Lately I hear a lot of veteran sales professionals commenting that “selling is no longer the same as before,” claiming that it’s now more challenging to compete in today’s marketplace. And they bounced off various reasons for saying so—increased competition, fast-paced technological advances, changing lifestyles and shifting customer preferences, to name a few.
Almost always, the question that follows these discussions is this: “Do I need to reinvent myself?” But this is a question that is not answerable by a simple yes or no. You need to weigh your options as you recognize key market change currents.
Here’s a quick guide for you.
Four key market change
Currents Increased competition. There seems to be a rise in the number of people venturing into the business of selling immediately following the pandemic. This increase may be attributed three things—people encouraged to sell online during the lockdowns, those who saw that selling can be a good way to augment income, and those who got used to the work-from-home setup and opted not to go back to the office.
Hence resulted to more people competing in the marketplace, whether as full time entrepreneurs or as part-time sellers.
Technological advances. Technology has never been more expeditiously promoted than today. Almost every transaction now is done online or through an app on our phones. And these things are updated very quickly. A decade ago, a simple website will help promote your business.
But nowadays, you also need to be active in other social media platforms in order to put your products, services and advocacy out there. And the new generation of sellers, who were born and raised with technology, are the ones who are currently making waves in today’s marketplace.
But remember, participating in these platforms is one thing, getting noticed is another.
Changing lifestyles. The pandemic also ushered a different kind of lifestyle, or at the very least helped pushed it. People became more conscious about their well-being, and convenience and fear are taking center stage in people’s buying motivations.
As such, our society embraced technology to a point where devices, apps and automated online systems are now woven into the very fabric of our daily lives.
Look around—most meetings are now done online and people became more acquainted with online transactions. And currently, working beyond agreed hours, and on weekends and holidays is now an even more delicate issue. Welcome to the new normal!
Shifting customer preferences. Increased choices, technological advances and changing lifestyles may result to shifting customer preferences. However, the shift is more likely a result of the compounding impacts of these factors, which led to shorter attention span. We tend to get distracted easily as we get hooked with our various devices. Yes, we are now experiencing technological addiction. And that makes selling even more challenging. How do you get the attention of someone who’s attention is short-lived in a fast-paced marketplace where everyone gets distracted easily?
So given this backdrop, do you need to reinvent yourself? Not necessarily. If your only concern is on keeping up with the market, then perhaps you can amplify your sales and marketing strategy by expanding your reach and adjusting your pitch. Expanding your reach involves marketing to more people, extending into other markets, and adapting to new sales platforms. While adjusting your pitch refers primarily to enhancing your message including product features and messages, taking into account the present-day lifestyle and the continuously shifting customer preferences along with their primary buying motivations. However, if your concern is about market relevance, then perhaps this is indeed the time to evolve and reinvent yourself.
Create the appropriate brand for you and your company (and products) that your desired market will find relevance with. Relevance is key to getting noticed amidst a potpourri of various others that compete for time and attention. Consider the following questions as you proceed with reinvention.
Are you marketing to the right people at the right time? Are you actually marketing it the right way and at the right time? Are your products and services addressing the right needs, concerns and problems of your desired market? And since we already know that people are easily distracted, strategize on how you can become a “positive distraction” to help them stop for a while and think positively about your proposition.
Alexey Rola Cajilig is the President of ARCWAY Consultancy Inc. and Executive Director of ARC DOCENDI. He is a Sales Leadership Coach, Strategic Sales Operations Consultant, Christian Motivational Speaker, Human Ecologist and Author of The Effective Seller. If you have questions and suggestions, you may send an e-mail to salesleadershipcoachlex@gmail.com.
