B2B sales entail selling products and services to other businesses, rather than directly to customers. Compared to B2C, sales in B2B marketplaces typically have higher order value, longer sales cycles, and complex negotiation laps, not to mention the multiple stakeholders that are involved in sealing the deal.  

This means there are multiple rounds of approvals needed to give the final nod to the seller. Sales are generally 90% about finding the right prospects and 10% about the actual sales presentation. Since the buyers and decision-makers have established credentials, it is important to present the right content to address their pain points.  

B2B sales process isn’t a linear progression anymore but a cyclical series of steps designed to maintain long-term association with the client.

If you want to improve your B2B sales process, start by asking yourself these essential questions.  

1. Do I know the Exact Selling Value Proposition of the Competitor?  

In the early stages of the sales process, the sales executive must apprise himself/herself about the product in detail. He also needs to research in-depth about the market he is going to sell in and understand the ecosystem of the competitors’ prices and products. This stage helps the sales executive present a much more credible picture to the clients.  

This stage also helps to build empathy towards the client’s needs and understand what exactly should be the focal point of the pitch. It is crucial to know about the unique selling point (USP) of a product or service.  

Clients depend to a large extent on product information on the sales executive. If the sales executive fails to give any relevant information, the competitors might take advantage of the situation and be eager to seal the deal.  

2. How Do I Connect My Product/Service Offerings to Clients Via Meaningful Information?  

Understanding the pain point of the target group is the key to effective selling. This question effectively manages to do so. The clarity with which you convey the value-added to the client is a key determinant in getting your deal closed effectively..

You must look for avenues where you can help your client figure out how the product or the service is filling the white spaces in their operations. When you provide meaningful information, the client is most likely to see your offerings on a superior pedestal vis-a-vis your competitors.

3. How Can I Convert a Prospect into a Buyer by Analyzing Key Consumer Data?

Prospecting is the process of identifying the potential buyers who need the product and services of your company, have the eagerness and ability to pay for it, and have the authority to decide the process. It is essential to differentiate the prospects from the suspects.  

Suspects are those clients who do not have an immediate need for your product and services but have the potential of turning into prospects soon.   The sales executive must find three kinds of customers.

• ·       Lead Clients

• ·       Prospect Clients

• ·       Qualified Clients

Buying power, financial transaction ability, flexibility on credit terms are important areas of considerations that separate the lead clients from the rest. Hence the process of identifying lead clients by gathering customer data and checking relevant sales parameters for them to qualify as prospects is also referred to as prospecting.  

The sales executive must make an effort to take the prospect higher in the decision-making process. This means that the current stage of the decision-making of the client must be understood and it must be elevated to make a sale. This means that it is essential to understand the Customer Purchase Funnel.

Prospecting involves a series of steps namely the following.

• Identify and define the attributes and prospects.

• Searching potential sources of primary and secondary prospects.

• Qualify the prospects from the suspects based on the payoffs. The payoff is defined as the expected value of the probability of the prospect buying multiplied by the sales value.  

Some trusted methods of sales prospecting include Cold canvassing, Direct mail, Prospect Pool, Telemarketing, Customer sales lead the club, Centre of influence. Thus the key question to be asked at this stage is:-

4. Do I Understand The Client’s Product/Service Adoption Rate and Product Life Cycle?  

Before approaching the sales pitch, the sales executive must make an effort to collect customer data and combine them with the product attributes. This would give an idea about the extent of Customer need satisfaction.  

Besides this will help the sales executive be better equipped with the sales presentation. The sales executive must contact the customer and use the generalized need that he intends to meet to pitch his product or service. This would help in getting positive attention to his offering, initially.

The perceived need is ascertained by two main characteristics.

• Adoption rate by the client or customer.

• Stage of the product life cycle,

For example, if the client is an innovator himself, he will be on the lookout for investing in a more technologically superior and more novel offering. The product attribute will matter more.  

However, if the product sold is a commodity, more than the product features, the price points, discounts, credit period, etc will matter more. Hence, the sales executive needs to understand the nuances very well. Thus the key question to be asked at this stage is:-

5. What is the Ideal Approach to Engage the Client with Our Value Proposition?  

When the prospects are properly classified and the sales strategies are ascertained, this is a stage where the sales executive comes in contact with the potential customer.  

This is the stage where crucial efforts are made to convince the client and influence them to decide in your favor. The sales executive must fix an appointment with the client at their desired location and time suitable for the presentation.

Cold calling may be effective to get a brief interaction with the client to materialize. In a. cold call, the sales executive must try to impress the client with his sales talk and manners. It is essential to take the “benefit approach” which means focusing on the key aspects of customer benefits that your product or service is likely to bring. There are other ways namely.

• Referral Approach — Works when the prospect values the status and opinion of the referee.

• Introductory Approach– Talking about the company and the product to generate interest and engage the customers.

