There’s no question that the pandemic brought significant changes to the way buyers and sellers interact. But today, as the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, sellers are wondering: What changes are here to stay?

Pre-pandemic sales people used personal contact (a firm handshake, wining and dining, etc.) to build customer relationships. Now that it looks likely we'll be living with some form of Covid for the next few years (and maybe forever), a winning face-to-face personality will get you absolutely nowhere. Ditto with the "I'm successful so you should buy from me" personal semiotics, like the tailored suit and the Rolex.

Is your LinkedIn social selling strategy based on FOMO (the fear of missing out)? FOMO is rarely a good reason to do anything in business. Especially if we are talking about social selling on LinkedIn. We all agree exposure on LinkedIn is important, but there can be a negative impact without a clear social selling strategy.

If you’re skeptical about whether you need to prepare for a new era, consider the story of Michael. Michael exemplified a veteran B2B salesperson. As a perennial top performer for twenty-five years in the pre-pandemic, in-person selling era, Michael was skeptical about whether he should embrace the concept of virtual selling when his company announced a work- from-home policy in March 2020.