Empower your sales rep with digital commerce

Surya SK
December 20, 2021

As B2B buyers expect and demand their suppliers to provide a handy eCommerce purchasing medium, they also require a sales representative to help them on their path to deciding a product, placing an order, and more. Sales Reps boost and work on the overall functioning of a B2B company as they help move products. Therefore equipping them with the most acceptable tech and making sure that they are executing the selling process with ease is the key to a successful B2B organization. 

So, embrace the digital revolution and help your sales reps become the best version of themselves.

Table Of Contents

What Impact do sales reps have on eCommerce

What Impact do sales reps have on eCommerce

Sales reps have a significant impact on eCommerce business as they become passionate advisors to a buyer's business. In addition, sales reps can help skyrocket sales online, boost customer retention and help suppliers act right during economic downturns. 

1. Getting comfortable online with higher-value purchases

When it comes to purchasing higher-value items online, sales reps in B2B play a critical role in closing sales and placing orders. Only about 35% of buyers are comfortable enough to make an online purchase of $500,000 or higher. Sales reps who have details about the higher-value items that are trending, search for buyers proactively and give them in-depth information and the pros & cons of a product in general. Sales reps also answer questions that buyers may have in mind. When sales reps pursue buyers actively, especially for higher-value items, it can help buyers get their ideal products and results. Studies also show that when a sales representative aggressively pursues a buyer about a product, it can also accelerate purchasing, especially for a high-priced item. 

2. They act as procurement agents

When buyers are sure about the product they have purchased and trust the working of the product, they can guard their purchasing decision to procurement officers who may suggest a lower-priced brand or model as a better option. The best stage for sales reps to pursue clients is before the buyer researches for products to purchase online. About 61% of buyers require and would like the help of sales representatives to gain insights and data about new products and services in the market. Educating buyers about new products and services is probably the most important thing a sales rep has to do. As buyers, they are eager to know which new products best fit their business needs, and they also expect options on a few complimentary products.

3. An easy way to beat competitor businesses

Suggesting tangential products can increase the order number and prevent clients from purchasing from the fellow adversary. A sales rep has to try to sell multiple different products to a customer and explain to them how buying products from a single source (Single-vendor sourcing) can create a significant volume of discounts for them and reduce the trouble and confusion of working with multiple suppliers. Sometimes, an interactive approach to client relations can also prevent buyers from turning towards alternative B2B eCommerce store application. Sales reps can help suppliers get through economic downturns by identifying new market changes and potential prospective clients within those divisions. Sales reps help suppliers get in contact with potential prospects when a downturn happens and help draft the marketing message to seize those opportunities. Sales reps are often represented as just facilitators of eCommerce transactions, while they are more than that. They are advisors who help clients purchase products and services in an efficient manner.

How can sales reps benefit from digital commerce?

How can sales reps benefit from digital commerce?

All B2B purchases begin with online research, and a quality digital presence through B2B e-commerce leads to increased overall sales. The numbers don't lie, and here are six benefits that sales reps can reap from digital Commerce:

1. In-depth product details

Your website is the first place your customers search for and do their product research. Giving out adequate information and information about the products and services on your site is a must to give your customers a clear-cut idea about your products. Like your customers, the sales reps can also refer to the website to obtain information about the specifications and models of a  specific product. This allows sales reps to access data from any device and anywhere on the go.

2. Managing customers at a higher volume

Before any form of the digital tool came into existence, getting quotations from customers was a tedious process and, for the most, was a difficult task to keep track of higher volume. With the new-age digital automation, sales reps can take care of and manage more customers in a short period. Sales reps have the option to segregate their customers to provide personalized website views like product recommendations and specific offers & discounts. Since this process is automated, sales reps have the ability to connect with an extensive range of customers. 

3. Derivation of real-time data

Accumulation of real-time data is probably the most valuable thing a digital medium will give your sales rep. Right from your eCommerce platform to integrated systems like ERP and OMS, your sales reps can get a deep functioning insight into their potential customers, which otherwise wouldn't make it possible to track manually. Data can also be made available to customers for assistance. When it comes to the sales process, this includes the history of purchase, the status of the current inventory of products, real-time delivery estimates of products, pricing, and discount.

4. Time-saving

An automated platform is faster and efficient than a manual one any day. Sales reps should channel their focus on building solid relationships with customers and promoting your company's products and services by all means. Digital eCommerce platforms can help sales reps give out quotes faster, create demand for a specific product, etc. This gives space for the sales rep to focus on the other parts of selling a product or service.

5. Generating new leads

Cold calling people is definitely not the way to generate leads in 2021. People don't entertain people randomly and would certainly not buy your selling tactics as they probably would not even need the service or product. Instead, potential customers can search online for whatever product or service they prefer, and then you can contact them through the contact details they have given during registration, or even they might contact you to know about a particular product. This makes it easier for everyone and clears unnecessary disturbance out of the way. Most B2B sales today begin with essential online exploration. So a quality website can be an enormous lead generation platform for your sales rep. With digital channels like SEM, SEO, Email Marketing, and Social Media, you can collect, manage and use customer data to analyze and start your sales process.

6. AOV is higher online

Acknowledging (AOV) Average order value as a critical factor to track. Typically there's a higher Average order value on online orders than offline orders. Most customers who share their data with the eCommerce platform will see anywhere from a 45-90% increase in AOV for their online orders. So, why does that happen? Well, usually, websites perform up-selling and cross-selling items better. When you have a good eCommerce platform and the customer data is available, your site is consistent in terms of suggesting products than the manual form. While sales reps, for the most, are successful with up-selling/cross-selling with customers, there can be instances where they can't recall every product that goes together with every product you sell; it's actually inhuman to do, especially if you have more than 100,000+ SKUs.

Do customers still prefer sales reps?

Do customers still prefer sales reps?

Upon several surveys conducted, about 94% of them prefer to have a sales representative, as they believe sales reps can improve the overall buying experience online. Additionally, about 69% of customers have stated that they can't purchase a product online without the help of a sales representative.

  • B2B buyers don't look at eCommerce platforms and mediums as a luxury or an extravagant component, but rather as a necessity these days. Almost 81% of Buyers of today would even be ready to purchase products that are higher than a competitor's if the supplier has an excellent eCommerce portal.
  • This 81% of buyers haven't just shown up all of a sudden, but stats have shown that there's been an increase every year, and last year this percentage was at 74%. This indicates that B2B eCommerce businesses have been expanding, and people are really enjoying the B2B buying experience online. B2B buyers give importance to assistance from sales reps, which can boost the effectiveness of online mediums. 

Why should you choose a platform that supports a sales rep feature?

As mentioned before, Sales reps have validated themselves to make the buying process easier for customers and help them to make the right decision to choose between products. So we can see the need for sales rep feature in-brief now:

1. You get a piece of detailed product specifications

As a business with sales reps, when you look into a product for the first time, you practically don't tend to have the best knowledge about it and making comparisons with competitor products can be difficult. With the sales rep feature, you have a digital catalog that has in-depth details on a product that can help you to get a clear-cut understanding of the products available in the market, and you can put yourself in a position to compare different products. About 43% of buyers have stated that they face struggles while buying a product due to inconsistent product data across mediums, which disrupts their overall buying experience and you don’t want to be a part of that.

2. You find the ideal product that fits your business needs

Now, in general, an individual product has some available information listed on the supplier's website, and it obviously doesn't cite how it's going to help every individual customer's very own business model. As a sales rep, learning about new products in the market and updating yourself is vital. Knowing what product might suit a business to its best is tricky and even if you're experienced, you might not necessarily know about the new products in the market and how they may fit in a business. So, having a sales rep feature can cut down that hassle and educate you on the details about a product while also helping you gain insights on different products and let you know how a product might be ideal enough to fit customers’ business needs and motives. This can help you to suggest the right product to the right customer.

3. A Comparison of the pros and cons of different products

Now we have all been there. Sometimes even for an essential pair of headphones, we compare so many brands and models, from the pros & cons, pricing, specs, etc. We do all that with the given information and from watching youtube videos of multiple product reviews and comparisons. Likewise, buyers need and require the sales rep feature to help them with comparisons of pros and cons & prices. This makes their buying process effortless. The sales rep would know exactly about a product in-depth and can assist in any way possible to make your buying decision fluid and effortless. 

What is the role of Growmax in empowering your sales rep and customers?

growmax

Unlike most eCommerce platforms, Growmax has its own sales rep application, which helps customers with their ventures that require assistance from a sales representative. The features that come with minimal pricing are limitless. Here are some of the critical features of the Growmax sales rep app that enriches your business:

1. Negotiation

Quote management can sometimes be a hassle, and through the sales rep app, sales reps can help give the perfect combination of products, pricing, and quantities. Once the base price is quoted, the customer can choose to negotiate the listed price with the sales rep or directly. Quotes can be derived upon negotiation effortlessly. 

2. Instant order placement

The sales rep app helps to cut short the tedious placement process that sales reps have to go through. This allows sales reps to focus on other aspects of sales like having productive conversations, undertaking orders online, and checking the availability of mobile phone inventory while dealing with customers. 

3. Tracking retail execution activities

Growmax's sales rep app helps you to stay updated about retail execution happenings. Take advantage of the sales rep app to track and monitor activities related to retail execution from one entity. 

4. Digitalized catalog

Rather than the traditional catalog, Growmax's sales rep app features a digitalized catalog that helps sales reps to cross-sell and up-sell by displaying the products that an individual customer prefers and wants. This can be achieved by tracking the previously ordered products and showcasing products on the same line/category to draw in the customer more.

5. Sync orders with ERP

Growmax's sales rep app allows you to sync orders back to the office automatically. You can confirm orders and ship products faster. This entire process is automated and doesn't need manual entry of data. 

6. Managing online & offline transactions

Growmax’s sales rep app allows users to manage online and offline transactions from a single entity. This avoids the hassle of customers juggling between one platform or more to manage transactions. The sales rep app gives space for businesses to manage the activities of sales reps and the activities of the online store from a single platform.

Conclusion

It is no doubt that sales reps can enhance your eCommerce business, and people need sales reps to run their business smoothly. Equipping your sales reps with the new-age tech and helping them do their job at the best version of themselves can attract more customers and help turn in new customers rapidly. While everything around us is being digitalized, why not your sales reps who sell your business to the world? If anything, it's only going to add more value to you and your customers. Good luck!