As we head into the fourth quarter of 2014, the best sales managers and VPs are pushing to finish the year strong – but they’re also already looking ahead to 2015. Technology, along with an endless supply of information, is changing the way customers buy. Customers are raising their expectations on a daily basis. And there is more competition for every sale, whether it’s fairly simple or incredibly strategic. How are top sales organizations responding?
Here are 15 trends to consider when creating your 2015 sales strategy.
1. Integrate your sales and marketing initiatives.
2. Go mobile.
3. Identify activities that lead to results.
4. Reward for improvement.
5. Collaborate on goal-setting.
6. Connect with your CRM.
7. Ride the waves.
8. Keep things simple.
9. Go head to head.
10. Make goals visual.
11. Get social.
12. Learn to earn.
13. Get inside their heads.
14. What’s the buzz?
15. Stop selling already.
Review your priorities with this list of trends for the coming year and make sure you’re prepared to change the game within your sales organization. New competitors are popping up every day – online, in-store, on the phone and in meeting rooms across the world. They don’t have old models to sustain so their message may sound more relevant to your customers.
What message are you sending? Is it relevant? Current? Use this list of ideas and trends for 2015 to help you take an outside-in look at your organization and make the changes you need to stay ahead of the game.
http://www.biworldwide.com/en/white-papers/sales-channel-effectiveness/2015-sales-trends
2. As we head into
the fourth quarter
of 2014, the best
sales managers
and VPs are pushing
to finish the year strong – but
they’re also already looking
ahead to 2015.
15sales
trends
for
2015
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
3. Technology, along with an
endless supply of information,
is changing the way
customers buy.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
4. Customers are raising their
expectations on a daily basis.
Technology, along with an
endless supply of information,
is changing the way
customers buy.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
5. Customers are raising their
expectations on a daily basis.
There is more competition
for every sale.
Technology, along with an
endless supply of information,
is changing the way
customers buy.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
8. Silos and competing
budgets make true
integration next to
impossible. Improve
this by making
fundamental changes
to your strategy.
1Integrate your
sales and marketing.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
9. Mobile usage has over 75%
of customers using their
smartphones to shop.
The numbers continue to rise
and if your sales force isn’t mobile, they are
losing an edge over the competition.
2Go mobile.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
10. These may include
tracking systems, big data,
targeted presentations,
social selling or displays
and demos.
3Identify activities
that lead to results.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
11. Look for opportunities to reward
your team for growth over
a previous time period,
a specific-product focus,
progress-to-goal or
month-over-month progress.
4Reward for
improvement.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
12. Use choice architecture to
break down bigger goals
into smaller milestones;
then reps choose how
high to set their sights over the
short-term.
5Collaborate
on goal-setting.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
13. In the long run, a CRM can
make a sales force more
productive in many ways.
Reinforce and reward
reps for loading accurate data.
Connect
with your CRM.6
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
14. Coordinate your sales
contests with advertising
campaigns, sponsorships
and events to convert
the most leads and
prospects into sales.
7Ride the waves.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
15. Once you determine your priorities
for 2015, carefully lay them out
into an actionable roadmap
for your team.
8Keep things simple.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
16. The “N-Effect”
demonstrates how we get
more competitive when we
have fewer competitors.
Go head to head with sales incentives.
9Go head to head.
vs
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
17. Innovative sales managers
are implementing ways
to visualize their data and
visually show progress to
goal for individuals and teams.
10Make goals visual.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
18. Sales reps that are not using
social media are falling
behind. Work with your
marketing team to understand
how you can reinforce key messages
to support the company’s brand and
create your own online presence.
11Get social.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
19. Mobile learning tools are set
to expand throughout 2015,
dishing out big learning
objectives in small chunks to
ensure reps and channel partners
understand key selling points.
12Learn to earn.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
20. Up to 77% of all of the
decisions we make are
based on emotions. Get inside
the heads of your sales team, channel
partners and customers to understand
their emotions and biases, then tailor your
messages to win them over.
13Get inside
their heads.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
21. There’s always an unofficial
“buzz factor” going around
your sales organization.
Understand who the thought
leaders are in your sales force
and look to them to generate
positive buzz for your critical initiatives.
14What's
the buzz?
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
22. Sophisticated customers
don’t want to be “sold.”
Successful sales teams in
2015 will do their homework,
connect with customers,
understand their priorities and
bring them provocative ideas
that produce results.
15Stop selling
already.
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com
24. BI WORLDWIDE uses the principles of
behavioral economics to produce measurable
results for our clients by driving and sustaining
engagement with their employees, channel
partners and customers.
FOLLOWUS...
Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | Singapore | UK | US | BI WORLDWIDE.com