The Innovative Seller

7Engineering Your Sales Process for Speed

IN THE LAST chapter, I mapped the various paths that a buyer could take based on the way they bought historically. This should include who is involved at which step, actions they take, and how the groups work together. If you did not complete that exercise, that's okay, but after you finish this chapter, it is a must. Without a clear picture of your customer journey and experience, it will be impossible to build an innovative sales process. The second pillar in creating a customized sales experience is engineering your sales process for two things: speed and picking the right path for a buyer based on their intent level. That's the focus of this chapter.

Fixing the B2B Buying Process

As mentioned in Chapter 6, many sales organizations are not optimized for speed today. Forcing people to get on a call, holding back price, and many other traditional sales tactics create buyer friction. According to a Gartner survey, 77% of B2B buyers say their latest purchase was very or somewhat complex or difficult. This suggests that there is a significant amount of friction in the B2B buying process (source: Gartner 2023 B2B Buying Report).

Some of the common friction points that B2B buyers, not sellers, experience include:

• Difficulty finding relevant information
• Long and complex sales cycles
• Lack of transparency
• Poor sales experience

According to a Salesforce survey, 57% of buyers have abandoned a purchase due to a poor sales experience. This ...