The Hidden Impact of Assumptions and Seller Blind Spots
In the complex labyrinth of B2B sales, even the most experienced and seasoned sellers can develop blind spots—areas where they may not fully grasp the needs, concerns, or experiences of their customers and prospects. These blind spots, if left unaddressed, can significantly derail customer satisfaction and sales success. Sellers often get lost in their own narrative, forgetting to put themselves in their buyers' shoes. This narrow perspective leads to misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the buyer/customer journey, resulting in missed opportunities, lost deals, and strained customer relationships.
The Role of Customer Feedback
Customer feedback serves as a powerful flashlight, illuminating these hidden blind spots. Through channels such as surveys, reviews, and direct communication, organizations can gain valuable insights into their prospects' and customers' experiences. This feedback acts as a compass, guiding sellers toward a deeper understanding of their customer's needs and pain points.
Often, the reasons sellers give for losing deals differ from the reasons buyers provide. This discrepancy highlights the importance of reliable customer feedback. Integrating this feedback into Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs can help maintain a habit of collecting and acting on feedback, ensuring continuous improvement. Anonymising or running surveys through a third party can help customers feel more comfortable providing honest feedback, free from the influence of the seller.
Improving Customer Experience
Recent reports have shown that a better customer experience (CX) correlates with higher revenue growth across most industries. Addressing seller blind spots directly enhances CX.
In B2B, these blind spots can range from overlooked pain points to inefficient communication. By actively seeking and analysing customer feedback, organizations can uncover specific CX-related blind spots and implement targeted improvements.
Sales Enablement and Training
The relationship between seller blind spots and the effectiveness of sales enablement and training programs is undeniable. Blind spots in this area can result in outdated training materials, ineffective call scripts, and misalignment between training content and real-world interactions. Customer feedback helps identify gaps in training programs, allowing organizations to refine their approach and better align with customer needs.
For instance, if customers highlight a lack of product knowledge among sales representatives, training programs can be adjusted to prioritize comprehensive product evaluations. This feedback also aids sales enablement by guiding the creation of result-driven workflows and proactively addressing opportunities. Collecting reasons for opportunity loss from customers provides valuable data that less experienced sales agents can use for training. Losing opportunities to competition due to a lack of available features or pricing can also happen. In the latter case, the sales team will benefit from using battlecards to drive the conversation and have a qualitative pricing discussion.
Implementing Change
B2B marketers often lose sight of the buyer journey, focusing instead on programs and campaign initiatives. Getting a complete picture of the buying group across key accounts is crucial for identifying decision-makers and understanding their challenges. Feedback from these individuals is critical for refining sales strategies and ensuring they address the right problems.
Addressing seller blind spots requires ongoing commitment. Here are some steps to start effectively implementing change while keeping in mind “Process, Technology, People”:
- Actively Seek Feedback: Encourage customers and prospects to share their experiences and insights, even when you lose a sale.
- Analyze Trends: Look for recurring themes in customer feedback to identify issues or areas for improvement.
- Empower the Sales Team: Provide resources, knowledge, and tools for sellers to act on feedback.
Creating a customer-centric culture, where feedback drives improvements, can lead to a more responsive and effective sales environment. To implement change successfully, companies must embrace an audience-centric approach and actively work to dismantle silos between marketing and sales teams.
Conclusion
If you want to stay ahead in an ever-evolving market, addressing seller blind spots through customer feedback is not just a best practice—it’s a strategic imperative to reduce the gap between your business and your potential customer. By acknowledging and addressing these blind spots, businesses can unlock new levels of customer satisfaction, improve sales effectiveness, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving market.
Not sure where to start? LeadFabric specializes in helping businesses optimize Customer Experience, from the Buyer Stage to the Customer Lifecycle. Contact us to learn how we can help you unlock new opportunities.
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