A recent article in the Harvard Business Review examines the future role of sales people in the business-to-business (B2B) environment. The article is based on “Death of a B2B Salesman,” a new report from Forrester Research, and encourages companies to transform their sales models by incorporating digital media into their processes.
For the last several years, I've had the opportunity to write and speak on the topic of how technology is impacting the B2B buying process. The Forrester study highlights some significant trends that should get the attention of CEOs, CMOs and CSOs in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The study reveals that B2B buyers want to self-educate themselves by going to sellers’ websites to learn about offerings, and a majority of buyers prefer to make purchases online. Forrester also reported that many sellers continue to force customers to deal with a sales representative to learn about prices and complete the transaction.
While actually procuring design and construction processes online is general not feasible, the findings of the report are still valid. My own research over the last few years has indicated that buyers of design and construction services are increasingly using the web to review and validate companies-and even specific company employees-via social networks, technical articles, videos, and other means.
The HBR article, written by James A. Narus, a professor of business marketing at Wake Forest University, encourages firms to rethink its sales funnel and integrate digital marketing into the overall sales and marketing process. In my book, Building Business with Social Media, I discuss how technology is impacting the process for finding, attracting, and retaining customers. Efforts to establish thought leadership and become a knowledge provider will provide buyer with information to educate themselves to them make purchase decisions. Digital marketing effort must be integrated into the sales and marketing process. AEC firm leaders must encourage and promote cohesion between the sales and marketing efforts to better align with the behaviors of customers.
According to the Forrester study, sales people can still be important to the process by adding value to the customer's purchasing process. The study describes the role of today’s field salesperson as an educator, negotiator, consultant, solution configurator, service provider, and relationship manager.
As with every function in business, the sales role is evolving. Companies in the AEC industry must continually analyze their customer's buying process and proactively integrate digital marketing into their sales approach to meet their buyers needs.
