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What are the ten deadly sales mistakes in B2B Sales? Before we try to answer that question, let us try to understand why B2B (Business to Business) sales models differ from the traditional B2C (Business to Customer) sales models that we know about.
B2C model has a shorter sales cycle but B2B sales journey is more complicated. It is layered and there are several decision-makers involved in the whole process.
What are the ten deadly sales mistakes in B2B Sales? For selling B2B products, keep these points in mind & craft a proposal that answers the complexities of B2B sales cycle.
95% of the business buyers search the web before contacting any vendor.
But most salespeople still follow the offline route to reach their prospects. They stress on sales meetings, telecalls, and printed literature in the sales process. The trick lies in engaging with customers using the digital medium. This involves creating succinct emailers, focused white papers, and other digital assets for different stages in the marketing funnel.
What is a value proposition? It is a clear statement of what your customers will receive from your product. In the B2B space, Salesforce has a crystal clear value proposition – “Sell smarter with the world’s #1 CRM solution”. It has a clear focus on increasing sales and the #1 reinforces their leadership status.
You should also create a strong but simple value proposition for your brand and bring out the unique features of your product. You have to change the vantage point and look at your product from a “value-added” angle. This may be a tough task to start with, but with rigorous internal brainstorming, you can communicate the unique value of your products.
Do you know that it takes around 18+ attempts to connect with a buyer?
B2B buyer’s journey is complicated and goes through different phases. It is like a baton exchange where every person passes the baton to the senior, only after he or she is fully satisfied with the product features. You cannot expect a closure after a demo and a couple of meetings. It is important to ensure that the information at every stage is customized and detailed information is readily available as the sales process progresses.
Contrary to popular belief, B2B decision-makers are also quite price-sensitive. They have stringent measures and are accountable for every penny spent. But they can’t wait for seasonal discounts. They need structured pricing with relevant discounts for bulk buying and laid down policies about recurring license fees and subscription fees. A good approach is to have different price points for different customer segments. For price-sensitive customers, salespeople can offer low frill products.
Everlane – an eCommerce clothing company, charges customers more than the actual cost of manufacturing. But they communicate their stringent process for choosing their factories and share the upfront costs with their customers.
The B2B sales cycle is long, and it takes time to arrive at a decision. Inexperienced salespeople often send out follow-up communication, which is irritating for prospects.
A salesperson needs to understand the long winding B2B decision cycle and give customers enough time to arrive at the right decision. You can try to reduce this cycle by providing appropriate information in the form of blog articles, competition analysis or product specs, but you will always have very little control over this.
According to Marc Wayshak, at least 50% of your prospects are not a good fit for what you sell.
B2B salespeople should be capable of identifying the decision-makers in the company. There is no point in chasing paper-pushers or people who don’t have the authority to give a go-ahead. Before starting a pursuit, sales professionals should have a clear navigational map of the company with information on the influencers and decision-makers. For this, they can turn to their internal Business Intelligence Unit for insights.
Consider the fact that 90% of decision-makers don’t respond to cold outreach. Today, 74% of B2B buyers report researching at least half of their work purchases online.
(Source – Forrester)
This means, if you are not online, then you are losing 74% of your business! In the present age, digital should be the centrepiece of your B2B sales strategy. Most B2B customers now prefer digital assets like an eCommerce store, mobile apps, whitepapers, videos, infographics, e-catalogs, and business reports. You have to focus on creating the right message, at the right time and on the right digital channel. B2B eCommerce platforms like Magento, ewiz commerce, and Handshake help sales and marketing teams to create eCommerce stores, customized email campaigns and even use AI to understand the precise intent of their customers.
Need help in developing a B2B eCommerce Strategy? (Schedule a 30-minute free consultation call with our experts to get started!)
84 % of businesses using account-based marketing have reported that this strategy offers higher ROI than other marketing campaigns. (Source: Information Technology Services Marketing Association)
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a microfocus-based approach in B2B space. In this, the sales team works closely with the marketing team to identify key accounts with genuine needs and also the budget to match. The plan is then tailored as per the customer.
Salespeople are expected to hit the ground running from Day 1. This is unrealistic, especially in B2B sales. B2B products come with technical specifications. Every component of the product is aimed at solving a particular problem of the client. Clients want salespeople to come straight to the point and they appreciate a no-nonsense pitch. To achieve this, sales professionals require extensive training and experience. If you don’t have a structured training program, not only do you lose valuable business, but it also creates a negative impression.
