Blog Post
Growth Marketing
Axel
Vortex
published on:
09.08.2021
The Future of B2B Sales: Hybrid Sales and Online Lead Generation
Table of Contents
What Does the Future of B2B Sales Look Like? The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting us for nearly 1.5 years now and has had significant impacts on both our personal lives and the world of work. Entire industries were and still are in crisis, and almost all companies had to rethink their work models to ensure the greatest possible safety for employees. Sales were also impacted, and new tools and channels for lead generation, especially in the B2B sector, had to be found.
In this blog post, we share current insights from expert surveys with you and offer tips for your own B2B sales: Which sales models are future-proof? Where and how can online channels help? What advantages has COVID brought to lead generation? How can sales be done effectively?
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Changed the Work and Sales World
Due to contact restrictions and the need for hygiene concepts, travel was very limited, especially in the spring and autumn/winter of 2020 and in spring 2021. Companies switched to remote work, and sales had to work from home and largely forego on-site visits with (potential) clients.
Interestingly, companies reported partly better productivity when working from home - especially those employers who actively supported and promoted their employees during the pandemic. That's according to a study by McKinsey.
The Sales Management Department at Ruhr University Bochum conducted a detailed survey of B2B companies in the DACH region about their experiences with sales during the 2020 pandemic. Business and sales executives from 777 medium and large companies participated in the survey. Over 50% of them were either service sector companies or manufacturers of industrial goods.
Over 89% of those surveyed were affected by the COVID shutdown in 2020; meaning that on-site customer visits were not possible. Nevertheless, the majority of companies met or nearly met their sales goals. Around 19% slightly exceeded their targets, and over 8% significantly exceeded them.
This leads to the conclusion that successful sales can be achieved, at least partially, remotely. Channels like online meetings, video calls on smartphones, as well as LinkedIn and online demos were predominantly used.
You can read more results of the survey further in this article.
Hybrid Work and Hybrid Sales - The Models of the Future
The work model of the future is hybrid. Employees appreciate the freedom and flexibility of working from home but also miss the office and colleagues, feeling isolated. Not everyone can work well from home; the conditions vary significantly depending on family situation and living environment.
A study by McKinsey found: 9 out of 10 surveyed employers want to combine office presence and remote work in a post-pandemic era. However, there is largely no specific plan for how this should be implemented. This results in significant insecurity among employees, the study finds. Questions like: How should work be structured? What are the expectations? Specific approaches or guidelines are largely lacking.
The consequences are burnout, concerns, and stress. Employers need to respond to this situation to alleviate as many uncertainties and fears as possible. A good approach is to involve employees in decision-making processes and discussions, considering: what do employees themselves wish for?
Sales will certainly also increasingly rely on hybrid and remote models, and clear rules and structures are needed here as well. According to the survey of the Sales Management Department at Ruhr University Bochum, approximately four times as many visits were possible compared to on-site sales. Furthermore, online meetings save time - averaging 40 minutes, they were significantly shorter than on-site visits, which lasted an average of 70 minutes. Additionally, travel time, which cannot be used productively to 100%, is saved. This means the online alternative saves more time and frees up resources.
The results suggest that sales are also evolving towards hybrid sales since companies have experienced the benefits of online sales. However, there were also hurdles that companies had to overcome, as hardly any innovation comes without difficulties and challenges.
The Challenges of New Hybrid Work Models in Sales
Hybrid sales mean combining on-site visits and online meetings. The survey from Ruhr University Bochum highlights where the challenges lie.
Online sales operate under different conditions than traditional channels with personal on-site contact. Processes need to be reconsidered, team leaders, and sales staff need to learn new skills. Challenges are also evident on the customer side.
According to the study, acceptance of online sales varies significantly among different types of customers. About two-thirds of global accounts and key accounts could be reached well through online channels. For B and C-customers, it was only just over half or even just 42%. Differences were also noted among different industries.
Not every occasion and situation is suitable for an online meeting.
The study distinguishes between these customer groups and situations:
New customers
First contact initiation
Consultation first purchase
Strengthening the relationship/follow-up
Negotiation appointment
Handling problem-solving and coordination
According to respondents' assessments and experiences, online formats are particularly suitable for problem-solving in new customer sales, while all other situations should be conducted as an on-site visit. This is especially true for negotiation appointments.
For existing customers, all situations are suitable for online formats according to the survey, but relationship nurturing works better in direct personal contact on-site:
Consultation new product/first purchase
Repeat purchase/order (similar/modified product)
Relationship maintenance
Negotiation appointment
Handling problem-solving and coordination
Differences are also noticeable between the different industries of the respondents:
Online meetings are especially useful for banks, insurance companies, and financial service providers, as well as IT and telecommunications
Most problematic in wholesale and retail, on the other hand
It is, therefore, important to understand the clients' preference for support - online or on-site.
Only this information helps decide for which clients and situations an on-site visit is important or even necessary to close a deal and where online meetings suffice or even offer advantages.
Virtual team meetings and video conferences have become an integral part of many teams' work routines since March 2020. The pros and cons have been widely discussed, such as the fact that it is impossible to look someone in the eye during video calls. Online formats also lead to faster fatigue, requiring more frequent breaks - many online conferences already account for this with shorter sessions and more breaks.
The greatest challenge in online sales lies mainly in the limited perception of non-verbal, emotional language. Many cues are lost in video calls, such as facial expressions, gestures, posture, which are available in personal contact and help assess the situation. But technological problems and sales staff's competence in online meetings are also challenges.
This means that new skills are required, sales need to be trained, and the optimal procedure and suitable tools must be tested and established.