It is also essential to ask the right questions to get a hang of the overall response of the audience to your product and service. Probing also entails listening to your client’s response intently and picking the right cues to move forward. Thus the key question to be asked at this stage is:-

6. Is the Value Addition Being Properly Communicated to the Client in the Sales Presentation?

Sales pitch or sales presentation should be two-way communication between the salesperson and the clients. While it’s important to highlight the product attributes and its superiority vis-à-vis the competitors, the salespersons must not lose track.  

This essentially means the salesperson always reminds the audience of the value addition and the needs met via the products and services.  

There are various approaches to the sales presentation, namely.

Attracting Customer Interest — It involves placing the product in such a way so that it matches the customer’s mind. This will help the salesperson garner the requisite attention.

Creating Interest — Must take the curiosity approach to engage the audience.

7. Am I Giving Enough Scope for Query Resolution to Make My Product Attributes Clear?

Your client will be more interested if they are made to participate in the conversation. If the sales pitch is a monologue then potential areas of dialogs are lost. Hence it is key that you let your audience opine and ask the right questions. Besides this is an excellent way to understand the perception about your offering and a window to get preliminary feedback. Opening the floor for a question also gives you the leverage to get the subsequent stage for negotiation ready.

8. What Is the Highest Expectation of the Client?

Understanding this is the key to a successful negotiation ahead. In case the terms and conditions do not match in the later stages this point proves to be the best stage to gauge the scale of the bargain.

It’s always a good idea to establish a middle ground to strike a balance between your expectation with that of the clients’

9. Am I Making the Right Negotiations Keeping in Mind the Profitability?

Often being able to handle objections posed by clients is a way to bargain the deal. Objections halt the deal for some time and it arises either due to the client’s unclear understanding of the product and service or isn’t ready to agree to the terms of purchase. The following steps help in dealing with objections effectively.

• Start with your highest expectations from the deal with the client

• Avoid conceding first

• Be sure your client understands the benefits you are providing

• Apply the concept of Indirect Denial — Apprise the client of the communication gaps and misinformation about the deal

• Admit mistakes (if there are any) and make efforts to correct them, willingly.

• Thus the key question to be asked at this stage is:-

 10. Have Multiple Follow-ups Been Scheduled for Query Resolution and Product Feedback?  

Closing the sale is the primary goal in any selling process that comes into the picture once the objections have been handled effectively. This is the stage where the terms of payment and other documentation must be clearly explained to the client. Besides the delivery terms and the hidden costs should be mentioned to avoid last-minute hassles.

Next, the objective of follow-up action is manifold. This helps the salesperson to establish a rapport with the client and the possibility of securing a long-term relationship increases. This also helps to get competitive moves, generate additional leads from satisfied clients, and build a strong referral network.  

This is an excellent exercise to maintain goodwill and take corrective actions for the promises made during the presentation and any discrepancy arising out of the non-performance of the product or service.

While being good at your job can get you far, investing time and resources in marketing for your company will get you further. The goal is to promote your brand so that you become one of the go-to businesses in your niche. To guide you through the process, here are the effective strategies for marketing your small business and introducing yourself to the world.

Set the goals

Knowing what you want from your business is important to prepare marketing campaigns tailored for your company. Create a list of goals you want to achieve so you can develop the strategies to make them happen. If you lack goals, you can’t pinpoint your target audience, highlight specific skillset, and determine the most efficient way to promote your small business.  

Once you set the goals, work on the marketing plan by determining what you want to accomplish with your campaign. This will all help you to calculate the budget, see how many people you need to employ, and whether you can do it in-house or by hiring third-party professionals.  

Research your competition

It’s not a bad thing to know what your competitors are doing. You may be the best at what you do, but that doesn’t mean that others are not being better. Understanding your competition can help you improve your services and products, as well as change the approach of the marketing campaign.

This insight can also serve as inspiration for the development of strategies, as well as to encourage proactivity. Sometimes learning from other people’s mistakes can teach you how to be the best version of yourself and that also applies in business.    

Know your customers

To have effective strategies for marketing, you need to concentrate your efforts to make the campaigns about the customers. Every business has its target audience – consumers who want the type of products you are offering. The needs of the customers change over time, and what works nowadays may not work in the future.  

Because of this, you need to research your audience every once in a while to update your content, strategy, and approach. For example, an audience 20—26 years of old in the 1990s doesn’t represent the interests of the same age group in the present. Language, behavior, and overall culture have changed since then so you need to keep up with these changes to appeal to new generations of consumers.      

Work on your online presence

It’s not enough to have a website and profiles on social media. The content you publish there needs to be carefully prepared and optimized both for the audience and the search engines. When you build a website, consider making it appropriate for smartphone screens as well, since this is how the majority of people access information online now.

Moreover, social media can affect your small business considerably, so ensure that your posts are adjusted for a certain profile. The type of content differs between social media platforms and for a strategy to be effective, you need to have proper and regular updates. This will allow you to attract new customers and keep the existing ones.    

