Buyers are opting for less risky forms of interaction because they don’t want to be "sold to", and the internet allows customers to avoid unwanted interactions. Buyers are gathering pre-purchase information through an online research process which does not include a salesperson. How do you once again become part of the conversation?
Understanding that buyers don't engage your sales team as a first step means that you need to rethink your sales process and move content to the places where buyers are looking for it. What can be moved out of the conference room and onto your company's website and social media channels? By moving information into the online channels that your customers are using, you are once again, part of the conversation.
In fact, the reason that most websites fail to generate the sales leads your team needs, is that they are targeting the wrong step of the decision-making process. To align with your customers, it is important to understand what we call "the buyer's journey," - the three step process a potential customer takes before buying. It looks like this:
in which a customer realizes they have a problem they need to solve
where the buyer has begun to look for someone to solve the problem
in which the buyer chooses a product/service that will help them
A 20-minute Executive Summary outlining successful online marketing strategies