The importance of adaptability

The Importance of Adaptability:
Continuous Changes in the Buyer/Seller Relationship
The clearest message we have discovered in our recent research at Huthwaite is this: too
many salespeople today are either, living in denial, or are simply out of touch with their
customers.
Many sellers just don’t seem to understand or appreciate the extent of buyer empowerment
or its implications. This is a wake-up call.
The marketplace has changed, and what is more, it is not done changing. Continuous change
has become the overriding character trait in the world of buying and selling. The combination
of dynamic technology and the customer’s use of that technology is the primary agent of that
change.
Missing Link
In the first quarter of 2012, we asked sellers “What was the greatest external challenge to
reaching targets last quarter?” Salespeople were quick to blame the economic environment,
increased competition and price focus of customers. Only 7.9% of respondents pointed to
“Changes in the customer buying process.”
We then asked “What will be the greatest external challenge to reaching targets next
quarter? Only 7.7% of respondents pointed to “Changes in the customer buying process.”
In other words, very few salespeople in early 2012 recognized the dramatic changes that have
been taking place in the customer buying process. More concerning was that even those few
who perceived that changes were taking place seemed to dismiss the likelihood of further
change.
We were rather astonished at the time, and thought that perhaps salespeople just hadn’t
been following or simply couldn’t wrap their heads around the massive transformation in the
marketplace wrought especially by the Internet and the explosion of social media.
By late 2012, nearly 66% of salespeople considered“a better understanding of how your
customers' buying behavior is evolving” as either essential or nearly essential to their
organization’ssuccess. In other words, 34% of salespeople still don’t consider changes in buyer
behavior a trend worth following.

Darwinism
Charles Darwin is almost universally credited with having said “it is not the strongest of the
species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives… it is the one that is the most
adaptable to change.”
In point of fact he never said any such thing—butperhaps he should have done. It is certainly a
clever and pithy sentiment (unlike most of Darwin’sactual writings) and while it has nothing
at all to do with evolution, it is nevertheless an excellent management principle.
In fact, it may well be a basic tenet of survival in the jungle that is the modern business
world, just as running faster than grandma was for our ancestors a key to survival in the wild.
There are several fascinating, findings from our most recent research that bear some
consideration.
The first necessity for successful adaptation is the simple recognition that change is in fact
happening; the realization of a need to adapt at all. Surprisingly, many salespeople are either
somehow unaware of the changes taking place or else are just unwilling to face them.
This could have something to do with the 50% who’s companies either failed to achieve its
sales target or struggles to do so.
We asked: Which of these capabilities would you consider critical to your
organization’ssuccess to improve over the next 24 months:
“A better understanding of how your customers' buying behavior is evolving.”
o 87% regarded the proposition as at least worthy of consideration.
o Only 40% regarded such an understanding as essential.
“Marketing activities and messaging that is focused on buyer needs and business
drivers.”
o 88% regarded it as an important initiative.
o But again, less than 40% considered it essential.
Aligning sales and marketing.
o 76% regarded this as an important undertaking.

The Great Divide
Other interesting findings from our recent research include the following:
40% of sellers believe that customers “Engage directly with your sales people later in
the buying process than in the past.”
70% of sellers believe that customers “Shop around and compare offerings from a
greater number of vendors.”
Only 43% of sellers believe to some degree that customers “Undertake a lot of
research and know the solution they require before engaging directly with the sales
people.” Less than 10% actually believe it strongly.
Most astonishingly, only 34% of sellers today would state positively that customers
“Use social media and professional networks as research, evaluation and
recommendation tools when selecting vendors.” (That’s up from only 24% in early
2012—but still almost absurdly low)and less than 10% agreed to the proposition “very
much so.”
The reason this raised concerns can be supported by the 2012 IBMBuyers Preference Guide,
which found:
One-third of B2B buyers were already using social media
of various kinds (Twitter, blogs, online forums) to engage
with vendors and learn about products. Buyers who were
not necessarily the decision-makers but a level or two
below that, under 40 and in a position to influence a
decision, were even more likely to be using social media to
collect product information. And a full 75% of respondents
to the survey said they were likely to use social media in
the future as part of their purchasing decision.
The disconnect between sellers’ perceptions of the new buying paradigm and the reality is
really quite baffling. The simple fact is that if sellers hope to succeed in future, they are

