Page 74 - Plastics News Issue June 2025
P. 74
IN THE NEWS
The Evolution of the Modern Sales Process It’s time to start applying standard work to sales
and think of systems and technology as job
The advancement in sales technology and ac- roles within manufacturers’ sales and marketing
cess to AI-generated data has reshaped the organizations – much like robotics are thought
landscape of the modern sales process. For of on the production floor. This does not mean
years, the internet has created a dramatic shift that technology alone can replace functions of
in the balance of the buyer vs. seller relationship. the sales teams, but it can drive efficiency and
It used to be that a seller had to push product increase effectiveness which, in turn, increases
or service information onto prospects and pull sales productivity, fosters improved team per-
them through the sales process. Today, an au- formance and drives profitability.
dience has increased access to information and
does more research initially during their buying Where Can This Apply Within an Organization?
process. So now, modern sales professionals, Marketing and Client Development
must guide prospects on their buying journey –
helping them make informed decisions. At the front end of the client adoption process,
marketing efforts can benefit from the use of
Because of this evolution, how sales profession- technology in areas such as the development of
als approach their audience in today’s market is automated lead nurturing and scoring. By iden-
very different. Cold calling is dead! – or, at least, tifying high-potential leads using predictive ana-
less effective than it used to be. This is not to lytics, a sales organization quickly can identify
say “it does not work,” but it is not repeatable the prospects that are more likely to become a
or predictable, which are key elements to accel- client and where they are in their buying cycle.
erate revenue growth sustainably. These sales This ensures that the team is focusing on the
technology advancements have reduced the right targets with the highest probability of con-
reliance on cold calling as a primary sales activ- verting to new business.
ity, shifting an increasing importance to activities
such as inbound selling, outbound outreach and Why is focusing on the right leads important?
account management as the primary drivers in According to Pipedrive, 34% of sales reps say
effective lead generation. that prospecting and lead qualification are their
biggest challenges, and HubSpot reports that
With the rise in importance of these activities, about 50% of sales reps’ time is wasted on un-
manufacturers are forced to rethink the struc- productive prospecting.
ture of their current sales organizations. A clear
understanding of the resources required to be Leveraging sales technology and artificial intel-
most effective and how they are utilized is criti- ligence (AI) further, sales and marketing lead-
cal to success. Accompanied by an established ers can develop effective social media strate-
sales process with stage-specific activities, gies that analyze metrics to provide insights that
clearly defined roles and responsibilities must be help to create tailored messaging based on cus-
outlined in order to allow sales teams to operate tomer activity and preferences. In turn, it will in-
more effectively. crease client engagement with a manufacturer’s
brand. Why is this important? Research shows
Where Do We Go from Here?
that most people only recall about 10% of what
74 PLASTICS NEWS June 2025
