadful movie from the same year) and refuse to die, haunting the Website pages and .pdfs of B2B technology companies along with another artefact from the past, solutions, which my friend and colleague Bob Apollo wrote about recently.

Ditch the Pitch

Another 20th-century relic that I cringe upon hearing is "sales pitch". 

Today, we are laying sales-pitch to rest. The term "sales pitch" should be barred from the sales lexicon as it carries a connotation of manipulation and insincerity, reminiscent of sideshow spruikers or pitch-men of the 19th century, whose aim was to sell without regard for the customer's needs. Using the term "pitch" demeans the integrity of the sales profession, reducing it to a mere performance rather than a meaningful exchange of information and understanding. Today's buyers seek intelligent conversations with well-informed sales professionals who can provide valuable insights about the industry and share compelling stories of how they've helped others.

This shift in buyer expectations means we must ditch the outdated PowerPoint pitch and move towards authentic, value-driven interactions that prioritise customer needs and interests.

BANT

The BANT framework, long ingrained in sales culture, is outdated and inappropriate for prospect qualification.  I shudder to think of SDRs using BANT on a first call with a prospect trying to get a commitment for an initial meeting, yet it still happens. This article from Dave Kurlan, "Improper use of BANT will cause you to kill opportunities", clearly explains the problem with BANT and why it is neither an effective qualification tool nor a valuable sales methodology and deserves to be laid to rest along with the other villains.

The Rise of 21st Century Selling

In the 21st century, buyers are interested in your insight into their business problems and how your capabilities can help them achieve better outcomes and for those outcomes to impact their business and create sustainable value.  This is the golden era of consultative selling.

If your Website and .pdfs are burdened with features, benefits and solutions, or your sales leaders insist on you practicing your pitch and think BANT is a good way of qualifying opportunities, we would love to help your company move into the modern era of professional selling.