Pipeline is at the heart of a sales organization’s success. But for sales reps, driving pipeline can be an uphill battle. Today’s modern buyer is more complicated than ever — digitally-driven, mobile, socially-connected, and empowered with endless choices — and a B2B sale involves on average 5.4 of these complicated decision-makers throughout the process. How can companies set their sales reps up for success with such an obstacle ahead of them?

Patrick Lazaro, Corporate Generics Director at AmerisourceBergen, joined Alex Turner, Director of Sales Development at Wrike, and Megan Oleson, Director of Enterprise Business Development at Salesforce, today at Dreamforce to discuss how to drive pipeline — now.  

Tip #1: Be where your buyer is. 

Process doesn’t matter if you’re not near your buyer. It seems intuitive, but a surprising number of companies have yet to adapt and pivot to their customers’ communication preferences. This goes beyond knowing that one customer prefers phone calls and another prefers face-to-face meetings — it means knowing that a customer can only talk for fifteen minutes on Thursday, and making sure a sales rep is there to meet them. 

Tip #2: Embrace “Why You, Why Now” messaging. 

Every sales rep should be able to answer this question about each of their potential customers when pitching a new sale. Good salespeople research a customer’s industry and persona; great salespeople understand the customer as an individual, and can sell solutions to their specific needs. For example, a great salesperson discovers that a lead has recently been promoted to a decision-making position, and immediately reaches out to discuss solutions. 

Tip #3: You cannot automate authenticity.

With so many new tech tools being released, it’s easy to get excited about the possibilities. But remember that a truly authentic customer relationship will always triumph over automated outreach. Tools should suggest rep-to-customer action, but never replace it.   

Want to learn more about how the best companies drive pipeline and empower their salespeople? Download The State of Salesforce Report or register for our webcast to hear six Bluewolf experts discuss key trends from the report.