Technological Advances

Technology has continued to advance exponentially and has transformed many businesses. By the use of technology now businesses can get a lot of their work done in short amount of time frame. From surveys to closing, the present mobile, social, big data and cloud technologies are renovating the sales process. New devices, strategies, and techniques have given these businesses to improve productivity, profitability and give them an advantage of staying ahead in the competition.

Due to the advancement of technology it is now possible to store humongous number of customer data about their behavior and buying habits. It enables one to manage, analyze and grasp a massive amount of customers under one device. Through big data analytical tool, organization can identify their potential or their targeted customers. This gives the sales teams a clearer idea of where to focus their efforts.

Secondly social media platforms have helped many organizations to stay connected with their customers; from product awareness to feedbacks. Also it has helped to attract and engage new customers. Studies show that sales representatives who use social networking comparably outperform those who don’t.

Thirdly, selling involve numerous tedious, time consuming and repetitive work like scheduling sales appointment, sending follow up emails etc. which can affect the productivity and profitability. So the sales force automation technology automates many tasks and helps the sales representative to focus on other important tasks. This allows sales managers to keep their teams up-to-date and also retrieve sales figures; customer complaints etc. and manage them in real time. Through the cloud based customer relationship management technology gives an organization a comprehensive perspective of customer relationship by incorporating promoting, sales, and client support. This CRM data can be accessed from anywhere and at any time. It enables sales employees to access fast and minute details of their customers.

Research has shown that 55% of consumers who browse online are most likely to commit to purchase than those who window shop at malls and stores. Innovation is changing the universe of offers. Organization that utilize technology and tools like big data, cloud storage and social media, the sales process will stay beneficial and competitive while the one that sticks to the outdated version will certainly exit the market. Cultural differences Humans are different from each other and their decision making differs according to their believes and value. Something right to someone might be wrong to the other. We humans are conditioned to react positively or negatively based on our culture, education family backgrounds or religion.

Due to technological advances and exposure, cultures are changing. As humans we are prone to change so as our attitude toward certain things like lifestyle, preferences etc. as it does our demand for certain fashion, technological devices increases while demand for other alternatives fades away. When you know the culture you set up your business in it becomes easier for the sales person to know their customer needs and wants. When you understand the cultural differences you will know how represent your product among your customers; also this will help salespeople to shape the interactions with their customer as well as sales manager.

Being socially delicate and mindful can enable the business trough to see changes as they happen and alter the business practices to allow the business power to address the customers’ needs and want. When a sales person enters a meeting with a customer, armed with knowledge of his cultural background, it will help him strategically shape his words, body language and actions to come up with a positive interaction, moreover this help them maintain a long term relationship with that customer. In a global market place, understanding the culture will help the sales manager too build a personal relationship with his sales people who belong to different cultural backgrounds.

In addition being aware of cultural background of his organization will help the sales manager to construct a global sales force which will minimize the potential cultural conflicts and there by result in their success.