Salespeople and marketers often focus on the sales process to track a commitment. Different labels are put on selling steps, but generally they are seen as: identify, connect, discover, advise, and close. (Read more about our recommended sales process.)

What can be forgotten—and shouldn't be—is that a prospect is also going through a buying process, their buyer's journey, in sync with your efforts to sell.

We are living in an age of the empowered buyer. Your prospects are in more control of the buying/selling process than ever before. They’re increasingly annoyed by old school marketing strategies and high pressure sales tactics. In order to be successful in today’s hyper-competitive market, it’s important that we listen to our buyers and understand their expectations.

Do your sales processes align with how prospects buy?

When it comes to securing new accounts, the Internet has turned the buyer-seller relationship on its head. Yesterday, buyers depended on sellers for information. Consequently, sellers had an upper hand in structuring and guiding the sales process.

Today’s prospects are more in control of the buying process than ever before. They don’t care about what the next step in your sales process is or even the typical buying journey that your marketing team has spent countless hours researching and mapping.  

The premier thought leaders in business today all seem to agree that the B2B sales paradigm has shifted and sales organizations need to re-evaluate their go-to-market strategies and sales processes if they are to succeed in meeting their growth objectives. Below are links to some recent research I found.

Gartner: "The Future of Sales Is More Digitally Supported, Customer-Focused and Strategically Aligned"

Key Quote: “Business unit and strategy leaders must better enable their sellers with skills that drive customer value. A targeted focus and tighter alignment with digital marketing initiatives and new buyer journeys can create a competitive advantage.” – Tiffani Bova

Prospects are looking and reading online regardless of where they are in their buying process, from just starting to think about it to deep in the throes of their final decision. You have an opportunity to help them--and to be seen as a thought leader and preferred supplier--at every stage of the buyer's journey.