Will B2B e-commerce will make your sales team obsolete?

Across the globe, manufacturing and distribution CEOs are asking themselves: "Will my sales team even exist in three years?"

Their companies probably just have invested heavily in e-commerce, and early data showed customers moving to self-service ordering. Yet the most experienced salespeople are pushing back, arguing that B2B sales couldn't be fully automated.

This tension between digital and traditional sales is the challenge that brought Optimizely alongside Master B2B's Andy Hoar and Brian Beck to a recent roundtable.

Here's what we learned about the future of sales teams in B2B e-commerce — with some additional context for you.

Are b2b sales teams obsolete?

Almost a decade ago, Master B2B's Andy Hoar, then at Forrester, penned an article titled "Death of a (B2B) salesman," predicting that AI and e-commerce would render traditional sales teams obsolete.

While this hasn't entirely come to pass, the digital landscape has significantly changed how b2b buyers prefer to interact with sales representatives. Master B2B's data suggests 68% of b2b buyers prefer independent research over interacting with sales reps, a finding corroborated by Gartner, which states that buyers spend a mere 17% of their time meeting with suppliers during the purchasing process.

Does this mean sales teams are useless in the digital age? Optimizely believes not. Consultative sales reps still play a vital role, working alongside e-commerce, in the b2b buying process. Their value lies in ensuring the right products reach the right place at the right time, fostering customer retention, and building strong relationships, which ultimately drive profitability.

Using e-commerce for replacement orders

E-commerce excels at handling frequent, low-cost replacement orders, often outperforming traditional sales reps in this area. However, even in these automated transactions, human intervention can add value. Sales reps, working in conjunction with e-commerce systems, can analyze customer behavior trends to identify potential opportunities for personalized service. 

Integrating e-commerce data into CRM, ERP, and other business systems empowers sales teams with valuable insights into their accounts' online activities. In essence, e-commerce streamlines the process, but human expertise ensures customers receive the best possible service and support.

AI's role in b2b sales

Since the launch of ChatGPT, the prospect of AI replacing human workers has become a hot topic. However, if we look beyond the hype, it's clear that AI alone cannot handle the complexities of b2b sales.

Trust in AI isn't built overnight. It’s only earned when the user can repeatedly complete the job to be done faster using AI with similar results as if they did it manually. However, the question becomes: How do you consistently deliver high-quality outputs from non-deterministic AI models?

Furthermore, while AI can automate repetitive tasks in digital channels, freeing up human reps for more strategic work, human interaction remains crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction. Optimizely sees within our own customer base that the highest-growth customers leverage multiple channels, including both AI and human touchpoints, to effectively serve their customers.

Cost to serve

Companies face a critical question: is it better to achieve 100% customer satisfaction at 100% of the cost, or sacrifice some satisfaction for a drastically reduced cost? In other words, does the value added by sales reps justify their cost (salary, training, commission, etc.)?

Optimizely's Trevor Pope emphasizes the distinction between knowledge and wisdom. As online platforms become more complex, with potentially millions of products, effective sales reps leverage their wisdom to complement the knowledge customers gain through self-service online. In this model, sales reps become users of e-commerce themselves, driving the adoption of online tools and collaborating with customers, rather than competing against them.

Services: The key differentiator for modern sales

In today's market, where products are often nearly identical, services have become the primary way for sales reps to add value and differentiate their company from competitors. However, b2b buyers now have “b2c” expectations when it comes to service.

DXPs, like Optimizely, help reps meet these expectations with features such as built-in payment, optimized checkout, CRM, data integration, AI optimization, and dynamic content delivery across all touchpoints.

Balance between human interaction and self-service

Companies that successfully engage customers through both digital channels and sales reps have a winning strategy. The key is understanding when to offer a personalized human touch and when to step back and allow customers to efficiently self-serve.

To delve deeper into this topic, watch Optimizely's on-demand webcast with Master B2B and explore additional resources from Optimizely and Master B2B for more insights into b2b commerce.