Four trends to watch while formulating sales strategy in the New Economy
(New York) Research from the newly released book "Selling 2.0" has
documented four trends to watch while formulating sales strategy in the
new economy.
Trend#1: Your products are less unique
Finding:
Unique features don't stay unique for long
Design and manufacturing technology have empowered companies to quickly
duplicate advantages product features a competitor might have. The
availability of highly skilled temporary workers allows any company
willing to spend the money to duplicate almost any service. Typically
companies once had three to five years to exploit an innovative feature
before a competitor could "knock off" that feature. Today, unique
features sometimes become commonplace in as little as six months.
Trend#2: You will get more dollars from repeat business
Finding:
70.2% of a salesperson's business now comes from repeat business
In the new economy, one-shot sales are being moved to e-commerce and
call centers. Salespeople are more often handling ongoing relationships
with customers who have long-term selling potential.
Trend#3: Your customers are consolidating
Finding:
24.7% of salespeople report losing business because a customer was acquired within the past 12 months
Consolidation of the customer base is a real issue for salespeople
across all industries. In the future, salespeople will likely have
fewer, larger accounts as their territory.
Trend#4: Your customers are reducing their number of suppliers
Finding:
18.1% of salespeople report losing business because of a supplier consolidation within the past 12 months
Information technology has enabled companies to cut costs by
consolidating suppliers. Dealing with fewer suppliers can help a
company control internal transaction costs. This trend can work in your
favor if you are one of the consolidated suppliers but be disastrous if
you are not.
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