Our consumer experiences and expectations are influencing our behaviour as a B2B buyer. Most sales reps however have not adapted their way of working to this shift in buyer expectations. For simple purchases, B2B buyers increasingly prefer ecommerce with no salesperson involved. Complex sales on the other hand still requires sales intervention. As consumers we shop online and use apps, e.g. Amazon, Netflix, and Booking.com, and we expect to find the information we need when we want it. Sales reps play no role or a minimal role in this process. As the current sales practices aren’t in line with B2B buyer expectations, many sales reps are boring their buyers. How can you stop boring your buyers and start delivering a better buyer experience?

1. Why the best B2B buyer
experience wins!
Louis Jonckheere
Co-Founder & Chief Product officer

2. Welcome to the
experience age

3. Companies stage experiences
whenever they engage
customers in a personal,
memorable way

4. 89% of consumers make buying
decisions based on experience,
ahead of price and product
6 years ago that number was 12%
Source: Forrester 2017

5. Convenience

6. Exceptional value

7. Winners of today, and tomorrow

8. 90% of B2B companies
expect customer
experience to be the
next battleground
Gartner 2017

9. Meet the traditional
salesperson
Limited added value
Limited relevance

10. =Bad experience
Meet the traditional
salesperson

11. B2B marketing has evolved
MAD MEN ERA
1960-2000
Generate brand
Raise awareness
Success: commercial
views & billboard

12. B2B marketing has evolved
MAD MEN ERA
1960-2000
LEAD-GEN ERA
2001-2016
Generate brand
Raise awareness
Success: commercial
views & billboard
Generate leads
Success: lead volume/
quality caused Sales &
Marketing divide

13. B2B marketing has evolved
MAD MEN ERA
1960-2000
LEAD-GEN ERA
2001-2016
EXPERIENCE
ERA 2017-…
Generate brand
Raise awareness
Success: commercial
views & billboard
Generate leads
Success: lead volume/
quality caused Sales &
Marketing divide
Generate growth
Success: Growth
Brings Sales & Marketing
back together

14. Your mission as a B2B organization
Empowering sales and marketing to
sell the way buyers want to buy.

15. The billion dollar question
How do your buyers
want to buy?

18. Convenience is the new loyalty

19. Do you still need salespeople?
Complexityofoffering
Complexity of decision making
Simple Complex
Complex

20. Let’s start with the order takers
Complexityofoffering
Complexity of decision making
Simple Complex
Complex

21. Order takers will be replaced by automation
Complexityofoffering
Complexity of decision making
Simple Complex
Complex

22. Because it’s more convenient to talk with a chatbot

23. The death of the traditional salesman
Complexityofoffering
Complexity of decision making
Simple Complex
Complex

24. Long live the Salesman!
Explainers Consultants
Navigators
Complexityofoffering
Complexity of decision making
Simple Complex
Complex

25. What makes a B2B buying experience great?
Delivering a
better B2B
experience

26. What makes a B2B buying experience great?
Delivering a
better B2B
experience
Sales
Having smart,
informed sales reps
72% of sellers struggle to
customize offerings and
meet company-specific
requirements.

27. What makes a B2B buying experience great?
Delivering a
better B2B
experience
BuyersSales
Having smart,
informed sales reps
72% of sellers struggle to
customize offerings and
meet company-specific
requirements.
Capable of engagling
with the modern buyer
39% of buyers are
overwhelmed by the
buying process

28. It’s all about the conversation
• Standard conversation
• Feature-driven
• Product
• Price
• Rep-focused
• Personalized conversation
• Value-driven
• Insights
• Consultative
• Buyer-focused
The old sales conversation The new sales conversation

29. CRM and Marketing
Automation are not
the answer.

30. CRM and Marketing automation are not the answer
CRM
Managing and analyzing customer
relation data
Ecosystem of applications
built around it: CPQ, Forecasting...
Manager / Executive Focused

