It is never too early or late to evaluate the needs of your sales organization, and make changes where needed in response to emerging trends in the marketplace. Richardson’s 2016 Selling Challenges Study explores areas where the sales industry is struggling most in meeting quotas, and will hopefully give your organization insight into possibilities for proactivity. The survey compiled responses from over 400 sales industry professionals on various sales-specific inquiries.

Toughest Sales Negotiation Challenges

Negotiating has always been a primary tool in a sales professional’s arsenal. However, even those with strong negotiating skills have difficulty navigating the sales process in its present state: one which has the added hurdle of procurement to negotiate terms and pricing. Since new partners are coming in at the end of the process, they are far more focused on price than the actual benefits of a service.

To combat this problem, sales professionals must be prepared to start the discussion with procurement, rather than speaking to them at the end of the sales cycle. A deft touch is required so that negotiations don’t begin too soon in the process. One of the most common negotiating mistakes is making concessions without asking for something in return. By asking for something in return, you retain some leverage and don’t give away too much, leaving you with little to show for all of the hard work you put in speaking with various stakeholders.

Offering Insight to Prospects That Know Everything

As with exploring client needs, proving sales value, and sharing added insights with clients, identifying signals remains a pain point for sales professionals. The root of this concern stems from changes in the B2B-buyer landscape that informs the prospecting process. Today’s buyers have more tools and information at their fingertips than ever about possible services and solutions. As a result, buyers may come to sales conversations armed with this plethora of information – and potentially, with preconceived notions about what services they want to purchase. This phenomenon makes it more challenging for sales professionals to identify areas where they can offer real value and knowledge that isn’t already publicly available.

To offset this information overload, sales professionals have the option of adding new tools to their prospecting arsenal, such as leveraging social media to observe what matters most to prospects. This can help them to better qualify prospects and identify their signals and add value to the conversation with multiple people and divisions throughout. Preparation and investigation are the keys to correctly understanding prospects, and becoming fluent in social selling tools gives you a new avenue to discover their needs.

Digital tools and social media channels like Google Alerts, LinkedIn, and even Facebook can provide valuable insights that allow sales professionals to start solving a prospect’s problems before the first meeting even begins.

Google Alerts provides real time insight into important company updates or problems, like stock market fluctuations or important press releases. Social media channels like LinkedIn and Facebook allow sales professionals to stay up to date with industry articles shared by prospective clients. These articles may provide insight into a prospect’s current set of challenges or general way of thinking.

Incorporating insights from social media into a sales pitch will allow sales professionals to align a proposed strategy with a client’s current obstacles and business philosophies.

Challenges to Managing Accounts

More and more stakeholders are brought into the sales process at varying points within the cycle. As a result, sales professionals have the added task of trying to identify new targets while ensuring that their solution is being implemented properly for current accounts. In order to be successful, both new and seasoned sales professionals must sharpen their knowledge of a prospect’s product and industry with a keen eye on nurturing and qualifying leads.

Though the year is still in its early stages, there is no time like the present to consider how your organization’s sales team is positioned to address and conquer the inevitable challenges it will face throughout the coming months.