Consultative Selling: The Secret Sauce for Closing Deals in eCommerce Now

It’s fair to say the eCommerce world has been through a lot in the last 18 months.

Coronavirus pushed online shopping adoption to unprecedented heights – at unexpected speed. 2020 saw eCommerce sales grow 27.6% year-on-year (YoY), with regional growth reaching as high as 36.7% YoY in Latin America.

So far so good. But keeping up that kind of momentum, especially as the world – and consumers’ shopping habits – began to return to normal this year? Not so straightforward.

And let’s not forget other factors at play too.

Factors like labor cost inflation and Brexit – both namechecked as acute current challenges by ASOS chief executive Nick Beighton as he resigned in October 2021 after 12 years at the company.

So while 2021’s eCommerce web traffic (the light blue line in the graph above) is still considerably above 2019 levels, in July 2021 it ticked down 1.6% versus the same month in 2020.

And the next few months (especially Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the pre-Christmas period) will be the real test of how eCommerce survives – or thrives – in the wake of Coronavirus.

Time to get personal

Where there’s a challenge, there’s always a sales opportunity.

But if your competitors are paying attention, of course, they too will know broadly the way the market is moving.

So what’s going to give you the edge in your sales conversations?

First off, start by figuring out what makes your ideal customers tick as individuals – both personally and professionally.

Your best tool for bringing this kind of picture together is buyer personas.

A buyer persona is a way of imagining and representing your ideal customer based on research and knowledge of your customer base.

It’s not based on a specific customer, but rather the ideal customer base for your product. In a B2B world, you could have one for the end user of your solution, and one for the purchasing decision maker (if those are usually different people).

You can use a ready-made B2B buyer persona template to prompt you with the right questions, and make sure you capture the details that count.

By the end of the process, your personas will have names, family statuses, hobbies, jobs, and socio-economic statuses. And you’ll have identified their concerns with potential products, their motivations, preferences, pain points, and brand affiliations.

Bring on the data

Now comes the secret sauce. Detailed, company-specific intelligence.

How are your prospects performing versus the rest of their category?

What challenges are they facing with their traffic? Their engagement levels? And their marketing channel performance?

When you know the accurate, up-to-the-minute answers to these questions, you can graduate from old-fashioned transactional sales to a modern consultative style of selling.

And that matters because 78% of business buyers say when they deal with salespeople, they’re really seeking a trusted advisor who adds value to their business.

But while 83% of sales reps think they listen to their prospects’ needs, just 62% of buyers agree.

You need clear visibility into your prospect’s eCommerce business if you really want to connect with them and open up a whole new and improved type of sales interaction. One where you’re a partner and a problem solver, never a pushy interloper.

A window into their business

That’s where Similarweb’s Sales Intelligence solution comes in.

We’ve picked metrics below which are all available there for more than 100 million websites worldwide. Let’s explore how each could create sales potential for you with eCommerce businesses of all sizes.

• Visits, Visitors & Total Pageviews – Did their traffic suddenly boom last month? Prioritize them in your leads list, and strike while the iron’s hot.
• Marketing Channels – Have they recently seen a burst of traffic via paid search? They could be new in the market for SEM marketing services. Are they lagging in organic search versus their competitors’ performance? SEO consultancy could be just what they’re after.
  

• Technologies Used – Have they just started using a technology that your own solution could complement? Or do they use one of your rivals’ products (so you can prepare a head-to-head comparison for the next time you reach out)?
  

• Engagement – Any noteworthy increase in bounce rate should be on their priority list to address. What solutions could you offer to improve their site’s user experience and stickiness?

You can see how any of these could be invaluable data points to inform your next sales interaction – and to inspire the kinds of conversation which will go on to reveal even more.

Time to seize the opportunity

Now you’re equipped with the inside information you need to sell consultatively in the eCommerce space, you’ll be uniquely positioned to help online sellers prepare for the challenges and opportunities of 2022.

And with eCommerce sales in the U.S. alone predicted to surpass $1 trillion next year, there should be plenty of sales opportunities to go around.

Find out more about how Similarweb can help you close more deals with every kind of eCommerce business.

Further reading:eCommerce Content Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

This post is subject to Similarweb legal notices and disclaimers

by Robin Morley

Sales Specialist

Robin has 20+ years in B2B and B2C marketing, with experience in creative strategy at a London agency and BBC News. Based in London, he enjoys making and listening to music.