Every business offers a learning curve.
Sachin Chhabra, founder at Peel-works, shares with us his top 10 takeaways from a decade-long stint in selling staffing, logistics, and distribution.
(1) No significant multi-year deal gets done through inside sales. So the traditional method of beating the streets is still a favored approach.
(2) The talent shortage has allowed hiring to become inside sales-led. Make one call to a large company, and the open position rolls in. Demand of talent is evidently more than supply.
(3) Most B2B buyers like to play it safe. There are, on average, six approvers of a transaction in a large company. The process ensures that no one person can be held accountable for a wrong contract.
(4) Most buyers feel that buying a large global brand de-risks their career. So even if less suitable, there is a bias to appoint sizeable global brand names.
(5) Even when irrelevant, there is a tendency to push exclusivity and credit terms down the contract.
(6) 70% of the customers do not keep time. Often delay is used as a tactic to establish the balance of power between the buyer and the seller.
(7) Financial settlements take longer than the contractually agreed period.
(8) Personal networks are a double-edged sword. Buyers like to portray themselves as Ceaser’s spouse and refrain from advocacy. Even though the buying process is multi-layered.
(9) The supplier-side hierarchy does not mean much to the customer. Any one from the customer’s end can call the top dog at the supplier side anytime.
(10) Thankfully, Golf is not a sales enabler anymore. The buyers are younger and are able to play a more diverse set of sports.
