Even before COVID-19, the way we do business and sell was fast evolving, thanks to growing tech-enabled and remote sales methods. Now, it’s changing at turbo speed. Gone are the days of regional reps and expansive trade shows. Like many other business activities, sales in the post-COVID world increasingly take place online and remotely. According to a July 2020 McKinsey analysis:
- 96% of B2B sales teams have fully or partially shifted to remote selling
- 79% of B2B companies say they will likely sustain these shifts for 12 months or more beyond the pandemic.
- Revenue generated from video-related interactions has jumped 69% since April 2020.
These trends raise the stakes for sales teams that already lost the space to naturally exchange ideas and knowledge. We know how hard it is to build a meaningful connection online. Nowadays, a virtual meeting could be a salesperson’s only chance to make a positive impression and pique the buyer’s interest. With entire deals resting on online interaction—sometimes just one—it is more critical than ever to perform.
Then there’s the market. McKinsey estimates that consumers will dial down their discretionary spending between 40-50%, which translates to a 10% reduction in GDP. In B2B sales nearly 50% of companies have dialed down their short-term spending.
It is clear that to meet this challenging moment, sales teams will need to reinvent the way they operate and invest in new tools and capabilities that can drive superior performance. Investment in a collaborative real-time learning platform can help those teams not only overcome, but thrive.
How Collaborative Real-Time Learning Helps Teams Sell
Collaborative real-time learning makes it easy for salespeople to capture lessons learned from each customer interaction, share what works and what doesn’t with team members, and tap into successful sales tips and strategies when engaging in a new sales activity. Together, these capabilities form the basis of the improvement-inducing learning structures that sales teams need to succeed in today’s business climate.
Collaborative real-time learning can be integrated into sales teams’ existing processes. So instead of having to create a whole new way of getting work done, teams can maintain their workflows—and get more out of them.
What is Collaborative Real-Time Learning?
Collaborative real-time learning helps sales teams meet the biggest challenges posed by the uncertain nature of the global market. Salespeople learn on the go by turning every activity into a learning opportunity. They are always ready for difficult meetings with automated meeting preparation, reducing time spent on details that don’t matter and dedicate those newfound hours to successful sales efforts. They maintain a sharp edge with access to relevant insights at the moment of need.
Managers, in turn, stay informed with real-time visibility and insight into employees’ daily challenges—so they can push the team closer to closed deals. They are better equipped to develop their people. On an individual level, when managers see what each employee is struggling with, they can provide targeted advice employees will actually use. On the team level, they can unite the group around a common purpose of collective and personal growth.
There are tangible results, too. Teams that have implemented Shamaym’s collaborative real-time improvement platform see measurable improvement in their business outcomes:
- 15% improvement in conversion from a discovery call to a demo
- 50% reduction in customer call complaints
- 23% improvement in employee learning efficiency
To learn more about the biggest challenges facing sales teams in today’s business climate, and how collaborative real-time learning can help, download Shamaym’s eBook: Optimizing Sales in an Uncertain World.