Shortened sales cycles, heightened data security concerns, and strict data privacy laws have redefined the rules for successful in-person sales.
GREER, S.C., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Trade shows and events are back in force this year. According to Exhibitoronline.com, industry professionals will attend an average of 29.5 regional trade shows this year, exceeding the pre-pandemic high set in 2019.
But exhibitors and attendees are likely to find success more challenging. Tech-dependent sales processes, rising cybercrime, and increased scrutiny from data privacy regulators have emerged as post-pandemic challenges to in-person sales.
As the pandemic forced sellers online to survive, handshakes and business cards gave way to video conferences and phone calls. The most human element of sales–creating a personal connection–became sterile. There's only so much one can know, like, and trust about another person through a screen.
Mike Lightner is the president of Vision-e, a 12-year Salesforce ISV partner and developer of team collaboration tools on the AppExchange. He first noticed the changes at Salesforce's first live post-pandemic event, Dreamforce, in 2022.
"We weren't sure what to expect since it was our first live event after the pandemic. It was bizarre," he said. "People had forgotten the basics of selling face-to-face."
"A senior account executive with one of the world's largest consultancies was pitching us and didn't have a business card. Since engagement tools are our space, my partner asked how his team was sharing contact information. He said–and I'll never forget this– 'We just write it down on a Post-It note.' We were floored. As we discovered throughout the event, similar exchanges were the norm, not the exception."
Awkward exchanges weren't the only sign technology had altered traditional in-person sales practices and others were more costly.
As businesses flocked online to survive, hackers saw an opportunity and made the most of it. According to the FBI, losses to internet-based crime in the U.S. totaled over $3.5 billion in 2019. By 2022, that number had skyrocketed to $10.2 billion. Business email compromise, an internet-based scam that exploits legitimate email addresses to coerce illicit financial transfers, rose from $1.9 billion in 2019 to over $2.7 billion in 2022.
Vision-e founder and CEO, George Turano, a veteran of the Salesforce ecosystem for over 20 years, noted, "Clearly, the days of dropping your business card in the fishbowl for a drawing or posting it on a community bulletin board are over."
Mr. Turano continued, "The best approach is to treat your PII (personally identifiable information) the same as your credit card: share it discreetly. Leverage security features on your mobile device, like facial recognition, to protect your information and share it with passive technologies like QR-codes that don't carry the risk of compromise associated with near-field communications."
In addition to accelerating cybercrime, the rush online also accelerated the sales cycle, placing a premium on being first to respond when consumers search for goods or services.
According to a joint study by Insidesales.com and MIT, conversion rates are eight times higher when engagement begins within 5 minutes compared to between 5 minutes and 24 hours.
"The impact of immediate response cannot be understated," emphasized Mr. Turano.
"In today's market, waiting even a few hours can cost you the deal and laws that require consent before marketing can bog down outreach. Capturing consent on-the-spot with tools like SCAN enables immediate, legal engagement—a clear advantage over follow-up methods that can take days to gather consent, if they ever do."
Such compliance challenges will continue to rise as data protection laws like the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation come of age.
Enacted in 2018, GDPR gave consumers unprecedented control over the collection and use of their personal information. After a relatively slow start, regulators have ramped up enforcement, levying over $4 billion in fines since 2018.
GDPR became the catalyst for data privacy legislation across the globe, even in the notoriously pro-marketing U.S. According to the International Association of Privacy Professionals, 11 U.S. states have enacted comprehensive data protection laws while 5 more have bills that have passed or are in committee.
But the explosion of data privacy laws is only part of the picture. Customer expectations play a led role, as well.
"Think of it from the customer's perspective," said Mr. Lightner, "Customers see record-breaking data privacy fines in the news and website pop-up windows remind them of their rights. The assumption is your company has to abide by data privacy laws like GDPR. Whether or not a particular data privacy law applies to your company doesn't matter in the eyes of the customer. The expectation is set."
He continued, "Really, it's quite simple. Play it safe and ask for a customer's consent before marketing to them. It protects you from potential fines and shows you respect their wishes.
The pandemic is over and live events are back, but the sales environment is more challenging than ever. Lightning-fast sales cycles, heightened data security, and the proliferation of data privacy laws have altered the traditional approach to in-person sales. The winners at trade shows will be those who leverage technology to engage instantly while respecting customer's data privacy and security.
Vision-e is a South Carolina-based, SBA-certified Veteran-Owned Small Business, member of the National Veteran Business Development Council, and a Salesforce partner since 2011. Vision-e specializes in team collaboration tools built on enterprise-level data privacy and security for the Salesforce ecosystem.
Their product portfolio is headlined by SCAN, an all-in-one engagement tool for digital business cards, business card and event badge scanning, marketing compliance, Slack-powered collaboration, and QR-enabled engagement. SCAN's unique Zero Digital Footprint architecture does not store data, affording the client 100% end-to-end data custody.
Media Contact
Hope Morgan, Visioin-e, 8886112679, [email protected], visione.com
SOURCE Vision-e
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