Introduce yourself

The customers like to know who they are hiring, so take some time to introduce yourself on social media, websites, blogs, online seminars, etc. You can tell a lot about yourself and your employees with quality corporate headshots, resumes, and company portfolios. Besides listing your achievements, try to tell your clients more about your principles and professional culture.  

The key is to let them know you better not as a business entity, but as the team behind the brand. This will make you approachable, show off your skillset, and show you that clients’ opinions matter to you.                

Communicate with customers

To increase the trust in your brand and expand your customer base, you need to build a relationship with your audience. Some of the ways to do it are with emails, messages, and allowing comments on your online profiles. It’s important to respond kindly to your customers even when they complain or leave a negative opinion.

If possible, appoint customer service agents to deal with pressing issues and their resolutions so your customers stay loyal to your brand. Joining groups visited by your customers may be an effective strategy to get their perspective and show them yours.

Don’t avoid traditional marketing

Traditional marketing still has success, especially for local promotion. The main difference between traditional and digital marketing is that the former is focused more on the company’s service and the latter on the customers. Newspapers, billboards, radio, and TV are some of the means to promote your company traditionally.  

Just like with digital methods, you need to find here what fits the most with your brand and the image you created. Not to mention that face-to-face interaction on events and word-of-mouth marketing are some of the best strategies to present your company to potential customers today.  

The bottom line  

Effective strategies for marketing need planning and time to put your small business on the consumers’ radar. The content – from articles to photographs – needs high-quality production to represent your company in the most approachable way. After all, the relationship you build with your audience will define your image. To do that, you need to participate in conversations and not only be the subject of both positive and negative feedback.

Living the life of an entrepreneur can be rewarding, but it is far from easy. As your own boss, you are responsible for finding the motivation needed to tackle new projects and constantly strive for greatness. Naturally, this can be quite exhausting. In order for you to feel inspired, you definitely need to give yourself time to get a bit creative. From the simple gesture of mailing out  business thank you cards  to giving yourself a mental break every now and again, there are plenty of different ways to exercise your creative muscles.

Revisit Old Ideas

Have you ever had an idea that doesn’t pan out in your head the way you’d like? Entrepreneurs face this problem all the time and it can be quite frustrating to deal with. However, half-baked concepts and undeveloped ideas can always be revisited. When you’re stuck for inspiration, one of the easiest ways to jostle your mind is by reviewing old notebooks and digging out ideas from the past. Time and experience can provide new perspective on old thoughts, so give yourself the chance to glance backwards as a simple way to get started.

Send Out Cards

Networking is one of the best ways to come in contact with new opportunities for your future. However, you are already likely connected to a number of useful individuals via your clients. Successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of cultivating existing relationships in order to strengthen bonds and discover new possibilities down the line. Touch base with your clients by sending out  business thank you cards  whenever you complete a project with a customer. This gesture shows how much you appreciate the business and keeps your name fresh in the minds of clients who might send additional work your way.

Take a Break

Though it might seem a bit counterintuitive, one of the best ways to inspire yourself is by walking away from work every now and again. The life of an entrepreneur is as demanding as it is constant. If you are always going through the motions in order to keep up with your industry, you are going to run yourself ragged. Mental breaks are absolutely necessary for a person to remain productive. Just as sleep recharges you for the next day, a break from work helps you return to the drawing board with a renewed sense of purpose.

Learn Something New

The human mind is absolutely fantastic. From the moment a person is born until his or her life comes to a close, it is entirely possible to learn a new skill. If you want to inspire yourself and tackle your business tasks in more creative ways, then take time to learn something new. It doesn’t even need to be connected to your industry. For example, learning a new language has been proven to help people solve more complicated problems in their lives. Similarly, cooking and baking are skills that can increase relaxation and overall enjoyment of life.

Whether you decide to take an online course on how to fix guitars or you go back to school to study a topic that fascinates you, there’s a lot to be said for dedicating time to furthering your education. Not only will a new skill help you with business, you’ll also find that it inspires you in your everyday life.

Get Up and Move

Entrepreneurs tend to spend long hours hunched over computers. Whether you’re writing proposals or researching new opportunities to invest your capital, you likely know the pains that come from sitting in one position for too long. Not only is this bad for your body, it can actually be detrimental to the mind. If you want to feel inspired and much healthier all around, then be sure to get up and move as much as possible. Endless studies have shown that being active helps to spark the mind and can be useful in working through complex problems.

Seek Some Advice

Finally, never forget the power of your friends, families, and close associates. When you need help, you can easily turn to the people in your circle for advice. They might not have exact experience with the industry you work in, but chances are they will be able to provide some insight through their own successes and failures.

Whether you decide to send out  business thank you cards  from Cards for Causes or you make walking around the office a part of your daily routine, there are plenty of ways to feel inspired. Explore a variety of tactics to see which works best for you.