A market study by the innovate+grow group
May you live in interesting times the saying goes. Today, whether we like it or not, we do. One could almost say we live in surreal times – the bustling streets of major cities are like empty movie sets except for the tightly closed shops and people scurrying to find the few shops from which they can buy essentials.
are we moving back to "normal"?
Most of us are sequestered at home, trying to balance professional demands with family ones. The delicate balancing act that comprises most of our day-to-day lives has suddenly been upset and we are all still adjusting to the new reality into which we have suddenly and abruptly been thrusted.
With closed borders, restricted transportation and businesses closed or operating on skeleton staff, our «normal» work is more-or-less impossible.
Many of our clients have had to close up shop or severely curtail operations and, as a result, cancel or postpone the workshops we worked so hard to set up together. Their salespeople are confined at home, unable to attend due to travel restrictions, limitations on gathering size, and the general fear of infection that pervades all of us.
Some of our clients have made the brave-but-necessary move to transfer workshops on-line, to leverage available time to keep salespeople’s skills sharp, learn new tools and methods, and prepare for the day when life re-approaches «normal». We salute you all – thank you for your courage and the willingness to continue investing in your people!
Given all the distractions we face today, from e-mail to instant messaging to social media and even some pretty un-social media…, video conferences often just add to the mix and make it challenging for people to extract the same level of value that we feel we can deliver in a face-to-face workshop.
But, with the situation as it is today, we have little choice – and again we salute those clients that have moved ahead with virtual workshops – thank you.
Ah, but we know what you are asking – what’s your advice in this crisis? Don’t you have a «what to do in the coronavirus situation» video as well? Well, yes, we do. But we did it more systematically, asking our clients across a wide range of industries how they are coping with key issues and then formulating what we focus on – sales.
Our focus is on sales – that critical component of business that is required to keep the economy going – from wherever we are now required to work – and will be critical to re-starting business once the current crisis passes (and until the next one arrives, we postulate).
The Real Goal OF THE SURVEY?
The ultimate goal of this survey, and ultimately this report, is to support our clients (both current and future) in creating their own «Digital Sales Framework» to help them remain active and successful in sales through this crisis period.
Based on our collective 80+ years of experience in sales and working with hundreds of organisations around the world, we have some pretty strong ideas on how to do this, and some of them are outlined in this report for you. For the rest, well you will have to call us for a more one-to-one consultation.
We look forward to engaging with you and to support the implementation of your digital sales framework.
STUDY RESULTS
We provide you with a fast-track report summary of the study as well as the complete study report.
HOW TO READ THE REPORT?
We will go through each survey answer and interpret the data and provide recommendations. There are, as you will see, some overlapping questions – and thus the answers and interpretations will as well. Consider this the victim of the haste with which we approached this project to ensure we provided something that was timely and relevant.
The organisation of each section is as follows:
- The numbers + relevant comments (direct from the people who provided them)
- Our interpretation of what they mean in the context of professional business-to-business selling and the current situation
- Some questions we recommend asking yourselves
- Recommendations – more ideas to consider or food for thought that could give you some ideas as to what you can do for your sales organisation
Enjoy the read – if you like what we say and want to engage with us more for further conversation, please connect with us – contact information is on the web site www.innovateandgrow.com.
