As more and more B2B decision-makers prefer digital self-service, migrating to an effective digital selling strategy is the key to high performance.
After the entire world went digital in 2020, it’s become clear that there is no going back to 100% in-person selling—in fact, nearly 80% of B2B buyers prefer digital selling methods. Finding ways to adjust and position your business to engage B2B buyers digitally is crucial not only to perform at a higher level but to stay relevant in your target audience’s buying journeys. Transitioning your sales to go fully digital can be intimidating, especially for businesses accustomed to in-person sales. Learning the best practices for digital selling is key to transitioning into online sales smoothly.
B2B buyers won't remain interested in a product they perceive to have low value, so ensuring your buyer has a deep understanding of the value of your product is essential for digital sales success. When working with a buyer through digital selling, it's best to provide the buyer with easy access to insights and content that demonstrate the value of your product and the positive impact it can have on their daily lives. Case studies, ROI calculators, and product demos are all simple ways to provide your buyer with engaging information that increases both their knowledge and perceived value of your product.
A digital sales room (DSR) can help you effectively showcase your product’s value while ensuring you’re providing the content your buyer is searching for. According to an Enable.us user from Propeller Aero, “We’re no longer guessing about what works and what doesn’t…It [Enable.us] has been incredibly helpful in directing where Propeller puts additional resources to create marketing collateral because we have the data and the insights that ensure we’re making the right decisions.” DSRs don’t just organize your content, they streamline your ability to produce, demonstrate, and market your content to increase buyer engagement and bolster sales.
Keeping all decision-makers in the loop with equal access to all sales materials when and where they need them is vital. The last thing you want is key decision-makers receiving conflicting information, or feeling as if they are excluded from the buying process. Clear and concise communication as well as knowing exactly where the consumer is in their buyer’s journey is made easier through digital sales rooms.
A DSR allows you to upload informative content and resources to a single, easy-to-manage platform that your buyers can access at any time. This means all key decision-makers view the exact same information, ensuring each buyer is aligned on the deal. DSRs also alert the entire sales team every time buyers interact with the content—each click generates real-time behavioral data that lets you know which content the buyer looks at, when they look at it, and how much time they spend reviewing it. You can use this data to inform sales decisions moving forward with a better idea of where the buyers are in their buying journey and what types of content will lead to increased engagement and further motivate the buyer to make a purchase.
Leveraging video to amplify digital selling techniques helps maintain buyer engagement while simultaneously educating the buyer on the value of your product. Video offers a more dynamic way to present information than infographics or text, creating media that the buyer is more likely to engage with. According to a recent study, using videos in sales outreach increased response rates for 70% of sales representatives, creating a marked improvement in prospect engagement and increasing the likelihood of deal closure.
Research has also shown that adding video to your emails creates a 26% increase in replies and a 16% increase in open rates, as the attention-grabbing nature of video elicits increased interest. On top of this, buyers are 13% more likely to remember details from video content over text content. Including video content in your sales methodology is proven to increase and maintain buyer engagement, so it’s crucial to ensure this is part of your digital selling strategy.
Building trust with your buyer is key, so leveraging the voice of former customers can help you form solid credibility with your buyer. Utilizing the voice of the customer — both in feedback to improve your product and in digital selling via testimonials — helps you create a credible brand. Firstly, the customer’s voice in feedback can help you identify both issues in your product and in your digital selling strategy. Are you finding consistent complaints about response times or functionality? Use this to inform ways to improve the buying experience—nearly 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a higher quality experience. Plus, better buyer experiences lead to increased buyer engagement which transforms into higher conversion rates. It’s a win-win!
Along with generally improving the overall buyer experience, sharing information about previous customers’ experiences with your brand allows your buyer to see what they can expect when working with your company and get a genuine opinion from an unbiased third party. Identify previous buyers who could provide positive testimonials, and gather reviews to share with potential buyers. Seeing a consistent base of pleased customers communicates both a high-quality product and experience, increasing the likelihood of deal closure.
Digital selling necessitates easy-to-access resources for the buyer. With 3/4 of B2B buyers preferring digital self-service sales interactions, offering a self-service experience that is easily navigable and communicates everything you need it to is crucial.
DSRs are vital for keeping all of your sales collateral organized and easily accessible. With a DSR, each of your resources—sales decks, customer testimonials, video demonstrations, and more—are readily available in a single space for each decision-maker to view on their own time. This prevents any need for multiple links in email chains, any missing information, or the need to re-send valuable sales materials. The buyer easily locates everything they are looking for in one seamless platform, streamlining the sales process and making digital self-service as smooth as possible for buyers. Now, buyers can engage with your sales collateral at any time that works best for them.
With the increased demand for online communication, digital selling isn’t just growing, it’s here to stay. Adjusting your sales approach to better suit an online buyer helps you adapt to the new normal, as digital sales aren’t going anywhere for the B2B buyer anytime soon.
Leveraging a digital sales room helps you streamline your digital selling process, offering an easily accessible platform for your buyers that instantly provides crucial insights to help them find a solution to their most pressing pain points.
Book a demo with us and see how a DSR can take your digital sales to the next level.