31. CRM and Marketing automation are not the answer
CRM Marketing Automation
Managing and analyzing customer
relation data
Ecosystem of applications
built around it: CPQ, Forecasting...
Streamlining, automating,
and measuring marketing tasks
and workflows
+ Sub categories: ABM
Manager / Executive Focused Marketer Focused

32. What is Sales Enablement?
CRM Marketing Automation Sales Enablement
Managing and analyzing customer
relation data
Ecosystem of applications
built around it: CPQ, Forecasting...
Streamlining, automating,
and measuring marketing tasks
and workflows
+ Sub categories: ABM
Helping sales reps sell
Content management
Sales Engagement
Predictive analytics
Manager / Executive Focused Marketer Focused Sales Rep Focused

33. What is Sales Enablement?
Content
Management
Sales
Engagement
Data
Intelligence

34. Content

35. Map your sales content to your buyers & their
journey…
Industry 1 Industry 2 Industry 3 Industry 8
…
Sub vertical 1 Sub vertical 2 Sub vertical 3
Persona 1
Persona 2
Persona 3
Persona 4
Persona 5
Message
Message
Message
Message
Message
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Goals
Goals
Goals
Goals
Goals
Questions
Questions
Questions
Questions
Questions
Competition
Competition
Competition
Competition
Competition
Objections
Objections
Objections
Objections
Objections
Solution 1
Solution 2
Solution 3
Solution 4

36. … and make it easy to find, when sales reps need it
Don’t do this 😊

37. Organize your content around sales conversations
● Organize and distribute
content based on sales
conversations
● Implement personas, product
types, solutions, languages ...
● Allow marketing to stay in
control

38. Sales Engagement

39. It starts with
sales content

40. Sales Engagement today
How 99% of B2B sellers engage with the buyer today: PPT

41. Why does PPT s*ck for B2B sales conversations?
It only serves as a crutch
If you give PowerPoints to your sales teams, they will read slides –
and not learn the pitch. They will talk at the customers, not converse with them.
It is linear
The customer does not think like you. And did we mention the buying team?
It sets an agenda
In today’s sales meetings, do we really follow agendas?
Too easy to customize
Can destroy your narrative / message

42. Sales Engagement – Whiteboarding
Delivering presentations

43. Sales Engagement – Dynamic presentations
Delivering presentations

44. Sales Engagement – Interactive sales assets
Delivering presentations

45. Sales Engagement – Interactive sales assets
Delivering presentations

46. Sales Engagement – Augmented / virtual reality
Delivering presentations

47. It starts with
sales content

48. It starts with
sales content, and
it ends with how
you deliver it.

49. Sales Engagement – Communication technology
The rise of texting in sales: WhatsApp, FB Messenger …
Source: Velocify, internal study

50. Data Intelligence

51. It’s the platform where all the selling happens, delivering
unprecedented data to sales and marketing teams
Sales Enablement’s AI potential
Prepare Present Live E-mailConference

52. When linked with your CRM tools, you can start to answer a lot of questions
Sales Enablement’s AI potential?
What’s popular amongst my
colleagues?
Which Pitch deck does Joe use
when competing against X?

53. What does a sales rep do?
Selling time
Management
Meetings
Research
Other
Source: Accenture

54. What does a sales rep do?
Selling time
Management
Meetings
Research
Other
Source: Accenture
What Machines will take over

55. Keeping your CRM up to date: Salesflare

56. Finding and creating the right presentation: Showpad

57. Getting the right coaching: Gong.io

58. Understanding your conversation partner: Conversica

59. And what about the Sales rep?
THE HUMAN INTERFACE
EMOTION
Empathy Creativity
Passion

60. Empathy
Computers personalize,
humans make it personal.

61. Passion
Computers deliver,
humans over-deliver.

62. Creativity
Computers predict,
humans surprise.

63. Thanks!
Louis Jonckheere
Co-Founder & Chief Product officer