going to have to come to grips with the technology-enabled changes that are sweeping the
marketplace.
On a more positive note, 94% of sellers recognize that customers now “require a greater level
of business acumen and industry knowledge from sales people.” And 90% of them realize
therefore that to succeed they “need to have greater levels of business acumen and be able
to provide business insight.” This does provide a solid focal point for their efforts.
The buying process is changing faster than sales organizations are responding.
Business customers are essentially socially empowered consumers — except they’re armed
with the resources, organization and profit motive of a corporation.
With 45% rating the outlook for their organisation in 2013 as better than 2012 it would seem
some considerable work needs to be done to shift and align to the new buyer.
It is time for salespeople to not only accept but embrace the fact that the old sales paradigm
is gone and it is not coming back. Our research reveals a fairly clear and practical agenda if
salespeople hope to adapt and thrive:
1. Focus on developing strong business acumen
2. Embrace the power of social media
3. Partner with Marketing — accept that they have a new sales role just as you have a
new micromarketing role; your jobs are now inextricably entwined
With shopping going online in a big way, it is a major challenge for the sellers to track the
consumer and the competition. Greg Moore, managing director, Huthwaite Asia-Pacific
discusses here how sellers can optimize social media to focus on customers buying behaviour
and navigate the sales process:
In the past, when bricks and mortar reigned supreme, a seller’s competitors used to be the guy
down the street peddling his wares or perhaps in another country reachable only via post or
telephone. Now, competitors are generally unknown and everywhere courtesy of one element
which has played a role in all of our lives – the internet.
One significant result of the proliferation of the internet is social media, which has reduced the
barriers and boundaries between people facilitating the ease of doing business say, from a remote
location in Tanzania to a store in New York City. It has lessened costs and reduced labour
expenses by making communications a breeze by reducing the time taken to communicate
messages.
The change is not only in the mode of communications between businesses. It also extends to the
relationship between buyers and sellers. More and more, consumers are relying on information

resources available online in order to research their purchases. Online conversation creates a
level of uncensored transparency and will often include reviews and queries from other potential
customers. Retailers must find a way to engage consumers on a social level whilst promoting
their products and services through addressing feedback both positive and negative.
Sellers have to be aware of changing dynamics in buyer’s preferences and adapt accordingly,
finding new ways to intermediate in the customers’ purchasing/buying journey. Huthwaite, the
pioneer in buyer behavior research, has uncovered evidence indicating that by focusing on the
buyer first, sellers can then uncover how to meet their needs – leveraging sales and marketing in
a more aligned and fluid fashion. Therefore, sellers are able to detect rapid changes in customers
buying behaviour and accordingly cater to these new and ever-changing preferences.
Rather than view social media as a competing tool, sellers should optimise these direct channels
to their target consumers. Here are four ways that sellers can use social media to navigate the
sales process:
Research/Brand Platform: Social media channels enable sellers to understand the kind of user
behaviours or opinions in a closer and quicker setting. One need not spend much on research to
seek the type of buyers to approach. In the past, sellers who wanted information about consumer
behavioural patterns may employ the use of research companies or send individuals out to ask
questions and gather and compile the information to study and make conclusions from the
research. Now, with the advent of social media, a company can just go to Facebook or online
blogs to read what consumers are saying about their products and services or observe the people
coming to their websites as well as using the search engine optimization tool to deduce the
familiarity of their brand name. The latter is definitely much cheaper and less time-consuming.
Observing the kind of behaviour when it comes to product purchases online and the behaviour of
buyers on cyberspace will provide much insight into the needs of their target consumers.
Prospecting: Social media is useful for a prospecting in the B2B environment to learn about the
latest news and developments of your prospects businesses. This can then be used to channel
your messages. For instance, if the individual prospect blogs, or posts on LinkedIn, then you can
learn about what is important to them and what is likely to strike a chord when you approach
them.
Building Relationships: Social media channels enable buyers to make their grievances known
and sellers can learn more about their buyers’ problems and issues with the products and services
and address them. This can enhance buyer confidence, help to build the relationship between the
buyer and the seller, enable the seller to easily identify the needs of the target consumer and
ultimately cater for these needs.
Given potential buyers can interact with organisations at an individual level and corporate level;
it makes it imperative that there is consistent messaging – a “buyer-focused” approach and
strategy implemented and managed across all social media channels.
Achieving Brand Consistency: Consistency in branding and messaging is a necessary
promotion any social media strategy. By continuously reaching out to buyers online and

leveraging on the relationship, sellers can deliver their key messages in a targeted and popular
stream of media. Sellers can communicate with their customers on social media platforms and
build relationships with their clients, consumers and prospects; a level of engagement that was
previously unavailable.
Rather than viewing selling in a social world as a difficult and complicated process, sellers
should optimize their social media efforts through leveraging activities across all channels in a
positive and consistent fashion. Focus on the advantages posed by social media rather than its
drawbacks and make use of them to facilitate the efficiency of sales processes. The alternative is
to ignore a channel that is rapidly gaining in popularity and importance with consumers.

The importance of adaptability

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The importance of adaptability