Online Lead Generation as Support for Sales
If COVID has shown us and our clients one thing, it's this: online channels are almost indispensable in sales. Nevertheless, many companies have not yet fully exploited the potentials of online advertising and lead generation.
Online lead generation offers many advantages, such as:
Scalability: When the size of the target audience is known, online advertising can be scaled well. Additional information such as the average click rate for the respective channel and type of advertising, as well as click prices or costs for a certain number of ad plays, make it easier to forecast how many people can be addressed with a certain budget - and what it costs to increase this number and gain more leads.
Measurability: With correctly set up tracking, channels and individual campaigns can be accurately evaluated for their efficiency and ROI or ROAS. Even individual advertising materials can be compared to implement campaigns as effectively as possible and achieve the best ratio of revenue to expenses.
Targeted Steering: Targeted addressing of audiences with specifically defined actions is possible in various online channels because this information is available and can be used. This might mean in B2B sales, for example, addressing executives of a specific industry via LinkedIn, or in the B2C sector, reaching people of a certain gender with specific characteristics or interests on Facebook.
What does this mean for B2B sales and the new sales models? Where can online marketing and lead generation help?
Depending on the target group and the industry or topic, online advertising can achieve a high reach - initial contacts could be made through presence in paid and unpaid search results and visibility on relevant social media channels and funneled into the sales funnel.
Furthermore, if a sales tool like LeadInfo (Link on Blogpost) is used, sales can be significantly relieved by prequalifying potential clients and forwarding only the most promising contacts with a high conversion likelihood to sales.
Online marketing also helps to increase brand visibility, position the company as an expert and authority, and build trust with the target audience. This way, the number of contacts with potential clients can be significantly increased through online measures without the sales team always having to be in personal contact. Thus, online lead generation can effectively complement traditional sales.
How to Succeed in Hybrid B2B Sales
The survey has shown: the hybrid sales model ensures greater productivity and saves time and money. Digital channels also offer many opportunities in B2B sales, but online contact cannot completely replace on-site contact - it's important to find the right balance. The key success factors from the results of the Ruhr University Bochum survey and our own experience at a glance:
The training of sales staff is essential to be optimally prepared for online meetings and conduct them successfully. Sales skills are even more important online due to limited non-verbal signals, and new skills are added, such as conducting conversations via online tools.
In this context, leaders also need to take on a coaching role, support, and promote employees. The topic of remote leadership has gained much importance since COVID - leading hybrid or remote teams is a skill many leaders had to learn: for example, how to maintain motivation even in a home office? How to strengthen team cohesion and togetherness, even if teams only see each other virtually.
A high-quality technical setup is essential to avoid problems and present professionally, both in terms of hardware and suitable tools.
To make sales effective, online platforms and CRM systems must be integrated into the sales process.
It is also important for< strong>lead tracking and the assignment of leads to the respective channels and campaigns and for qualifying contacts for the sales process.
In online lead generation, all relevant channels should also be used in B2B sales, especially social networks. Relevant initial contacts can be reached via LinkedIn or XING, for example. Ultimately, it's the combination of different channels that increases success. It's less about the number of on-site visits than the total number of contacts: how often do prospects come into contact with the company - through organic reach, paid campaigns, and personal contact, both online and on-site.
In traditional sales, it was primarily print brochures, catalogs, or on-site product demonstrations. For online sales conversations, high-quality virtual product and company information such as professional product images and videos, image videos, the option for demos, and online company brochures serve as the equivalent.
Good meeting preparation also crucially determines online success: this includes, for example, sending an agenda in advance; the ability to prioritize topics or planning in experts that can be included (an advantage over on-site sales - additional people can be added without significant extra costs).
Freed capacities should be used wisely - for example, by looking after a larger number of customers or intensifying existing customer care. The online format also allows the inside sales team to participate in active sales, e.g., to maintain small clients at low effort and improve customer retention.
Therefore, hybrid sales require, like the hybrid work model, adapted structures and processes, training the sales team, and considering all relevant online channels. Then, there is a great opportunity to gain significantly more leads at lower costs and manage a larger number of clients per employee. COVID, despite all the challenges, has at least opened up new perspectives and potentials for sales.
Digital B2B Lead Generation with the internetwarriors
Do you want to ease your sales efforts and gain more potential clients through online lead generation? As a full-service online marketing agency, we have experts for all important channels on our team and can support your sales by setting up campaigns and implementing efficient tracking. This way, you'll gain more qualified leads that your sales can work on, and you increase both your visibility in your industry as well as your number of prospects and deals.
We analyze your situation with you, identify the right channels and measures for you and support you from conception to implementation and evaluation.
Contact us with no obligation!
Sources
Survey of the Sales Management Department at Ruhr University Bochum: “Hybrid Selling: More Sales Productivity Through Synchronized On-Site and Online Visits” (Link? https://smd.rub.de/hybrid-selling-blog/)
McKinsey & Company: “What executives are saying about the future of hybrid work” (Link https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/what-executives-are-saying-about-the-future-of-hybrid-work)
McKinsey & Company: “What employees are saying about the future of remote work” (Link https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/what-employees-are-saying-about-the-future-of-remote-work)
Did you enjoy the blog? Recommend it now!
AUTHOR
Axel
Vortex
Axel Zawierucha is a successful businessman and an internet expert. He began his career in journalism at some of Germany's leading media companies. As early as the 1990s, Zawierucha recognized the importance of the internet and moved on to become a marketing director at the first digital companies, eventually founding internetwarriors GmbH in 2001. For 20 years – which is an eternity in digital terms! – the WARRIORS have been a top choice in Germany for comprehensive online marketing. Their rallying cry then and now is "We fight for every click and lead!"
