Why "One-Size-Fits-All" Doesn't Work
Evolving Sales Strategies
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Came across this post on LinkedIn and it made me think about not only where the market is going but also how it’s not the best idea to lean in on ONE thing. This reminds me of when “social selling” was beginning to emerge as a channel to use for outreach.
What followed was an endless amount of rants and posts stating that “COLD CALLING IS DEAD”. This trend somehow survived to today. If you’re a reader of Hacking Sales you know the lies about cold calling.
In my opinion, the stance of leveraging only one channel or even skillset isn’t logical even IF the market does evolve in this direction (and I actually agree with the author’s POV). It’s choosing to approach a problem with the mentality that only there’s only one way. That said, there are some interesting points here that I’m seeing in the market which I think might be worth touching upon.
Today we’ll cover a few topics and some of the things to look at that can help you evolve as the communication landscape changes, navigating AI, and a new generation of buyers become the DM’s and EB’s that you’ll have to get in touch with.
The good news is that if you’ve been reading this newsletter, you know that I’m bullish on three things:
link to original post
Here’s what we’ll cover today.
Editorial Content
The Type of Software You Sell
Nuance Drives Business Communications
Tech innovates, Comms innovate
Editorial Content
One of the reasons that I started this newsletter was not only to help other sellers and founders navigate the GTM but there was an underlying driver. For me to hone in on becoming a better writer.
Most buyers will have come across content before entering into a sales cycle and I’ve personally seen the difference between having a solid marketing program backing the sales team and NOT having one. I’ve also seen the difference in outbound messaging that produces results and doesn’t. The answer is solid COPYWRITING.
Buyers don’t have time to take calls because they’re keeping their head above water with THEIR job. So social, content, and crisp communication is easier to get the point across. This isn’t conjecture. It’s already happening.
The LI post at the start of this article is a by product of a new generation and how they naturally interact along with customers not having any headspace because they’re so busty. So stop making prospects think.
Deal Director brings up a great point:
Credit: Deal Director
Couldn’t agree more and we’ll continue to see an evolution of this in the market. Not necessarily sure where it will go however I’m confident in this: people will need to have a sense of *who* they’re buying from.
B2B is unique in the sense that you have multiple decision makers and orgs HAVE TO WANT to buy a solution. The tactics a high ticket closer or high end consumer product sales person can leverage will NEVER work in B2B. And if your “enterprise” product can be purchased on a credit card - it’s NOT an enterprise product.
This segues nicely into the next point.
The Type of Software You Sell
If you sell something that has a low barrier to purchase or involves a limited number of decision makers - it’s going to be easy to have someone create content, or even use AI to displace *people*.
The more complex a problem is, the more complex a solution is. These components ultimately dictate more decision and with that, more decision makers. You’ll need a *person* to connect the dots.
This is the hedge against AI. If you want a resource on how to navigate the software market and see WHERE there’s opportunity, refer to this post.
The reality of every business is that in certain segments, verticals, or niches - all challenges are relatively the same. Every sales person or customer I speak with generally has a relatively similar problem that’s bifurcated into millions of shades of grey based on what their overall strategy is.
This is what drives business conversations.
Nuance Drives Business Conversations
There’s so much content out there on “differentiation”.
Why?
Because if every single problem was the same across company to company, the market would naturally race to the bottom.
The solution would then become a commodity and the path to win is to undercut competitor’s pricing.
Also known as a “race to the bottom”.
In some cases this works but it’s a slippery slope that isn’t good for any business or sales team. I’ve also seen in orgs within industries where competitors happily go into the red to win marketshare and business. And look, I’m not perfect. I’m guilty of leveraging “discounts” to get a deal across the line for my sanity, bank account, and alleviating the stress of hitting targets.
The reality is that it’s poor salesmanship. The only other factor that is outside of your control is the product you’re selling. Refer to the paragraph above to hedge against that.
If you’re able to clearly articulate the value of your offering and how it *uniquely* helps your customer, dollars will ultimately flow to you in large amounts and even if a customer doesn’t have budget it tends to *magically* appear when there is a challenge.
Tech Innovates, Communication Innovates
Innovation by nature is taking a different approach. Be it an entirely new approach or combining a different set of skills to solve the problem.
I received this question on X:
I wish that I could have provided some magical answer that shared how you can consistently produce meetings that lead to closed deals and then I don’t know, patent a money making machine?
Really I’m just combining a set of skills that I’m continuing to sharpen (copywriting in emails, social selling, mutli channel touches, etc). I’m evolving like everyone else to make sure that I’m both current with today’s buyers and staying ahead of what buyers might want in the near future from sales interactions.
Here’s some perspective:
Evolution is painful and hard. I’d like to think that I’m a good sales person, but it took YEARS to get there.
I’m not quite sure everyone has the answers but if you’re stance is that THIS IS THE ONLY WAY in any context - don’t listen.
Experiment, analyze feedback, learn. THAT’s the ANSWER.
DON’T take the one size fits all approach. Use all the tools in your toolbox.
As always, thanks for reading and see you all next week.
-Andrew K
PS in case you missed it: