I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the sales landscape for companies of all sizes has undergone significant transformations over the past year. Quite frankly, it’s been head-spinning.
AI assisted tools are helping salespeople find buyers who want and need what they have with more precision than ever before. Buyers are also much more sophisticated and informed as a result of having more information and control than ever before, making it crucial for sales teams to adapt their strategies accordingly.
Now more than ever, an impactful and successful sales approach must strike a balance between technology and human expertise to drive sales success and propel businesses towards a prosperous 2024.
Reflecting on AI in the Sales Landscape
One of the key recent changes has been the refinement of AI assisted sales enablement tools. Bots are out. Well actually, they’re still around, but they are becoming so much more human sounding that it won’t be long before we humans won’t know the difference.
There are new tools that automate prospecting in a good way – good for the sellers and the buyers. There are new tools for finding people who are searching for products or services and solutions, making it easy to enter their search and start conversations.
I’ve been really impressed and encouraged by how AI is shaping up to improve the sales process on both sides. If you want to see what I’m talking about, look at Seamless.AI or Vidyard for just a couple of examples.
One thing that won’t change is the need for a prospect to interact with a knowledgeable sales professional at a critical part of the sales process, at least in B2B sales.
Professional is the key word here – buyers want to work with trusted advisors during the sales process. This preference will continue to shape and evolve the definition of sales.
Grateful for Opportunity and Growth
As a sales consultant, I wake up every day feeling privileged that I get to help second-stage companies at such a critical time of their growth journey.
My clients are smart, driven, successful business owners. They’ve developed proven products or services, and they know the value they provide to their clients. They’ve established a solid foundation. They come to us to help them get to the next stage and it’s been incredibly rewarding to participate in and witness the impact that our efforts have had on their success.
It’s well documented that second-stage companies face unique challenges as they move from one growth stage to the next. They hit scary plateaus in growth that propel them to do things differently.
This year, we’ve helped clients change their sales approach from depending on inbound leads to actively identifying and converting outbound leads generated by their sales team’s efforts. We helped clients find new markets, diversify their customer base, and fine tune their sales messaging.
We’ve also helped clients adopt new AI assisted lead generation and sales enablement tools, which has given them and us a clear understanding of how these tools are changing the way sales is done.
While each clients’ goals may be unique, our role is consistent: as sales consultants, we help them do things differently to jumpstart their growth trajectory.
Beyond the measurable results we create, I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to work alongside these passionate and driven entrepreneurs. Their commitment to innovation and their willingness to embrace new strategies have been inspiring. It’s been an honor to play a part in their journey.
Accelerating Business Growth in 2024
If we have worked with you directly this year, thank you specifically for your confidence in us and partnership with us in developing and implementing just the right plan to help you make the changes you need to continue to grow.
As we look ahead to the new year, we are excited to think about all of the ways we’ll help new clients who are experiencing plateaus change things up to achieve next stage growth.
And to all of our readers and followers, a heartfelt wish to you for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2024!