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B2B Salespeople Need to Act More Like Travel Agents

Harvard Business

A similar sequence has happened with B2B buying. By 2012, our research shows, nearly 60% of a typical B2B purchasing decision — researching solutions, ranking options, benchmarking pricing, and so on — was happening before the buyer even had a conversation with a supplier. Related Video. The 8 Types of Salespeople.

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How Advanced Analytics Is Changing B2B Selling

Harvard Business

While there’s less buzz around business-to-business markets, these innovations are changing the game in B2B as well, even in old-line industries selling what might be considered commodity products. For a deep dive into the elements, see our related HBR article “ The B2B Elements of Value ”).

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What Sales Teams Should Do to Prepare for the Next Recession

Harvard Business

In the 2001 recession, total sales for the S&P 500 declined by 9% from its pre-recession peak to its trough 18 months later—almost a year after the recession officially ended. We’ll focus here on what the sales organization should be doing now to prepare for the next recession, with an eye toward using new digital tools.

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A Look into Microsoft’s Data-Driven Approach to Improving Sales

Harvard Business

Companies are beginning to utilize their employees’ behavioral data — generally known as people analytics — to better understand and improve their sales operations , with strong results. Microsoft, where we work, is no exception, and B2B sales is one of the areas where we are seeing the most value.

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2020 Database Strategies and Contact Acquisition Survey Report

Marketing and sales teams are feeling pressured to deliver authentic messaging to buyers at every point of their customer journey. This report aims to highlight the current state of B2B database and contact acquisition strategies and organizations’ goals to leverage data to fuel their go-to-market strategies in 2020 and beyond.

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How B2B Software Vendors Can Help Their Customers Benchmark

Harvard Business

Mainstream software companies are beginning to hold “ data mirrors ” up to their customers, allowing scoring and benchmarking of their customers’ strategies. One of its business units, Fieldglass, provides insights and benchmarks to customers on external workforce management.

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4 Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing

Harvard Business

Companies have hired writers and Chief Content Officers to run departments, create blogs and other materials, and, in the process, some have assured sales people that content marketing can mean the end of cold calling. Our data also indicate that much of marketing and sales collateral is read by prospects outside of the normal work week.