We recently discussed some of the challenges sellers are facing, but focusing only on one side of the problem doesn’t cut it. Buyers have issues finding sales reps that genuinely understand their core business and its issues. While sellers try to target prospects with basic information and a one-size-fits-all-solution, buyers lose trust and expect more insights from B2B salespeople. Here at ENKI, we seek to understand what buyers expect and wish to close the gap between buyers and sellers. That’s why we’ve compiled some of the essential obstacles faced by B2B buyers.
B2B Buyers as consumers
AI-enabled software collects in-depth knowledge about consumers’ digital activity. When logging unto or visiting a website, tailored content based on their search history is pushed to the user. For example, a video commercial on traveling, shown to a user who previously searched for national holiday dates. As a result, today’s consumers will expect sellers to have a prior understanding of their interests and needs. This naturally applies to enterprise buyers, as these will have acquired the same expectations from being regular consumers when off the clock.
Generic questions, and other catch-all strategies, will therefore, not meet the expectations of modern buyers. The law of expectations for B2B sales is, therefore, as follows: if regular consumers expect it, so will business buyers. In this case, being understood by sales representatives to the same extent that Coca-Cola understands their thirst is key for the buyer.
Being understood is a core problem
We interviewed 100 buyers, and we found that these buyers want their sellers to show them they genuinely understand their core business. Furthermore, a CSO report showed that only 11% of enterprise sales are grasping account-based sales expectations, which have 23% higher win rates.
While sellers try to cope with these sales challenges, we see that there is potential for selling opportunities within B2B sales. Buyers feel misunderstood, and their needs are not addressed according to their expectations. Rather than listening to the prospect and identifying the business problem, sellers often appear biased by offering a one-size-fits-all-strategy. They blindly focus on selling the product instead of helping the buyer to find the right solution. From the first touchpoint, the buyer wants to feel that you understand their needs. It’s, therefore, a salesperson’s job to convince the buyer of the solution’s added value, ideally resulting in a long-lasting relationship.
Basic B2B sales information
According to a CSO report, 77% of buyers don’t see salespeople as a helpful resource to solve their business problems. Prospects don’t want to interact with salespeople for basic information, as this is available to anyone who can use the internet. Instead, they want to go further into detail on new insights.
Buyers prefer a sales rep who understands the industry thoroughly, can quickly identify gaps and opportunities for the client. While finding online information on business solutions became easy, buyers often don’t know how to apply it effectively. This is the gap where salespeople usually jump in. However, prospects like to hear something refreshing as they don’t want to listen to another standard sales pitch.
“As a CMO, I am open to vendors reaching out because I’m always looking for solutions that can address marketing challenges. But the reality is most emails from solution providers end up in the trash folder. I only reply to the ones that seem to have taken time to identify my needs and show genuine interest in my business. It all comes down to having the right people, at the right time with the right message.” Cuneyt Buyukbezi, Chief Marketing Officer at Appnomic
Conclusion
Buyers are desperately seeking salespeople, who are proactively understanding and providing them insights to fill the gap between their expectations and reality. But somehow, buyers and sellers are thrifting further apart instead of meeting in the middle.
Enki, believes that there is a way to cross paths again. We want to make B2B buying and selling more accessible. Our AI-based intelligent software solution gives you insights about your buyers even before you reach out to them. B2B challenges can be overcome and have the potential for creating essential value for buyers and sellers. We create research tools to support B2B sales, identify problems, and offer solutions.
Want to learn more? Get in touch with us.
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