How Tech Services and Product Sellers Can Win in an Evolving B2B Buyer Landscape
As we step into a world where digitalization drives decision-making, the opportunities for technology services and product companies to expand into global markets are immense. However, tapping into this massive potential requires much more than ambition—it calls for understanding evolving buyer behaviors, adapting sales strategies, leveraging tools and processes and foremost is building trust across cultural and geographical divides.
At Growthsutra’s 24th milestone session, we delved into this pivotal topic: “202X Vision: Selling Beyond Borders – Offshore Strategies for Global Markets.”
The session, featuring industry leaders such as Dennis Roman (Founder, Roman Numbers), Nelson Fernandes (Founder, Big Leaps Consulting), Dean Nolley (Outsourced VP of Sales), and Atul Kulshrestha (SVP, Quintus Global), Ashish Nanavati (Fractional Chief Marketing Officer / Chief Digital Officer, Digital Data Driven Consulting) and Karan Sood (Co-Founder, Fastor7) explored how B2B Technology businesses can redefine their approach to crack global markets.
Here’s a detailed look at the challenges we discussed, the strategies that emerged, and actionable steps for tech sellers to thrive in this evolving landscape.
The Global Sales Landscape: Opportunities Amid Complexity
The worldwide IT and tech spending has soared to an impressive $5 trillion valuation, according to Gartner. This vibrant market offers immense potential, driven by enterprise buyers prioritizing innovation, digital transformation, cloud migration, AI, and automation. However, for B2B tech services providers and SaaS product sellers, breaking into this lucrative space is far from straightforward.
What Makes It So Complex?
The B2B buyer journey has undergone a seismic transformation, driven by several key factors:
Millennials and Gen Z Lead Buying Decisions: Today’s dominant decision-makers in B2B buying are Millennials and Gen Z (Forrester), who bring their tech-savvy preferences to the table. They value seamless digital experiences and often opt for self-service options over prolonged sales cycles.
The Rise of Digital-First Purchasing: By 2025, Forrester predicts that 50% of large B2B purchases (1 Million dollar and greater) will occur via digital self-serve channels, such as vendor websites and marketplaces. This underscores the growing demand for frictionless, digital-first interactions.
ROI-focused decisions: B2B Purchasing decisions involve multiple stakeholders, including CFOs, CTOs, and procurement heads, all requiring clear ROI metrics and solid financial justification.
Moreover, the market perception is further challenged by borders—both literal and figurative. As Dennis Roman, Founder of Roman Numbers, put it succinctly:
“We are here; they are there. Bridging that gap requires understanding, planning, and relentless execution.”
Navigating diverse cultural norms and regulatory landscapes, adds layers of complexity to the sales process. Successful strategies require not just global ambition, but also the agility to adapt and resonate within each unique market context.
Lets have a deep dive on the key challenges, strategies and tactics that were discussed during our masterclass.
The Three Major Challenges Facing Tech Sellers in Global Markets
1. Digital Fatigue in outreach
The post-pandemic surge in digital transformation has revolutionized communication channels but has also led to a saturation of outreach efforts.
Today’s decision-makers, especially CXOs, face a relentless barrage of email campaigns, LinkedIn messages, webinars, and phone calls. While automation tools enable businesses to send thousands of messages at scale, this often results in a deafening wall of noise, where even the most precise targeting can go unnoticed.
The statistics paint a clear picture:
347 billion emails are sent daily (Statista), yet most are ignored or go unopened.
65% of buyers report that the outreach they receive feels generic or irrelevant.
Atul shared a first-hand account:
“We’ve sent 15,000 emails in four months, with a strong 17-18% open rate, yet the success rate is still close to zero. Buyers today are fatigued by mass outreach.”
For tech companies selling software, AI platforms, or IT services, this digital fatigue poses a huge challenge. Traditional methods like mass emailing no longer work.
The New Reality: Modern buyers no longer respond to cookie-cutter strategies. They crave hyper-personalized interactions that address their specific pain points, align with their priorities, and stand out from the noise.
The Challenge: How do you differentiate your outreach and get through to a busy buyer who is already overwhelmed?
2. Finding and Engaging the Right Customers
One of the biggest challenges of global sales is finding prospects with BANT—Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing—who are ready to engage, as further shared by Atul. However, this becomes even more challenging when:
Target buyers, like CFOs or CTOs of mid-market enterprises, don’t actively use LinkedIn.
Buying committees often operate under layers of hierarchy, making outreach indirect.
Dean summarized the issue well:
“Some of the best decision-makers are invisible online. They’re busy running their businesses, not responding to cold emails or LinkedIn messages.”
Moreover, while tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, and CRMs help identify leads, they don’t always provide insight into:
The pain points of target customers.
