Hybrid sales can help your B2B sales organization hold more meetings and give your customers a better and more personalized experience. Here’s what you need to know to make it happen.
Hybrid sales basically mean that you don’t take an either-or approach to field -and remote sales. Instead, you use a combination of different sales media and methods – which means that you’re using a mix of remote -and face-to-face sales. Choosing the method that works best for the specific part of the sales process you’re in, and getting the benefits that come with each one.
Why go with a hybrid sales model?
Mercuri recently said that “the future of sales is hybrid”, and we happen to think there’s a lot to that statement (even if we’re sure that remote interactions will be in the absolute majority). After all, customers are now expecting an omnichannel model, that includes video calls and web chats, and sales leaders have come to realize that there are huge benefits to adding a a digital and remote element to their sales. Giving them a change to hold more customer meetings and make their sales organization run more efficiently. Which means that sales organizations will be able to up their output while making the day-to-day tasks run smoother and more cost-effectively.
Isn’t it better to move to an entirely remote model?
In the best of worlds, the answer would be a ringing YES. Remote sales do give you an opportunity to save both cost and carbon emissions, while also saving a ton of time for your sales reps and expanding your potential customer base. That said, it can be difficult to replace every meeting with a remote one right away, and some meetings are harder to replace than others. For example, Mercuri showed that while meetings with existing customers could oftentimes be successfully handled remotely, negotiations with new customers can be more difficult. Plus, different customers may want to meet in different ways, why it’s a good idea to be open to both. All to make sure that the customer gets the best experience possible.
In other words, it’s great to aim at making as many sales interactions as possible remote, but still be open to meeting physically if it adds enough value. So that you can get the benefit of both, and use the one that fits the purpose.
How can I start with a hybrid sales model?
If you’re moving from face-to-face sales only to a hybrid model, there are three steps you can take to set the framework for success. Including:
- Finding a tool that can help tie the sales process together, including the meetings you hold and the communication that happens between them. In other words, you may do well in finding a tool that can act as a deal manager, helping you keep track of what is happening both on- and offline.
- Secondly, you should start looking at what physical meetings and touchpoints you can move into the digital world (where the Mercuri study can offer some great guidance). From here, you can replace more and more face-to-face meetings, but keep the ones that really add value.
- Lastly, you need to find a way to create a unified experience across channels. I.e. the customer need to recognize you and your brand no matter if you’re chatting with them, meeting virtually or presenting products or services on the web. A crucial point, as McKinsey showed how a whopping 72% of customers say that a “consistent experience across channels” is a must.
SP_CE can act as a great deal manager that helps you tie the sales process together, while making it easy to create a consistent experience for customers. Want to know how? Contact us for a demo to talk to one of our Remote Sales Experts, or check out our Remote Sales Hub to find more resources about SP_CE, Hybrid- and Remote Sales.
