If You're Not Looking at These 3 Things, You're Not Optimizing Sales Although sales has traditionally been a face-to-face exchange, technology and data allow sales teams to make better decisions in a post-pandemic reality.

Sales has always been a face-to-face game. Even though technology has streamlined the prospecting stage for sales teams, the goal is to get a strong prospect face-to-face with a salesperson who can close the deal.

The pandemic sparked a paradigm shift. Suddenly, in-person meetings were impossible. Salespeople who had relied on their personal skills to woo prospects and build rapport had to switch gears quickly. The plot twist? It worked. Now that nearly all sales take place online, many people seem to prefer it. A McKinsey & Company report found that 70 percent of buyers prefer virtual interactions, and salespeople appreciate the added efficiency.

This represents a broader change in customer behavior. Customers are trying out new ways to buy, including all-digital shopping, pickup and delivery services. As they continue to adapt to a "new normal," they're more willing to think outside the box and try different methods of purchasing.