As we plunge into 2024, the sales landscape is transforming dramatically. The days of "spray and pray" tactics and customer neglect are long gone.
The new year is making way for more nuanced and effective strategies that focus on adding value and building long-term relationships.
And before you ask, no, we don’t have a crystal ball. We can’t see the future. And no, an oracle didn’t relay these sales trends to us (unfortunately). But we’re confident in our research and what our own sales team is experiencing.
In this blog post, we’re getting into the hottest sales trends in 2024. You’ll get insights and practical tips tailored for salespeople and customer success teams who want to kick ass (aka close sales and grow revenue) this year.
1. Adios spray and pray, hello value-based selling
Gone are the days when sales was all about casting the widest net (aka spray and pray). The B2B sales trends in 2024 indicate a massive shift towards value-based selling. This approach prioritizes understanding and meeting the specific needs of each customer (or persona), rather than bombarding the market with generic pitches.
Shift from quantity to quality in sales outreach
Value-based selling focuses on building relationships and offering solutions that genuinely resonate with the prospect's unique challenges. This strategy requires a deeper understanding of the customer's business, pains, and goals. By tailoring your approach to address these specific points, you're more likely to strike a chord and close the deal.
How to implement value-based selling
To shift from spray and pray to a more personalized, value-based approach, you need to do your research.
DO. YOUR. RESEARCH. (for the people in the back).
Personalization doesn’t mean including a token in your subject line. It means researching the person you’re reaching out to and including relevant information in your outreach, whether that’s a one-off email or part of a sales sequence.
A basic framework that works well for email outreach is:
- Observation
- Problem
- Solution
- Ask
Here’s what that looks like:
Mixmax’s in-email Polls feature
By tailoring your approach to address observations and problems that are relevant to the recipient, you're more likely to strike a chord and get a response.
2. AE self-sourcing
Another emerging trend in the sales predictions for 2024 is AE (Account Executive) self-sourcing. This approach encourages sales reps to generate their own leads, rather than relying solely on marketing or sales development teams.
What is AE self-sourcing?
AE self-sourcing is all about taking initiative. It's about salespeople building their own networks, leveraging social media, and using personal branding to attract potential clients. This proactive approach not only generates higher-quality leads but also fosters a sense of ownership and accountability within the sales team.
Best practices for AE self-sourcing
To excel in AE self-sourcing, you can:
- Use LinkedIn for networking and starting conversations with prospects
- Use CRM systems (like Salesforce) for managing accounts and contacts
- Use Sales engagement platforms (like Mixmax) to automate outreach and track interactions
- Continually educate yourself about industry trends (like these) and potential client needs
Using Mixmax to self-source as an AE
A sales engagement platform like Mixmax can help AEs self-source leads and manage sales processes. Here are some key ways you can use it:
- Automate email outreach: This includes setting up email sequences that can be personalized, scheduling follow-ups based on recipient actions (like opening an email or clicking a link), and segmenting contacts for targeted messaging.
- Track and analyze: By tracking email opens, clicks, and replies, AEs can gain insights into which strategies are working and which are not. This data helps in refining outreach tactics and focusing on more promising leads.
- Integrate with CRM: Mixmax integrates with Salesforce, allowing AEs to automatically sync their outreach with existing customer data. This ensures that the CRM data is always clean and up to date.
- Schedule meetings: Mixmax's calendar integration feature lets AEs include their availability directly in an email. The recipient can then click on a time that works for them, immediately booking the meeting. No back-and-forth necessary.
- Use templates and sequences: AEs can use pre-built templates and sequences for common outreach scenarios. This not only saves time but also ensures consistency in communication. All templates and sequences can be customized to add a personal touch.
- Integrate with LinkedIn Sales Nav: This allows AEs to access LinkedIn profiles via their inbox and include LinkedIn outreach in their sales sequences (both connection requests and DMs).
3. Enhanced post-purchase experience
A survey conducted in 2023 by Gartner, Inc. found that 60% of technology buyers involved in decisions to renew or expand SaaS agreements regret nearly every purchase they make.
That is shocking, to say the least.
So it’s no surprise that in 2024, the focus is not just on making a sale, but also on what happens after. The trend is shifting towards prioritizing customer success over support.
Customer success vs customer support
While customer support addresses immediate problems, customer success is about fostering long-term relationships and ensuring that customers achieve their goals with your product or service. This shift is significant in the sales trends of 2024, emphasizing the need for a proactive, personalized approach to post-purchase engagement.
Strategies for an effective post-purchase experience
To enhance the post-purchase experience, start by understanding the customer's goals and setting up regular check-ins to track their progress. The best way to achieve this is by making the sales-to-customer-success handoff as smooth as possible (aka customer success and sales collaboration).
With Mixmax, you can automate internal alerts between sales and customer success to ensure no new customer falls through the cracks.
