A report published by LinkedIn documents the findings from research commissioned with approximately 1,500 buyers and sellers to map Net Promoter Score (NPS) rankings with the level of individual seller engagement on the LinkedIn platform.

You can download the full report here to draw your own conclusions but a key finding was that power is clearly in the hands of buyers today. This means that sellers must know their customers intimately, build relevance and leverage strong networks to ensure sales success.

It has always been important to go and be where your customers are... physically and online. Ask yorself, where do they go to learn about issues relevant to us?

Sellers can 'disrupt the supply-and-demand relationship' by engaging early in the buyer's journey to set an agenda on value while influencing the business case and purchasing process. Those sellers who do not proactively engage well in advance of when a potential client researches the market, are themselves at a major disadvantage. Digital technology has disrupted the traditional supply-and-demand relationship forever as buyers increasingly cut through the seller's facade to take control in forming their own opinions.

In the same way that sellers seek to leverage networks for insights and introductions, buyers are doing the same to decide whom they'll 'invite to the dance'. Engaging early and on the basis of trust has never been more important for sellers. This illustration from the report shows the rate at which technologies become adopted... artificial intelligence (AI) is about to change everything and the world-changing event of 'singularity' will be upon us sometime after 2030.

Number of years to hit 50 million users:

Sellers today must be proactive by entering the buyer's world earlier and with far greater knowledge about the customers business and the key players who will drive change. If your sales and marketing teams begin using social selling as an integral part of their approach, not only will they hit their sales targets more reliably, they are also likely to build lasting relationships with consumers that will ensure sales success into the future. Turning customers into promoters is key – and this means knowing what your customers want, maybe even before they know it themselves. 

You can see more of Tony's insights at: www.tonyhughes.com.au, and if you are looking for a keynote speaker. Go to www.RSVPselling.com for sales methodologies that generate pipeline and manage complex opportunities. Main Image from LinkedIn: Research Paper - Influencing B2B Buyers; New insights into B2B purchase drivers.