Are you planning to begin your B2B sales journey, or are you wondering how it works? Not sure of the Business-to-Business sales techniques that you should make use of? Are you looking for guidance on how to create a B2B sales process? If so, you have come to the right place.
This article should help you understand more about sales for B2B and how it works, as well as Business-to-Business sales techniques, sales funnel, and how to create a sales process that can actually help your business grow.
What Is B2B Sales
Business to Business sales refers to business dealings between one entity and another. In Business-to-Business sales, a business entity sells a service or product to a different business entity. It involves complex processes. Multiple touchpoints over various channels and higher price points.
B2B companies are required to maintain a team that has highly trained and well-experienced sales representatives in order to generate more revenue.
Some of the most common examples of B2B sales include:
- Companies that offer various professional services.
- Businesses that offer software or digital services.
- Companies that produce and distribute raw materials to manufacturing companies.
Now that you know what Business-to-Business sales are, let’s now discuss how it works.
How Does B2B Sales Work
This type of sales approach involves various factors, such as effectiveness of the sales process, product fit, seller competency, and the client’s capability to purchase. To make all these factors working together, businesses require the following:
- Measure and improve the performance
- Determine sales techniques that best suits your business and the team
- Develop a responsive Business-to-Business sales strategy
- Determine their ideal clients
How To Create a B2B Sales Process
The Business to Business sales process acts as a document that shows the steps that every member of the team should go through as the client moves along the sales process. Generally speaking, the sales process is majorly focused on the seller’s perspective.
The number of steps, or stages, and their names in your sales process might vary depending on the type of business, sales organization, and company. Generally, the Business-to-Business sales process typically has about 5 to 8 stages in the sales process, which are:
- Stage 1: Research
- Stage 2: Prospecting
- Stage 3: Requirement assessments
- Stage 4: Presentation and sales pitching
- Stage 5: Negotiation and handling objections from prospect
- Stage 6: Close the sales deal
- Stage 7: Follow-up with the client
B2B Sales Funnel
The B2B sales funnel plays a vital role in helping businesses acquire and nurture qualified leads. While the sales process majorly focuses on the seller’s perspective, the sales funnel focuses majorly on the buyer’s or client’s journey.
Often, the sales funnel serves as a visualization of the prospect’s proximity to making a purchase by identifying emotional or cognitive phases the prospect has to undergo during the buying process. Most of the Business to Business sales funnel consists of 4 to 7 steps:
- Stage 1: Awareness
- Stage 2: Interest
- Stage 3: Evaluation
- Stage 4: Decision making and negotiation
- Stage 5: Sales proposal
- Stage 6: Renew the sales agreement
- Stage 7: Repurchase
B2B Sales Techniques
Though there are many sales techniques and methodologies to choose from, not all will work for your business, your target audience, or your sales organization. Let’s discuss some of the popular Business to Business sales techniques and methodologies that can benefit your business.
- Solution selling
- Use machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Make use of automation
- Value selling
- Introduce self service options
- Account based sales
- The sandler selling system
- The challenger sale
The impact a sales technique, or a specific sales sequence, has on the business can be determined and measured using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs can be used as metrics to assess the company’s, as well as an individual’s performance in various areas, such as:
- Efficiency
- Sustainability
- Profitability
- Performance
- Productivity
The other KPIs of Business-to-Business sales include:
- Number of new leads generated per month
- Sales velocity
- Quota attainment rate
- Size of the average deal
- Win rate
B2B Sales Challenges
Some of the common challenges and issues faced by Business-to-Business sales are as follows:
- Difficulty identifying qualified leads.
- Misalignments in marketing and sales.
- Progressing through a long sales cycle.
- Scheduling appointments with potential prospects.
- Reducing the retention rate of poor clients.
- Getting the prospect’s attention during cold calls.
- Disclosing the product’s or service’s price.
Future of B2B Sales
The sales for B2B is going through a rapid transformation. The line dividing inside sales and outside sales is fading as the best practices are becoming mainstream. The best practices for consumer sales, such as personalization are becoming more popular in the world of sales for B2B.
Apart from this, the sales tools that were introduced a few years back have become a necessity for survival purposes. The client-centric approach to technology is affecting the ecosystem. Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are used to empower teams to scale both revenue generation and client engagement.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are B2B sales?
Business-to-Business sales refers to business dealings between one entity and another. In the sales for B2B, a business entity sells a service or product to a different business entity that is interested in their service or product.
2. What are the three main types of B2B sales?
Here are the three main types of B2B sales you must be aware of:
– Software or service sales
– Supply sales
– Distribution or Wholesale sales
3. What is the most effective way of getting B2B sales?
Some of the most effective ways of getting sales for B2B include:
– Start the process by researching the prospect.
– Gather as much information you can about the prospect, their pain points, and their needs.
– Instead of you talking, let the prospect talk about their pain points, needs, and what they are expecting from your service or product.
– Instead of focusing on selling your service or product, explain to the prospect how your service or product can help solve their problems.
4. What 3 things might make a B2B salesperson successful?
Let’s discuss the 3 most important qualities a salesperson should have to be successful.
– Computer and tech skills
– Social selling
– Perseverance and persistence
5. How do you master B2B sales?
Some of the ways to master B2B sales includes:
– Create your ideal buyer or client persona.
– Do market research.
– Develop a strategy to engage with your potential prospects.
– Perform lead generation to acquire quality leads.
– Gather and analyze information related to your prospects.
Wrapping Up
If you have been looking for an ultimate guide on B2B sales, techniques, sales funnel, challenges, and how to create a sales process, this article should have helped you.
If you have been looking for services that can help you boost your B2B sales opportunities, and grow your business to the next level, make sure to reach out to us to learn more about our various services.
Related Reads
B2B Sales Leads- How To Identify Qualified
Challenges of B2B Prospecting and How to Address Them: A Comprehensive Guide
A Guide to the Top 6 Benefits of B2B Appointment Setting
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