Enterprise Selling in the 21st Century

A Need to Change

BY ART WASKEY

Art Waskey has over 45 years’ experience in the welding and industrial gas industry. He travels across the country consulting and giving seminars on business skills and has published 3 books of sales skills stories. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Ministry in Leadership Development, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry. You can subscribe to Art’s weekly sales tips and monthly articles on his website. Also, check out his Posts on LinkedIn. For services, contact Art at 720-341-9405, artwaskey@ ispeakd.com, www. impactspeakingdynamics. com A distributor asked for advice on creating new opportunities. His company was experiencing sales erosion to alternative channels. While sales of the company’s added value items that require technical assistance remained strong, its higher profit-margin products were not being ordered. The distributor bemoaned, “Since the pandemic, 15-20% of our revenue has been lost due to reductions in sales of our basic products.” The company’s bread and butter items— like consumables, safety products, and hand tools — were being shopped online elsewhere. The company needed a change.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SALES

Sales techniques have always adjusted to economic and business trends. The industrial revolution made products available in large volumes for the first time and a network of distributors was developed to stock inventory locally. This represented a big change in distribution and a company’s approach to sales.

Corporate sales cycles were introduced in the ‘60s and ‘70s by companies like IBM, General Electric, and General Motors. These commercial giants wanted goods sold on their timeline. Purchasing agents found this type of selling formulaically abusive and started resisting in the ‘90s.

This ushered in the advent of relationship selling, working deals based on promoting higher levels of trust between sales and purchasing. In the 21st century, solution and consult-based selling techniques were introduced. All these transactional sales methods have had their purpose. Today, in response to digitization, a change in the sales process needs to be considered. SALES CHANNELS SHIFT

The impact of online sales to the distributor channel is being felt. In their November 4, 2021, podcast, the Distribution Strategy Group (DSG) (distributionstrategy.com) predicted a 5-year revenue channel shift in commercial sales. DSG sees traditional distributor revenues potentially dropping an additional 13%, from 65% to 52% of all commercial sales. On the other hand, they expect to see a rise in the other channels: retail channels from 6% to 7%; manufacturer direct sales, 17% to 18%; marketplace with multiple sellers (e.g., Amazon business), 5% to 9%; and pure digital distributors, also 5% to 9%. Gains in these other channel sales are projected to be up 10%, rising from 35% to 48% of total sales. This analysis serves as a wakeup call for distributors. Like the innovative software solutions necessary to handle internal affairs in the digital age, distributors must realign outside salesforce practices to meet the challenge of shifting sales channels created by digitization.

A SWOT ANALYSIS

A simple SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis yields insight to the changes needed in the distributor sales force network. The Strength of the distributor is its local connection to the customer, which allows for better communication and options for delivery from nearby warehouses and facilities. The largest Weakness for the independent distributor is its relatively small e-commerce presence, which can lead to the loss of market share. The bright spot is the Opportunity distributors have to offer significant and unique solutions to their

Enterprise Selling works when customer needs are met with your innovative capabilities.

customer’s needs as a result of their local relationship. The Threat of market share loss can be mitigated with a rapid sales process adjustment.

ADJUSTING TO CHANGE

Information technology is at the root of why so much has changed in the way we do business, both internally and externally.

I was reminded of the importance of staying current on software trends during a workshop I recently attended. Computers Unlimited, the software developer hosting the event, specializes in providing independent gas distributors with customized, integrated ERP software solutions. Their products help streamline the many internal processes essential to running a gas distribution business. Attendees represented the owners of progressive companies and IT personnel charged with implementing software systems.

I was impressed with the care taken by the developers to study this distribution group in order to create software applications that met their specific needs. The workshop brought to light the importance of being able to adjust to change. The internal innovations provided by the software developers are indicative of how distributors must also be ready to make changes to their outside sales process.

USE INSIGHT

Today’s customer is awash in information — and it can all look alike. To make a good decision, he/she needs insight from a knowledgeable supplier. Introduce ways your customer can save money and increase earnings using your products. In The Challenger Sales, Taking Control of Customer Conversation, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson relate, “We have found that 53% of loyalty was by the sales experience – namely the supplier’s ability to deliver unique insight to the customer.”

ENTERPRISE SELLING

Enterprise Selling is the business of capturing sales in today’s fast paced digital economy and it requires renewed effort. The Enterprise sales strategy was first used to sell large, sophisticated purchases in the 1950s. Its best practices have evolved over time and today’s top salespeople have taken Enterprise Selling one step further — using it to act as business advisors to the client.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

From the discovery stage to closing, Enterprise Selling relies on a sales rep’s personal attention to detail and ability to customize solutions to close a deal.

Building on progressive insights, such as the writings of Roy Chitwood in World Class Selling and Matthew Dixon and Brent Adams in The Challenger Sales, Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (challengerinc.com), the next generation sales process must occur with collaborative partnerships. To recapture revenue lost to alternate channels and retain existing sales, a relationship among key influencers must be developed.

Enterprise Selling occurs when you demonstrate where customer needs meet your company’s innovative capabilities. According to Mark Dancer, “B2B companies should work more closely with partners not to specify how they work, but to understand how they work. By comparing methods across multiple partners, new insights may be gained that can lead to unexpected innovation opportunities.”

Spend time getting to know your customer’s business. Analyze that business in terms of your capabilities. A salesperson’s priority is to understand where each player fits in terms of the customer’s and the distributor’s business objectives. Build customer relationships with key executives in sales, marketing, operations, and administration. Question each on their specific needs.

ENHANCE THE VALUE CHAIN

Enterprise Selling involves the use of new sales methods. To make this type of selling work, both salespeople and customers need to learn about these new ways to transact business. Train your sales team in Enterprise Selling techniques. Lead customers through any new external sales processes so they are aware of its value to their bottom line. For example, once a distributor makes the transition to e-commerce, it must teach

the client how to use it to benefit its customers.

Capitalize on your long-term local customer relationships and your team’s command of the latest technological developments. Find the opportunities inside the customer by asking their executive team these questions: • What are your company’s strategic objectives for the next one to three years? • Where are you the strongest against your competitors?

Where are you lagging? • What business problems are you focusing on with your customers? • What are some of the latest trends in your industry? • How will these trends affect your company? • What is unique about your position in the marketplace? • Where are you most vulnerable?

The goal of Enterprise Selling is to implement changes that enhance the traditional role of the distributor’s value chain partnership. To make this work, you need to ask questions. Are you training your field sales force to understand and take advantage of these changing trends in the industry? Are your

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reps speaking to the customer about how to achieve better outcomes in their own language? Do reps know the stakeholders and their reasons for deciding to use your products or services?

THE OPPORTUNITY

You have the same sales opportunity today as you did pre-digitization, but you need a new plan of attack. Use Enterprise Selling to offer significant and unique solutions for your customers’ needs. Become a strategic partner to your customers.

Get creative in your approach to selling. For example, Mark Dancer suggests, “Local distributors and manufacturers could band together to pitch ‘quality of business,’ which is achieved through their coordinated local products and services.” Use your product knowledge and insight to create new opportunities and recover revenue lost to digital channels.

As new ideas gain traction, intentional mindfulness is needed to stay aware of how value is created for customers. Remember, Enterprise Selling works when customer needs are met with your innovative capabilities.