It’s noisy out there. Buyers are constantly bombarded with content, data, and options regardless of where they are in their journey, and as a result, they are more likely to put off their buying decision rather than make one.

For sellers, this means placing an importance not only on sales goals but also on the buyer journey. Yet, effectively delivering a consistent, compelling message to buyers during their journey is challenging when the noise in the market is louder than ever.

In order to cut through the noise of a competitive market, selling teams need to provide buyers with the right content in the right amount at the right time. This is more important now than ever before. The recent Salesforce State of Sales report indicates that buyers’ standards are rapidly changing, and sellers are finding it difficult to keep up.

In fact, 73 percent of buyers agree that their standards for how companies interact with them are higher than ever and 72 percent of buyers expect vendors to personalize engagement to their needs.

Sales teams that are struggling to succeed need to take a look at whether they’ve adapted along with their buyers. Why? Because buyers have changed and it’s time that sales teams adjust their approach if they want to be successful with today’s modern B2B buyer.

Why More Doesn’t Always Mean Better

Gartner recently uncovered that overloading buyers with information is not only overwhelming but potentially paralyzing. While having more information at their fingertips than ever before has led buyers to feel more empowered when it comes to making purchasing decisions, the abundance of information has significantly delayed their buying process.

Gartner’s research revealed that the buying process for 84 percent of customers took nearly double the amount of time they initially expected. Buyers are meeting with sales reps later in their buying process, which means sales interactions are no longer about getting to know your buyers, but being able to immediately showcase the added value you can bring to address their unique business problems.

While buyers are able to find information on their own, sellers would do well to create interactive presentations that provide insights and data that is specific to their buyer’s needs.

Instead of inundating your buyers with choices, recommendations, and ultimately, noise, consider the ‘less is more’ approach with these three facts of the modern B2B buying process in order to create a message that resonates.

• Content should be crisp and concise. When buyers have to sift through a large amount of information, they have a harder time focusing on the essential things they need to solve their business problems.
• As for data, companies should include data that focuses on solving problems in order to speed up the buying process. According to Forrester research, 74 percent of B2B buyers are inclined to buy from sellers that provide them with new insights about their business.
• Following the ‘less is more’ method with options is crucial. Why? Because a Harvard Business Review study found that 40 percent of stakeholders second-guess their decisions when presented with numerous choices.

How to Fix Content Fatigue?

In the modern buying process, customers not only crave clarity and simplicity, but also the potential to recognize their specific business problems within the content they consume.

Nearly 70% of your product information is self-discovered online by B2B buyers, leaving little opportunity for selling that actually closes deals.

While buyers are discovering information online, they are not able to grasp how it can truly affect their organization. Through sales enablement, sellers have the opportunity to showcase to buyers, in an interactive and effective way, why their solution or product is important for their company goals. Creating dynamic content allows marketers to control the message and branding included in all sales materials.

The constant stream of information and the abundance of options has created a complex and stressful buying experience. Implementing a sales enablement solution allows for consultative, prescriptive discussions with potential customers, and an opportunity to better understand the business challenges of all stakeholders, making it easier to manage priorities and align goals. In short, sales enablement technology makes selling a personal experience again.

Sales enablement evolves modern selling and accelerates the buyer journey. Currently, most companies use presentation technology that is ineffective, static and uninspiring. Through sales enablement, sales teams have the opportunity to develop and deliver sales engagements with more impact and insight.

Sales enablement technology enhances content by making it interactive. No longer do customers have to climb out from under piles of information in order to uncover how it relates to them and their business problems. Sales enablement technology allows sellers to personalize interactions and focus on each individual customer by proactively addressing their specific needs and providing them with the right content in the appropriate stage of their buying process.

With the right sales enablement resources, buyers can provide individualized information on the spot.

Additionally, sales enablement is data-driven, which means sellers can lean on key insights instead of relying on gut instinct, alone. When sales enablement solutions are backed by artificial intelligence, it allows sellers to present potential buyers with targeted sales content and customized presentations that hone in on how to fix their specific business problems.

Sales enablement technology also helps elevate companies in a crowded market. Having client-specific insights and data in real-time allows sellers to prescribe a specific course of action for potential prospects, rather than offering them a generic solution.

By personalizing the experience, sellers can offer content and data that tells the buyer’s unique story, which inevitably leads to a clear and concise decision.

With the ever-evolving B2B buying landscape, it is unlikely that the purchasing process will ever lose its complexity and clamor, which is why organizations need a sales enablement solution that aims to help sellers handle buying interactions more efficiently and effectively.

Adopting a sales enablement solution can help turn down the volume in a noisy market and allow sellers to guide potential prospects through their buying process by providing data-driven, client-specific insights that inspire action and accelerated decision-making.

About the Author: Matt Suggs, EVP of Sales at Mediafly. As the EVP, Matt leads the commercial and customer success teams at Mediafly, driving overall revenue growth and guiding the company to better understand the enterprise sales cycle. Since joining the company in 2010, Matt has been integral in adding and growing the company’s customers across different verticals. As a member of the executive committee, he also guides the overall strategy for Mediafly.