by Verità&Affari editorial team
Over half of the companies (54%) prefer in-person meetings to virtual meetings (33%) when it comes to evaluating a business proposal. 42% are more likely to purchase from interlocutors with whom they have dealt face to face and to communicate they prefer emails (71%), telephone calls (56%) and direct contacts (38%). 40% of companies indicated that the number of decision makers involved in B2B sales processes has changed, with 23% reporting an increase. Nine out of 10 companies evaluate between three or more suppliers, and the main figures involved in the decision-making processes are at least three: C-Suite (34%), finance and accounting (30%) and supply chain (24%).
The study data
This is the picture that emerges from the eighth edition of the study Buyers’ View of Salespeople di Tack TMI, society of Gi Group Holding which deals with Learning&Development, underlining that the main qualities that a sales person must possess are honesty, clear communication and a consultative approach; the latter is enriched with lemotional intelligence and in particular with the ability to listen, in first place (27%) to make the experience positive.
The survey collected the opinions of 1600 respondents – senior and middle managers – in 16 countries, including Italy, to investigate changes in the B2B purchasing sector and delve deeper into how global buyers today perceive sales professionals and which they are the skills that need to be strengthened to create successful strategies.
“It is clear from the study that the advancement of technology has not replaced the value of direct and interpersonal interaction – he comments Irene Vecchione, CEO of Tack TMI Italy (Gi Group Holding) -. Emotional intelligence is among the first skills that salespeople today must develop to fully understand customers’ needs and respond to them by building long-term relationships of trust. In fact, empathy and emotional connection guide the choices of buyers who expect dedicated consultancy. However, only a quarter of professionals are rated effective at assessing customer needs. It is therefore necessary to invest in the development of skills that can allow you to create authentic and meaningful connections with customers in a multichannel approach, to ensure results in an increasingly competitive scenario”.
The key factors
Only 40% of the companies involved in the survey have kept the same supplier in the last year. Regarding the main reasons that push organizations to choose a partner for more than one line of products or services, three equally important factors emerge (at 29%), which influence the decision: the level of understanding of the business with 58% of customers believing that sales professionals have a good understanding of their business challenges, but only 23% rating them as excellent, economic/price advantages and the ease of working with a single partner demonstrating that organizations place great value on simplifying processes and building a relationship of trust for multiple solutions.