Like every year before it, 2023 will have its own special problems and adjustments, and the sales environment isn’t immune to those kinds of changes.
It can be quite helpful to anticipate these changes early because the sales game won’t look the same in a year. Here are some of the most noticeable sales trends to watch out for in 2023, without further ado.
1. Problems, not solutions, must be sold in demos
Consider the sale of a book. You could list some facts about its size and weight, but you’d probably be more successful selling the narrative found inside and how it can make the reader’s life better.
Consider your sales demos right now. How much time do you spend on the features of your product rather than the issues it can resolve?
In other words, you can only go so far with your product knowledge. It really depends more on your capacity to ascertain what matters most to your chances.
2. The talk will begin with freemium
Have you ever tried on shoes before making a purchase? Does anyone try a sample of food? Because of this, many firms have found success with the freemium model. After all, we live in a “try before you buy” environment.
Users are divided into two tiers in this model: free and premium. In theory, free users will ultimately exhaust their finite set of features and switch to a paid membership.
32% of salespeople provide freemium choices to potential customers, and 90% of them believe this helps convert leads into paying clients.
3. The importance of sales culture is raised
Having a successful sales culture is one thing that never goes out of style, and 2022 is no exception. A good sales culture is defined specifically, though. “Having a supportive sales environment, a quality and speedy hiring procedure, and a solid sales representative employee persona.”
Never allow the development of a strong sales staff to slip down the priority chain. After all, sales culture affects how much a salesperson sells, how productive they are, and how long they stay at a company.
Furthermore, creating a sales culture is one thing; maintaining it as you scale, and grow is quite another. By prioritizing culture, you may attract outstanding candidates.
4. Vertical market specialization
The riches in modern sales are “in the niches.” Put another way, if you strive to appeal to everyone, you end up resonating with no one.
Although focusing on smaller markets might not seem like wise business advice, it turns out to be an effective tactic. Although it may appear contradictory, the more narrowly concentrated your ideal consumer profile is, the faster you will gain traction.
5. Priority will be given to current clients over new ones
Research estimates that this tendency will continue in 2023. According to 26% of sales professionals, obtaining new customers this year was not as important as keeping the ones you already have. Of course, responding to inquiries from current clients is insufficient. Instead, opportunities for these accounts to flourish must be created. Why can’t you do this? mostly through cross-selling and upselling.
Nearly 90% of salespeople attempt to upsell their clients. The outcome? Nearly half of the businesses claim that upselling generates up to 30% of their revenue. In terms of cross-selling, 80% of salespeople employ this strategy. Up to 30% of businesses’ revenues, according to 42% of them, originate from cross-selling.
Having stated that, growing accounts is simpler when you maintain customer relationships after the initial point of sale.
