Revolution of The Sales Representative

A sales rep just need to have extensive knowledge on the product they sell, persuade the buyer (which involves a lot of talking) and maybe play a little golf or have a coffee to close the deal, right? …WRONG! If you’re still under the impression that the role of a sales rep is to sell, enter data into the CRM system and provide reports, then you are living in the wrong era my friend.

We live in a world where technology has empowered the customer to be more demanding, better educated and more value sensitive. They are always connected to a world of opinion, advice and information that presents them with endless choices. This means that the customer is running the show! Sales reps are now competing in an ever-expanding environment with a wide range of products and services, new customer engagement channels and a growing list of competitors. If they are to survive in this new era they must understand customers’ needs and provide them with valuable advice and insight, not to mention multitasking.

Out with the old and in with the new!

In the past sales reps were told how to sell and how much to sell with little freedom of creating their own sales. They were trained to know everything about the product and equipped with gadgets, brochures and warranties; they were off to convince customers that it is what they want. However, thanks to Google, smartphones and social media platforms customers are in control of when and how to access information. According to the Sales Benchmark index, customers are 69% through the sales process before they contact a sales rep. Customers not only want the latest and best products; they also want solutions to all their problems and quality service.

Constant learning and adapting to the ever-changing environment is thus important for sales reps to enable them to truly understand the needs of their customers and build strong customer relationships. Sales reps will thus need to be more conscious and knowledgeable of their customers’ problems as it might not always be related to the product itself. They need to be responsible for the entire customer life-cycle and not just one part of it, merging the roles of marketing, sales and support. They need act as ambassadors for the business.

The New Role of Sales Representatives

The 21st-century sales reps need to utilize all the essential resources of the company in order to create and maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The revolution of sales reps will require them to fulfill new roles, these roles include:

• Collecting information from customers, suppliers and their own company regarding their needs and requirements.

• Gathering external information on their industry and customers to keep up with the latest trends and identify opportunities and threats.

• Analysing the gathered information to prepare reports and come up with solutions to customers’ problems.

• Plan, present, inform, persuade and put these solutions into action.

• Keep the company up to date on all activities and results that they are working on.

• Provide continuous support during the entire transaction process, from pre-sell to post-sell activity. The role of the sales rep thus shifts from primary to supportive, engaging all company resources.

• Constantly improve their sales methodologies and business insight to stay ahead of their competitors. They must be persistent in acquiring new knowledge through training, self-learning, asking for advice and seeking mentors to enhance their performance.

In Summary

The revolution of sales reps demands them to be complex people that interact with their buyers remotely. This can be due to customers’ easy access to information online. Selling in the new era requires repeated sales interaction processes that are optimised through research and analysis, enabling sales reps to handle more opportunity while simultaneously providing a responsive and tailored sales experience to the demanding customer.

REFERENCE LIST:

• Bob Marsh. 2013. What Has Changed in Sales? The Sales Manager [Blog, 4 November]. Available: http://www.inc.com/bob-marsh/what-changed-in-sales-is-sales-manager.html [2016, October 5].

• Clemens Czarnecki. 2013. A New Role for Sales Force in Sales Management [Blog, 26 September]. Available: http://blog.pipelinersales.com/leadership/sales-force-management/ [2016, October 8].

• Ian Tickle. 2014. Empowering the 21st-century sales force [G1] [Blog, 11 November]. Available: http://diginomica.com/2014/11/11/empowering-21st-century-sales-force/ [2016, October 2].

• Lars Lofgren. 2012. Why You Should Replace Your Sales Reps with Ambassadors [Blog, 25 September]. Available: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/replace-reps-with-ambassadors/ [2016, October 3].

• Nick Hedges. 2014. The Inside Sales Revolution and the Pull towards Sales Acceleration [Blog, 17 September]. Available: http://www.inc.com/nick-hedges/the-inside-sales-revolution-and-the-pull-towards-sales-acceleration.html [2016, October 3].

• Peter Ostrow. 2015. Here, There, and Everywhere: 21st Century Selling Comes of Age [Blog, 14 April]. Available: http://www.business2community.com/sales-management/everywhere-21st-century-selling-comes-age-01204884#WftudWqcTilIV7Om.97 [2016, October 3].

• Dr. Rick Johnson. 2008. The Role of the 21st Century Professional Sales Representative [Blog, 14 May]. Available: http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article32630.html [2016, October 5].

• Social Sales Academy. n.d. Why We Love 21st Century Sales Transformation (And Copier Sales Reps Should Too). Available: http://www.socialsalesacademy.net/why-we-love-21st-century-sales-transformation-and-copier-sales-reps-should-too/ [2014, December 10].