Things change quickly in Sales, especially in Tech Sales. Already this year we’ve dealt with Google email deliverability challenges, economic conditions which are slowing down our deals and many other tricky moments. 

Let’s take a breath, it’s been a lot. But what’s coming through the rest of the year? What are the sales trends for the rest of 2024 we should prepare for?

Over the years there have been a lot of hot topics and trends that came and went. There are strategies and tactics that are becoming more and more popular now which are yet to become mainstream. What about AI, where will that impact our sales processes and how we reach out to prospects?

Get comfortable, we’re going through where we see the year taking us. 

Email Deliverability Challenges

Hands up if you’ve heard news about Google and Yahoo changing their policies around email sending limits and deliverability? It’s been a pretty big deal on our LinkedIn feeds through Q4 in 2023 and up to now. 

The problem that teams are seeing as a result of the changes is that their emails are not always being delivered, but they’re not aware of this. There isn’t always a hard bounce alert to tell you the email address is invalid. 

As you can imagine, open rates and reply rates in email cadences take a hit when this happens. 

It’s not all bad news. This change has prompted a ton of teams and reps to test out more LinkedIn InMail and video messages. With LinkedIn, you know your message will be sent and received. The main hurdle then becomes standing out from the noise and getting a response. There is of course the Voice Note option which is worth experimenting with if you can find a routine which works for you and your team.

Rediscovering the Power of In-Person Visits 

Are face to face meetings back? It depends who you ask. 

Lots of our prospects are working in a hybrid model, back in the office a couple of times per week. But that’s not every company. 

A rising theme within conversations we are having is using an in-person meeting as a litmus test for the likelihood of a deal closing as you enter the latter stages of your deals. It’s a great opportunity to cross those final details and to shake hands with your potential new customers. 

But it is also a very strong indication of whether the deal will close or not. If the client does accept and wants to meet, the signs are good! But on the contrary, it could be a sign that there’s more discovery needed or there are other factors at play which you may not have been aware of. 

Just be prepared for the occasional moment where one prospect joins you in the Conference room, but another person still in the same building joins the meeting from their desk via Zoom. Strange times!

Thoughtful Gifting

When we mention gifting, do you think of a Starbucks gift card or an Amazon gift card? Or company swag, but you don’t recognise the logo on the socks and hat you were sent?

Gifting has changed. Sales Leaders are turning toward using gifting to help nurture their deals to close, rather than opening doors with the tactic like many of us are used to. A thoughtful gift requires you to know and understand the person you’re talking to on a deeper level than is generally possible at the very early stages of any deal. 

We’re talking about onesies and stuffed llamas for the prospect with a young child that they’ve talked to you about. Seasonal gifts where appropriate. A gift that says “We listened to you and understand you” when the prospect opens it. 

The effect? Strengthened relationships and the feeling that the rep actually cares about what is happening, beyond a slice of commission. The phrase “know, like and trust” comes to mind. Those small gestures can go a very long way when used at the right time in your deals. 

Ongoing Learning for Sales Teams 

Lastly, a topic very close to our hearts. 

Training, coaching and continuous development among revenue professionals is widely accepted as an important and obvious priority. For the direct impact on your revenue linking back to the extra deals or upsells your team is making, to the talent retention aspect because your top performers are growing with you. 

There is however, an issue that leaders need to keep on top of. Sales Enablement platforms can be as helpful as you set them up to be. But even with this in place, not properly motivating your teams to fully use the material available to them is a very common mistake. 

If people aren’t focusing on the resources available to them, the habit of consuming the content is never formed and the content has no value if it is never looked at. Adoption from the new rep as they start their job is key, as well as routine visits back to your Sales Enablement platform to look through other content to continue learning is vital. 

This speaks to the obligation we have as sales leaders to inspire our teams by continuously learning ourselves. When reps see management growing, they will follow suit. If we just sit idle expecting technology to develop our people, we’ve already failed.

About Sales Assembly

We’re a resource for live, year-round skill development and certifications for the core roles within b2b revenue teams.  Contact us to explore membership options for your organization!