The pandemic modified the day-to-day processes of the B2B gross sales group virtually in a single day when the world went 100% digital. 

A latest ZoomInfo survey of about 600 gross sales and advertising and marketing professionals discovered that almost all gross sales reps mentioned they relied on in-person occasions for prospecting earlier than 2020. Final yr, nonetheless, many stopped utilizing occasions for prospecting, as an alternative adopting old school strategies like (gasp!) really calling folks on the cellphone. 

Right here’s a better have a look at how gross sales rep processes modified previously yr and whether or not these new strategies will outlast the pandemic.

Adapting to alter at scale 

Eighteen % of survey respondents reported that their groups shrank final yr, the most typical change, whereas 13 % mentioned they needed to shift assets from in-person to on-line (no surprises there). 

In accordance with a 2020 Outreach survey, roughly 80% of groups with greater than 25 sellers reported a necessity for change when it got here to ongoing points resembling visibility into promoting actions, productiveness, and gross sales and advertising and marketing alignment. With a big workforce, new change administration processes will be extra difficult and burdensome — particularly in a brand new distant working setting.

Prospecting within the event-less panorama 

Earlier than final yr, most gross sales reps mentioned they recognized possible prospects by assembly folks at occasions. Flash ahead to 2020: 41 % of gross sales respondents stopped utilizing occasions for prospecting and 19 % began utilizing video requires the primary time.

Gross sales reps are additionally leaning on extra conventional methods to achieve out to potential patrons. And it wasn’t simply via Zoom conferences: 62% of respondents to ZoomInfo’s survey mentioned they used the cellphone extra in 2020 than in prior years.

Essentially the most oft-cited problem for gross sales actions stays connecting with certified prospects, with 33% of respondents citing “discovering correct contact info” as a key impediment within the course of.

And so it’s clear that one factor didn’t change all through the pandemic. Entry to high-quality information about potential prospects stays extra necessary than ever earlier than. 

Accessing high quality information through channels that also work

Nearly all of survey respondents reported that their gross sales tech stack didn’t change a lot throughout the pandemic. Different approaches to prospecting — together with bulk emails, direct messages on social media platforms, web site chat messages, and textual content messaging — held regular as properly.

However cellphone calls, video calls or conferences, and particular person emails have been used extra incessantly by a majority of gross sales reps. And probably the most generally cited efficient method to establish prospects? Inquiries on the corporate web site and engagement with advertising and marketing content material. 

Which means gross sales reps who’ve entry to certified, engaged prospects are going to shut extra offers than those who don’t. And that isn’t going to alter as soon as the world utterly opens up for in-person enterprise once more. 

In conclusion …

So, what did reps do in a different way final yr? Briefly, they tailored.

Some reps are engaged on smaller groups, whereas others are filling their prospecting funnel with fewer enterprise playing cards in hand. Many switched gears by selecting up the cellphone for the primary time shortly. All of them have one factor in widespread, although.  

With out high quality intelligence to information them, even the very best reps run the danger of failing to adapt to the brand new regular.