B2B eCommerce and Your Sales Force: Working Together Combining B2B eCommerce with your sales team to better sell to and serve your customers One of the biggest issues many B2B businesses face when adding eCommerce to their offerings is dealing with a hesitant and possibly disgruntled sales team. Some might view it as competition and some may view it as a potential threat to their job. And given the fact that the sales force is one of the most important parts of your business and having an unhappy sales team is bad for business, you may not even branch into eCommerce at all. However, this would be a huge mistake. As the eCommerce trend continues to grow, your B2B business needs to either join in the mix or get left in the dust. Engaging your sales team in the eCommerce channel, and teaching them how to use it to better do their job, helps turn your ecommerce channel into a sales force’s best friend. Reach Out to the Sales Team Right Away As soon as you are seriously considering adding eCommerce to your business offerings, you should let your sales team know. They need time to adjust to the thought as well as be able to voice any concerns that they have. As a decision maker, it is your job to listen to those concerns, take them into consideration, and most importantly validate those feelings and respond to those concerns. If your sales force is worried about losing out on commission, come up with a way that they will still be compensated when their existing clients or a lead that they have nurtured orders online. Letting the sales team know that you are adding another channel that is there to help them do their job, not put it in jeopardy, helps sales people accept eCommerce and use it to their benefit. Using eCommerce as a Sales Tool Your B2B business’s eCommerce channel can be an excellent sales tool for your sales force. Your eCommerce site can be a great lead generator, connecting your salespeople with potential customers who sought your business out, instead of the other way around. This is a good indication that they are more serious about buying from your business. Your eCommerce site also provides your sales team with useful articles, product information, how-to videos, and other helpful content that they can show or direct the customers to in order to help them better get their message across and sell products. Getting Sales and eCommerce to Work Together, Not Compete To get the most out of your eCommerce portal and/or site, your sales force needs to view your eCommerce site as a partner, not a competitor. ECommerce enables your sales members to easily place an order for a client or check on the status of a client’s previous order. A sales team member could also use your eCommerce site to quickly configure a quote on their mobile device while in a meeting with a customer, instead of having to tell them they will have to get back to them on that. Your B2B eCommerce site helps your sales force quickly answer questions, provide helpful links and information, and place orders for your customers. Clarity Can Help Clarity Ventures is one of the leading B2B eCommerce development companies. For nearly a decade, we have been providing world-class business solutions for our business-to-business clients. Our team of experts has developed and implemented numerous custom solutions to fit the unique needs of B2B companies, including those that need a B2B sales portal. To find out more about how an eCommerce channel benefits your sales team and your business or to speak with a developer about adding eCommerce to your B2B company’s offerings, call or click to contact us today!