Selling through the Great Reshuffle

The pandemic has clearly made many people restless. Along with a craving for leisure and travel, there is an increased desire to experience new things at work. And this is translating into an upswing in job transitions.

 

LinkedIn data shows that there was a 19 per cent increase in B2B buyers changing jobs in the EMEA region between October and December last year. Before the pandemic, the average job tenure of a B2B buyer was over nine years. And at the height of the pandemic, job moves fell to almost zero.

 

However, as the world moves out of what are hopefully the worst of the problems caused by the pandemic, employee turnover is rising to unprecedented levels. This phenomenon has been called the “Great Reshuffle”, and it poses both a challenge and an opportunity for sales professionals.

 

"A great reshuffling of talent is ahead of us. All of us are rethinking not just how we work, but why we work. To me, this is a great thing. More people will be doing work they love at companies they feel passionate about, leading to greater success for organisations who engage their employees with empathy and trust.” Ryan Roslansky, CEO, LinkedIn

 

The pent-up demand created by the pandemic means that people are looking for, and moving to, new jobs at a record rate. This can pose difficulties for business sellers. Sales targets are moving much more frequently. It’s not surprising that a recent LinkedIn survey found that four out of five salespeople have lost or delayed a deal because someone working on an account has moved.

 

Securing accounts with multithreading

 

But while having to deal with changing sales prospects can be difficult, it isn’t a problem without an answer. The solution is “multithreading”.

 

Multithreading involves forming trusted relationships with multiple people who have an influence on purchases made at an account. This is always best practice, as research from LinkedIn Sales Navigator proves: sellers who are connected on LinkedIn to at least four people at an account are 16 per cent more likely to close a deal with that company, compared with sellers who have fewer than four connections.

 

This means that if you can build relationships with several people within an organisation, you are more likely to close a deal. It’s obvious really: if you have just one contact and they leave, you will be starting again, building up connections from the beginning.

 

To avoid that, you should be proactive about multithreading. Map out the people who have an influence on purchasing in your account. Take time to understand who these people are: invest time in getting to know them, understanding their roles and needs and how they interact with their colleagues. And then do your best to form multiple relationships within that network.

 

To start building new connections, ask someone in your network to make a warm introduction to their colleagues. Alternatively reach out yourself, perhaps with a question that demonstrates your knowledge of their industry.

 

Multithreading takes time and effort. But it is a lot easier than having to start again from scratch with an account. Build multiple relationships within your key accounts and your deals will become more secure, and may even increase in size as different requirements from your different contacts come into play.

 

The opportunity from people who move

 

Multithreading is a great way of protecting your accounts when important contacts move. But there is also a very real and positive opportunity to be found in the Great Reshuffle. If your champion at one company goes elsewhere, you suddenly have a very effective way into another company.

 

This opportunity isn’t just with people you already know. Anyone who moves to a new job is likely to be more open to new contacts as they establish themselves. For example, LinkedIn InMail acceptance rates are much higher among professionals who have recently started a new job.

 

This is especially significant when a new leader takes over a team. They often want to change things a bit, and this often includes investing in new tools and services. It is an ideal time to present a buying opportunity.

 

So when you notice a new hire in a target account, reach out and congratulate them. Then get to know them and understand their challenges and hopes, so you can establish how you might add value.

 

To make the most of this opportunity you will need to keep an up-to-date list of contacts. You should monitor when your existing buyers switch roles, or a new buyer joins a key account. You will also need to identify everyone with a role in purchasing your products, and build relations with as many as possible. And it is very useful to keep a list of your past buyers who now work at different companies. All of these important activities can be automated, for instance by using LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool.

 

Adjusting to the Great Reshuffle

 

There’s no avoiding the Great Reshuffle. But successful salespeople will see the opportunity and use it as an opportunity to form new connections and extend existing ones, which will support their success. Your buyers will change. And that means the way you approach your target accounts will have to change too. Having the right information, and the mindset to use that information, is crucial.

 

“This trend isn’t unique to sales, but many of its implications are,” says Liam Halpin at LinkedIn. “Ours is a profession that depends on relationships – and relationships depend on continuity. We can’t just accept deals stalling and customers churning because that continuity keeps being interrupted. It’s therefore vital for us to develop sales structures and sales methodologies that can continue to function in a world on the move.”

 

So accept that change is happening. And make sure that you equip yourself and your sales teams with the tools to benefit from that change.

 

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