Once the handoff is complete, develop a customer success plan that includes:
- Smooth onboarding
- Training
- Regular feedback sessions
- Quarterly business reviews
You can use customizable email templates to reach out to customers and book quick check-ins with them to make sure everything is on track on both sides. That way, when it comes time to renew, you’ll be confident that they won’t regret their decision (or churn) since you’ve been checking in with them periodically.
Remember that a satisfied customer not only brings repeat business, they also have the potential to upsell and become valuable advocates for your brand.
4. Rise of self-serve
Self-serve models are rapidly gaining traction in the sales world of 2024. These models allow customers to explore, evaluate, and purchase products or services independently, often through online platforms.
Understanding self-serve models
Self-serve models cater to the modern customer’s desire for speed, convenience, and autonomy. By providing relevant information, demos, and easy-to-navigate purchasing processes, businesses can cater to this growing preference while freeing up sales teams to focus on more complex deals.
How self-serve affects your sales strategy
Self-serve can reduce revenue coming in from the sales team. It’s inevitable. But no matter how much your company is invested in product-led growth (PLG), you’ll still need a sales team because self-serve can only take you so far.
There will be customers who want a hybrid sales model, meaning they want to do some of the work themselves, but ultimately want a salesperson to close the deal.
There will be big deals that require the assistance of a sales team.
There will be deals where companies don’t want to use credit cards to make a purchase.
There might come a time when your target audience changes (or expands), and your new audience isn’t into self-serve at all.
The point is, do not despair. Sales teams will not go extinct.
5. Smarter use of AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a game-changer in sales trends 2024. But unlike last year, it won’t be used willy-nilly. It will be used to alleviate manual, tedious work. It will assist salespeople, not take over all of the creative processes.
Elyse Archer on the use of AI in 2024
Chatbots and generative AI
AI tools like chatbots and generative AI are reshaping the way sales teams interact with prospects and customers. These technologies can handle routine queries, provide personalized recommendations, and even predict customer needs based on data analysis.
Generative AI doesn’t mean asking ChatGPT to dish out generic cold emails, though. In 2024, we’re going to use generative AI the smart way. We’re going to let it help us fine-tune our outreach.
What does that look like?
If we take Mixmax’s AI Compose feature as an example, you’ll see that you have to use proper prompts to get it to help with your email outreach. It can also tweak emails you’ve already written but need help perfecting.
This allows sales reps to focus on more complex tasks (like uncovering pain points and business goals, focusing on value-based selling, etc.) and relationship-building.
Implementing AI in your sales strategy
To leverage AI in your sales strategy, start by identifying the areas where AI can have the most significant impact – be it lead generation, customer service, data analysis, prospecting, or outreach.
Invest in AI tools that integrate with your existing CRM and sales platforms (fun fact: AI Compose is built into Mixmax). And keep in mind that training your team to effectively use these tools is just as important as the technology itself.
6. Multi-channel selling
In 2024, multi-channel selling is not just an option; it's a necessity. This approach involves engaging with customers across various channels – email, phone, social media, SMS – to create an omnipresent sales experience.
Balancing various channels
The key to successful multi-channel selling is balance. You need to understand where your target audience spends their time and tailor your approach accordingly. For instance, while email and phone might be effective for B2B clients, social media could be more suitable for reaching a B2C audience.
Setting up multi-channel sales sequences
If you’re using a sales engagement platform like Mixmax, you can easily set up multi-channel sequences to reach prospects and customers via various channels.
Here’s an example of a multi-channel prospecting sequence:
Here’s what a multi-channel sequence looks like in the Mixmax app:
7. Cold calling is NOT dead
Believe it or not, cold calling is not dead. In fact, it’s making a comeback in 2024. With the right approach, it can be a powerful tool in your sales arsenal.
Reviving cold calling with a modern twist
The key to effective cold calling in today's world is personalization and research. It's no longer about making as many calls as possible; it's about making each call count. It’s about adding value and starting an honest conversation with your prospects.
In a recent webinar with Jason Bay and Jack Wauson, the main takeaway was that (once again) you MUST do your research before picking up the phone.
Research your prospect's:
- Industry
- Company
- Role
- Pain points
- Recent achievements
- Recent challenges
Once you’ve got that on lockdown, you can proceed with the call.
Remember, the goal of a cold call in 2024 is no longer to pitch. That is passé.
The goal is to:
- Get them not to hang up within the first 2.3 seconds
- Add value for the callee
- Have an honest conversation
- Qualify (or disqualify) them
- Secure next steps (if qualified)
Wrap-up
Sales trends and predictions in 2024 highlight the importance of adapting and evolving in the sales and customer success landscape. From value-based selling and AI integration to multi-channel strategies and the resurgence of cold calling, the key is to stay informed, adaptable, and customer-centric.
The future of sales is not just about selling; it's about building relationships, understanding needs, and delivering value at every step of the customer journey. Welcome to the exciting world of sales in 2024!
