Taming Sales Complexity in the Manufacturing Industry

December 3, 2019

As the growth of the manufacturing industry continues to soar, it is natural that the buying processes involved have consequently become more complicated, lengthier, and involving more stakeholders in the sales cycle. While growing manufacturing companies make supplier collaboration and diligence on the manufacturing floor a top priority, eliminating complexity from customer-facing processes often takes a backseat.

Furthermore, as product portfolios grow broader, multi-year service contracts are becoming the new normal and shorter product lifecycles are bound to make the sales manager’s job in the manufacturing industry even more challenging. Based on our expertise in helping manufacturing sector clients to overcome similar challenges, we have listed out some ways by which sales managers in the manufacturing industry can overcome complexities.

Want to learn more on how sellers in the manufacturing sector can better keep up with the rapid changes in buyer behavior? Request a free proposal for comprehensive insights on our solutions for companies in the manufacturing industry.

Communicate with decision-makers

Generally, most B2B purchases in the manufacturing sector involve at least five or more people. Each of these stakeholders will also be in charge of different teams that could influence their key decision-making. It is vital for the sales team in the manufacturing sector to be able to gain a comprehensive understanding on the company including its culture, goals, and what support their primary contact needs in order to get others on board. A best practice here is to think through the mind of the buyer and how they would convince their team about your products. If the key questions of the key stakeholders can be effectively taken care of, then it becomes for easier for sales managers to close the deal.

Customize based on the requirement

Different internal stakeholders in a buying organization will have different requirements. As such, the one-size-fits-all approach here could prove to be ineffective. Therefore, it becomes essential for manufacturers to tailor experiences for different stakeholders. A good majority of B2B buyers will be willing to pay more for a great experience while making a purchase, making this a crucial factor for companies in the manufacturing industry to consider.

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Leverage consumer insights

Sales managers in the manufacturing industry must leverage appropriate customer relationship management tools. This will help them prevent losing valuable customers to competitors. Modern CRM systems have the ability to track which content has been sent to a contact, and when coupled with a sales Enablement platform, can track which parts of this content have been read and which works best for certain sectors. When used together, CRM and sales Enablement can help marketers and the sales team to analyze and understand how best to influence prospects.

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