Kestio

Webinar

Digitalisation of businesses and distance selling

Dominique Seguin, Managing Director of KESTIONicolas Boissard, Marketing Director of Kestio

Hosted by Dominique Seguin and Nicolas Boissard,

Managing Director and Marketing Director of Kestio

 

Why is the digitalisation of companies a key issue since 2020? 

Since the beginning of the COVID crisis, the commercial approach has been forced to evolve at high speed. As physical meetings are no longer possible, many companies have had to go digital.

Although this change is sudden, it has many advantages:

  • the digitalisation of companies saves time and productivity for both customers and sales staff
  • the container (channel) is not the content (conversation), not everything has to change
  • the format and channel better meet customer expectations
  • this accelerated digitalisation will continue over time

What was the work of sales people like before the digitalisation of companies?

Before 2010, there were no real alternatives to the physical meeting. The salesperson had an information-carrying role, bringing information to the customer.

The customer is now autonomous. They carry out 70% of the purchasing process alone. Customers increasingly appreciate distance selling.

Changes in customer expectations

Before, selling was process-centred: the customer expressed a defined need, the salesperson identified a player who had decision-making power over the act of buying, and then a demonstration of the added value was made, in comparison with that of the competitors.

Today, selling is focused on providing value.

The customer is in a state of uncertainty and the role of the marketer will be to identify a stakeholder who is open to change and able to influence decision-makers.

Finally, in the nature of the conversation with the customer, the salesperson will be tasked with disrupting the customer's way of thinking to challenge their existing organisation.

In practice, how is the digitalisation of companies taking place? 

Elements that are likely to change 

In a physical channel, appointments lasted between 45 and 90 minutes, which had an influence on the speed of progress. Sales people could move quickly through the sales cycle.

On the remote channel, the ideal is to have 30-minute exchanges. This involves several things: 

  • a division of the sequences with precise objectives: qualification, anchoring, co-construction
  • the telephone will encourage questioning and therefore listening
  • the telephone is a neutral place, it actually creates a situational balance more favourable to the salesperson.

Elements that are not likely to change

In many ways, however, the work does not change:

  • strategic objective on the account
  • tactical objective on the account
  • formalised interview framing
  • 80% of speaking time on the client side
  • always set a date for the next conversation

Tools for success

You have to be careful not to fall into the trap of "we do the same, except we use the phone".

The digitalisation of companies implies an evolution of tools and processes.

Several tools can be put in place to facilitate distance selling: 

  • CRM
  • Emailing
  • Note taking
  • Visio
  • Agenda
  • Digital signature

To dig deeper into the subject of digitalization of companies, we offer you this white paper: How to optimize my business model?



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