3 min read

5 Ways COVID-19 Changed The Way We Sell

5 Ways COVID-19 Changed The Way We Sell

It’s not news to anybody that 2020 has brought challenges to all areas of business, including sales. With visiting and travel being restricted, people had no choice but to rely on phone calls, zoom meetings and email to follow up leads.

For the construction and building products specifically, this forced those that didn’t already, to provide BIM drawings, technical specification and virtual training online.

We’ll take a look at how the way selling has changed and why we’re better for it.

Qualifying Good Fit Leads

Many salespeople prefer to ‘sell’ face to face as they feel they can best demonstrate the product or services benefits in person. It’s not uncommon for architects and specifiers to visit past projects to see the product in use too.

Sales personnel have been known to drive across the country to follow up an enquiry or opportunity. When this wasn’t possible, people turned to video meetings. Interestingly, by being forced to have this type of communication, it cleaned out the poor fit leads a lot more efficiently.

Why travel hours in the car for something you’re not 100% is a good fit, when you can have that conversation beforehand?

By taking a step back and finding out a bit more you ensure they’re interested in your product enough to progress it further, ensuring they're not wasting your time. This then means you can spend more time following up good fit leads.

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Adopting New Technologies

Although the technology and the tools have always been there, they’ve been looked to and relied upon this year more than ever before. Automation, CRM’s, video marketing and task management software are just some of the key tools people have took onboard.

It can be a challenge to get whole teams using new technology and to find the right time, especially when there is training involved. However, if this year has taught us anything, it’s that the software available is vast, with programmes to overcome any issues.

Webinars and CPD’s are another example of how technology has been used to deliver key services, reaching new audiences. CPD’s are typically presented in a room, but by digitising them you can reach more people across the country, and also have it pre-recorded so it’s at your customers disposal.

 

Being On Page 1 For Google

As well as changing how outbound sales activities can be carried out, the importance on inbound marketing has come apparent. When everyone was forced to work from home, where did they do all their research? The internet.

Not only is it important that your website is set up correctly with the information specifiers, installers and architects need, but also that you rank on search engines for your keywords.

Having a website isn’t enough for new customers to find you. Think about how you research a topic, if you can’t find the results you need on page 1, you might go to page 2, but typically we change the wording of our search to be more specific or to contain different keywords.

Specifiers and architects are doing the same, we’re all human.

The average click-through rates for results on search engines are:

  • Position 1 – 43.32%
  • Position 2 – 37.36%
  • Position 3 –29.90%
  • Position 4 – 19.38%
  • Position 5 –10.95%
  • Position 6 – 10%
  • Position 7 – 5.28%
  • Position 8 – 4.13%
  • Position 9 – 4.13%
  • Position 10 – 3.11%

If you’re ranking on anything past page 1, chances are you’re not being found for your solution.

 

Start Listening To What Specifiers Need

It’s very common for companies to position themselves, their content and their website from their perspective. The problem with this is the focus becomes heavily related to the company, rather than the solution they provide and how they differ.

Your website should be set up to provide your audience with everything they need in terms of drawings, BIM objects, brochures, data sheets, installation videos and more.

By not providing these essential facts up front, your prospects are likely to go to elsewhere to people that will.

 

Have A Connected Approach

With working from home becoming the norm, there’s been an emphasis on ensuring communication between team members is clear. If multiple people are conversing with the same contact, you need to easily be able to see what communication has happened beforehand and what the outcome of that was.

CRM systems are great for keeping a track of contacts and can aid your sales efforts. HubSpot’s free CRM lets you track emails, track contacts activity on your website, create email campaigns and more. So when you reach out to a contact, you’re better equipped with what to mention.

You can see how many times they’ve opened an email, what pages on the website they’ve been on and any notes from colleagues.

 

Conclusion

It's easy to dwell on the year of 2020 and focus on the negatives, however, with forced change people and companies have seen benefits from implementing digital and embracing new technology.

With the right software, the right training and the right guidance, you can transform the way you work for the better. 

Book a free marketing health check today to find out how you can win in 2021.

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About Insynth

At Insynth we deliver a predictable flow of leads, customers, and specifications for building product brands through our inbound marketing approach, proven to reach a technically demanding audience.

We use the latest marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, to equip building product companies to grow sustainability in this era of digital transformation.

As the only HubSpot certified agency to major in construction marketing. We have a proven formula of bringing a variety of functionalities together including CRM ImplementationWeb DesignSales AutomationSEO, and Email Marketing to achieve your ultimate aim: Growing your business and gaining new specifiers and customers.

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