A whole lot has happened in the world of selling since most of the methodologies and common practices were established. Although the Internet was slow to affect the B2B world, it’s made a heck of an impact over the past decade or so. Smart phones, social media, and the disappearance of one decision-maker have also kicked our traditional sales processes and best practices to the curb. A catalyst of this transformation was the great recession that started in 2007 / 08. It seems that everyone was scrambling to stay afloat for a few years and once we got settled, the world had changed.
I’ve built a business on these changes. Vector Firm helps security companies improve their sales and marketing performance in the modern day. If you’ve read any of my blog posts, or seen me speak, you’ve probably heard me preaching about these changes. Some of the dynamics in your world that I often discuss are sales people having to be competent to be successful, internal turf wars that your customers must fight every day, and that your customers don’t really need you to stop by anymore. However, just before Christmas I was on the phone with a client and almost fainted from what he said. Almost verbatim, this was the conversation:
Client: “I know relationships aren’t important anymore, but…”
Me: “Wait, what? Hold on. What? Back up … what did you say about relationships?”
Client: “You know – you always say that they’re not important anymore.”
Me: “I’m sorry – I never meant to relay that message. Relationships are always important.”
As we continued our discussion, I realized that we were saying the same thing, but his communication style is a bit less literal than mine. He knew that I meant relationships without business substance are not nearly as powerful today as they were ten years ago, but it still got me thinking about my rhetoric and the messages I send. Many things have changed, but some things haven’t … and probably never will.
This brings me to our post today. I’ve listed three things about selling in the security industry that have not changed, and probably never will change. To access the list, click the graphic below.