Whether they are actively looking for solutions.
Their buying readiness or engagement preferences.
The Challenge: How do you find and engage these “hidden” decision-makers in Global landscape who aren’t active on digital channels?
3. Building Rapport with the Buyer from Offshore is Tough
Trust is the cornerstone of sales success, especially when selling services and solutions to global customers. Unlike products, services involve complexities that require deep trust between the buyer and the seller.
However, offshore businesses face unique challenges:
Skepticism from buyers about working with companies they’ve never met.
Cultural and communication differences that hinder rapport-building.
The need to prove value quickly in highly competitive markets.
Karan highlighted this challenge:
“Building trust in international markets is hard. Without face-to-face connections, it’s tough to reduce the friction that comes with cross-border sales.”
For offshore service providers, building trust can be a longer, more challenging process. Buyers are often cautious of outsourcing risks and expect proof of reliability upfront.
The Challenge: How do you build trust and credibility when buyers have never met you in person?
Winning Strategies for Tech Sellers to Break Into Global Markets
The panel shared proven strategies to help companies overcome these challenges and accelerate their global growth:
1. Research the Landing Spot Before You Jump
Expanding internationally is more than an operational endeavor; it’s about navigating the cultural, strategic, and market-specific nuances that define success in a new region. As Dennis aptly put it: "We are here; they are there."
The challenge of “there”—whether it’s the US, Europe, or other global markets—lies in understanding the unique dynamics that drive each market. To succeed, companies must:
Analyze local buyer behaviors: Understand what motivates buyers, their pain points, and their purchasing preferences.
Adapt go-to-market (GTM) strategies: Tailor messaging, channels, and approaches to resonate with regional audiences.
Without research based comprehensive planning in identifying the landing spots, businesses risk missteps like misaligned messaging or misunderstanding cultural preferences or even local regulatory requirements.
Key Takeaway: Success in global markets requires a research-first approach. Dive deep into the unique characteristics of each region, understand its buyers, and craft a tailored GTM strategy. In international expansion, preparation isn’t optional—it’s essential.
2. The Human Touch in Sales: In-Person + Personalization = Success
In the fast-paced world of global sales, technology and automation can help you scale operations, but the real breakthroughs happen with in-person connections paired with personalization. Together, they form a powerful combination that builds trust, strengthens relationships, and drives deals to closure.
Why In-Person Connections and Personalization Matter: Global buyers don’t just buy products or services—they invest in trust and relationships. While personalization ensures your outreach resonates on an individual level, face-to-face interactions create the human connection needed to establish credibility and authenticity.
When to Prioritize In-Person + Personalization:
High-Stakes Deals: For complex, high-value transactions, trust-building through tailored, personal interactions is essential.
Complex Solutions: When offerings require detailed discussions or demonstrations, in-person and personalized engagement accelerates understanding and buy-in.
Global Markets: In culturally diverse regions, personal connections and tailored approaches help overcome trust barriers and align with local expectations.
Nelson Fernandez summarized this perfectly:"Digital tools can help you scale prospecting, but true impact comes from building trust through local connections. In-person interactions, where possible, seal the deal."
This aligns with McKinsey’s findings, which reveal that best-in-class B2B sellers achieve 20% revenue gains by redefining their go-to-market strategies through inside and hybrid sales models.
How to Master In-Person + Personalization
Tailor Your Engagement: Personalize every interaction by addressing individual buyer pain points, priorities, and goals.
Leverage Local Events: Combine in-person meetings with tailored messaging and demonstrations to leave a lasting impression.
Blend Digital and Physical Touchpoints: Use virtual tools for early engagement and personalized, in-person interactions for nurturing and deal closure.
Key Takeaway
The combination of in-person connections and personalization is the ultimate formula for success in global sales. While automation and digital tools are valuable, the human touch and tailored approach are what truly differentiate your business. Together, they help build trust, deepen relationships, and secure long-term partnerships that drive sustainable growth.
Building Trust and Long-Term Relationships
Trust remains the most critical—and elusive—element of global sales. Karan highlighted the importance of establishing trust early to reduce friction in the sales process and challenged the speakers with his question on Trust:
“Without trust, you won’t even get a meeting. Building credibility through relationships is critical to closing deals in international markets. How do you build trust?”
Strategies to Build Trust:
Offer Value First: As Dennis Roman advised, “Give away your first deal or provide free value.” Solving an immediate problem demonstrates your capabilities and builds goodwill.
Leverage Referrals: Recommendations from mutual connections fast-track trust-building. Referrals often bypass buyer skepticism.
Focus on Thought Leadership: Share content—blogs, case studies, and videos—that positions your company as an authority in solving specific problems.
