Ready or not, the B2B world is shifting. And that is being felt most acutely for those in sales roles.
Part of it is generational, according to new research out of the Atlanta-based digital marketing and PR firm Arketi. They found that younger buyers, who make up a growing percentage of B2B decision makers, use more information sources to make their final decisions.
This means that sales teams are competing in a more “complex, information-rich digital marketplace,” says Sreedhar Peddineni, founder and CEO of North Carolina-based GTM Buddy.
“Sales success increasingly depends on understanding nuanced buyer journeys, delivering value at every touchpoint, and leveraging technology to work smarter,” Peddineni told Hypepotamus.
Average size of the buying group grew from 5.4 people in 2014 to 11.1 in 2022, per a report published by Challenger Sales, which means that “B2B sales teams now have more people to convince, and the status quo (resulting in stalled deals) is a common choice,” he added.
“This shift towards consensus-driven decision-making means sales teams must navigate larger, more diverse buying groups. Sales cycles lengthen as each stakeholder, from business stakeholder to IT to finance, brings unique perspectives that affect the purchase decision. To succeed, sellers must tailor messaging to each persona’s concerns.”
Another changing reality? B2B sales teams have to embrace the “non-linear” sales process.
“Sellers must be experts, demonstrating industry knowledge and the precise ways their solutions address pain points. This elevates the salesperson’s role to that of a trusted advisor,” Peddineni said. “And this places unreasonable demands on the seller’s expertise in a wide range of areas. They need help – not just generic training, but equip them with the right information at the right time. Information that helps them to come across as the experts on every buyer interaction. This is where the role of AI assistants, and solutions that embed AI into the core sales workflows is more important than ever.”
Fixing The Leak
Peddineni describes the B2B sales funnel as “leaky.” To fix that, the team has built out a prescriptive platform that helps sales teams deliver a better experience to potential customers.
Investors have taken notice. The GTM Buddy team closed a $8 million in Series A funding round led by Boston-based Archerman Capital and Singapore-based Leo Capital, with participation from Neon Fund and existing investor Stellaris Venture Partners.
Peddineni noted that while the fundraising landscape has passed its “glory days” that was seen over the last several years, he found there is “ significant interest in companies that leverage AI to solve real world business challenges.”
“GTM Buddy is an example of such companies wherein we leverage AI to activate sales content, learning and knowledge to level up sales execution.”
