The SaaS space is booming. It is expected that the number of SaaS companies is going to grow exponentially around the world within the next five years. And these SaaS companies have one thing in mind: to make doing business easier and more convenient. Software in general removes manual processes, accelerates scaling, and enables users to be focused on much more valuable activities. Part of the simplification of business is also to make solutions much more accessible, transparent, and easy to buy. In 2015, a blog post on Forbes based on a Gartner analysis reported that 57% of the traditional sales process had disappear due to digitalization and the power of software. Fast forward 7 years, I posit that more than 60 to 65% of traditional selling activities have vanished to give space to automated and transparent information searches.
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There is no doubt that software is taking over the world! It is disrupting traditional selling methodologies, accelerating supply chains, and revolutionizing the sales function. Investments in the SaaS world are pouring in. Outside the SaaS world, traditional companies are also investing increasingly in software solutions in traditional categories (CRM, ERP, engineering) but also emerging digital ones (sales enablement, customer data platform, AI, and customer value management).
“More accurately, 57% of the sales process just disappeared. What are buyers doing if they are not talking to sales? They are surfing corporate websites to identify and qualify vendors, instead of the sales force qualifying them. They are engaging peers in social media to learn more about their needs, potential solutions and providers.” 1
The sales process as we knew it 5-10 years ago has disappeared for a variety of reasons. I propose that there are forces both from the vendor and buyer perspective that have tremendously changed the sales function and the process of selling. Let us look at them.
FROM THE VENDOR’S PERSPECTIVE:
Similarly, investments and disruption in the procurement space have disrupted the traditional sales process. Forces from the BUYER’S PERSPECTIVE include:
Who would have predicted such a revolution in the way the sales function operated? If 60 to 65% of the traditional sales process is no longer needed and you have not changed your sales process, what are your sellers doing all day? Sales as we once knew it as is dead. The new sales role is focused on the rest of the 40%, which includes account management, consultative selling, customer value management, and other high-value activities.
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Bio
Dr. Stephan Liozu (www.stephanliozu.com) is the Founder of Value Innoruption Advisors (www.valueinnoruption.com), a consulting boutique specializing in industrial pricing, digital business, and value models, and value-based pricing. Stephan has 30 years of experience in the industrial and manufacturing sectors with companies like Owens Corning, Saint-Gobain, Freudenberg, and Thales. He holds a Ph.D. In Management from Case Western Reserve University, and has written several books, including “Dollarizing Differentiation Value” (2016) and “Value Mindset” (2017).