The cheese has moved...Did you notice? And what do we do about it?

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Clive Miller - SalesSense
Clive Miller - Give us back our cheese!

For those who haven't read Who Moved my Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and Ken Blanchard, the cheese is a metaphor for whatever sustains you in your job, career, or life.

And a typical piece of cheese, for sales people, would be our innate (or trained) ability to slide in front of the right buyers, at the right time, to help them make whatever purchases they had in mind, or to change their minds if they were "sadly misinformed", as so many appear to be!

Wait though, what's happening? Why can't we do that as often as we used to? Have our buyers (suspects, prospects, customers, you know their names, right?) all disappeared? Or have they just changed how they buy, and from whom?

Well it's becoming more and more obvious that long gone are the days when a sales person held all the knowledge that wasn't readily available elsewhere. Today, potential customers do their research and comparisons online. By the time a sales person is involved, often all that's left is the quote/proposal and negotiation. The opportunity to build a relationship has passed by.

Photo source - http://www.siemon.com/uk/company/case_studies/atd.asp
Our buyers have a world of information at their fingertips

These shifting sands have certainly been having an effect on the way that I sell my company services at SalesSense, so I've noted some down for you to have a quick run down the more obvious ones, as a checklist.

So, are you experiencing these symptoms in your business?

* Increased difficulty getting access to decision makers.

* When you do get access it is late in their thinking/buying process.

* Prospects often seem to know of their best (most competitive) alternatives.

* There seems to be less opportunity to differentiate because customers are already comparing you with similar suppliers.

* Less differentiation and greater awareness of market prices seems to put more pressure on price.

If some or all of these symptoms are hurting your business, it may be that you are experiencing the consequences of the digital age. It's important to alert business leaders to the situation. By sharing we are all the richer. Help others recognise the issue by sharing your story and experiences – and feel free to start by discussing any that you're not sure about here, with me…

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