Key Takeaway: Trust is the currency of global sales. Build it through referrals, thought leadership, and value-driven outreach.
4. The Role of Branding in Global Sales
Expanding internationally requires businesses to establish a recognizable and trusted brand. While branding plays a central role in digital-first buyer journeys, it is most impactful when paired with authentic engagement.
Ashish Nanavati emphasized the role of branding and challenged the speakers with his insights here:
“What role does digital marketing play in building brand presence in new international markets?"
A strong digital presence builds brand awareness, but trust comes from delivering real value. Your brand’s success lies in its ability to add real value. Focus on authentic engagement, not just visibility.
Brand-Building Strategies:
Content Marketing: Publish high-value content (blogs, case studies, videos) that solves real customer problems.
Consistency: Align your messaging, visuals, and tone across all channels.
Digital Thought Leadership: Leverage platforms like LinkedIn to share actionable insights and establish credibility.
Key Takeaway: Create a brand that decision-makers trust by -Publishing case studies and success stories, Sharing actionable insights on LinkedIn and other digital platforms, Delivering educational content like webinars, whitepapers, and blogs.
5. Strengthening Offshore and Onshore Strategies
In the evolving global sales landscape, combining the strengths of offshore efficiency and onshore presence is key to driving success. Offshore teams excel in pre-sales activities such as research, data analysis, and outreach, while onshore resources or local partners are often essential for closing deals. The glue that binds these strategies together is Revenue Operations (RevOps), which ensures seamless alignment and predictable revenue outcomes.
Maximizing results requires leveraging the unique strengths of both offshore and onshore approaches:
Offshore Teams for Efficiency:
Lead generation, data analysis, and outreach at scale.
Supporting sales with virtual demos and customer insights.
Onshore Presence for Impact:
Field sales reps or trusted local partners for face-to-face meetings and follow-ups.
Navigating cultural nuances and building trust in-person.
As Nelson succinctly put it:"The salesperson sitting in front of the client will always take the cake. Combine the strengths of both approaches to maximize results."
RevOps provides the operational backbone to align offshore and onshore efforts, ensuring every activity contributes to predictable revenue growth:
Seamless Alignment Across Teams:
Synchronize sales, marketing, and customer success for unified execution.
Eliminate silos to create a consistent buyer experience.
Optimized Process and Workflows:
Automate lead handoffs between offshore and onshore teams.
Ensure timely follow-ups and personalized engagement across touchpoints.
Smarter RevOps with the Right Technology: Leveraging advanced tools for automation, data centralization, and predictive analytics, businesses can:
Optimize offshore efforts for lead generation and outreach.
Equip onshore teams with actionable insights for high-value interactions.
Align sales, marketing, and customer success to drive predictable revenue growth.
According to Deloitte (2024):"B2B organizations using RevOps are 1.4x more likely to exceed revenue goals by 10% or more."
Key Takeaway: Technology is the driving force behind RevOps, ensuring offshore and onshore strategies work in harmony. With technology-driven RevOps, businesses can create a seamless, scalable strategy that combines efficiency with effectiveness—ensuring success in even the most competitive global markets.
Growthsutra’s Free RevOps Audit helps tech businesses identify operational gaps, streamline processes, and create a roadmap for predictable revenue growth. Book Your Free Audit Today.
Pro Tips for International Sales Success
Do Your Homework on Prospects: Research financial pain points using public data to find companies struggling with costs or stagnant revenues—these are often the most receptive prospects.
Think Beyond Digital: Stand out in a crowded market by incorporating unconventional approaches like physical mail, participation in local communities and associations, in-person meetings, and events to break through digital noise.
Give First, Sell Later: Build trust by offering free value upfront—such as actionable insights, reports, or workshops. This approach fosters goodwill and often leads to vocal references from satisfied clients.
Referrals Are Gold: Tap into your network by seeking introductions from happy clients or trusted connections. Referrals come with built-in credibility, significantly improving your chances of closing deals.
Be Adaptable: Tailor your sales strategies to each region. Balance digital-first approaches with culturally relevant, localized outreach to connect with prospects on their terms.
Conclusion: The Future of Global Sales for Tech Sellers
Selling in global markets requires a balanced, thoughtful approach. Technology, tools, and digital strategies provide efficiency, but trust, relationships, and local connections drive success.
Global markets are waiting for innovative solutions, but businesses must cut through the noise and stand out by being authentic, prepared, and relationship-focused.
What’s Next?
At Growthsutra, we believe in empowering leaders with actionable insights. Join us for our next session:
📅 “Crafting B2B Sales Success: From Quick Wins to Major Deals” on January 16th, 2025.
We’ll explore how businesses can drive short-term wins while building high-value, long-term relationships.
Register now to join the conversation and unlock your B2B sales success.
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