B2B Sales Tips: 5 Tips for Developing Your B2B Sales Skills
While you might think that rocking the B2C sales charts means you could easily jump into B2B sales and go after the big score, they are very different skill sets. If you’re looking to improve your B2B sales skills, these B2B sales tips offer insider secrets for improving performance.
Use Social Media to Study Your Competition
While social media is great for researching markets and generating leads, it is also the perfect way to analyze trends and see how major influencers and sellers in B2B are hitting their numbers. LinkedIn has quickly become a hub for B2B and sales professionals and offers an endless stream of B2B sales tips from every market. Just set up your Pulse preferences, follow influencers and join a few groups and watch the information flood in.
Leverage Unique Elements to Stand Out from the Crowd
With the global nature of today’s market, there is little chance that what you are offering is truly unique or unheard of before. If it is, it won’t be long before someone is trying to beat you at your own game. When competition is this fierce, being able to differentiate your offering from the competition is a crucial part of closing deals.
Research Your Prospects—Cold Calling is Dead
With the risk and costs involved in many B2B sales, there’s a good chance that your prospect has already researched you and your competition. If you’re not researching your prospects, you don’t stand a chance. Researching your prospects prior to establishing a relationship makes it easier to hold their attention long enough to establish rapport.
When you can explain precisely how your product or service will improve their business, address a major business concern and establish yourself as a problem-solver and active supporter of their business, sales will follow. You’re not just selling—you’re building relationships.
Get to the Point
The B2B sales cycle is long enough without flowery speeches and fluff. Even worse, your prospect likely knows just as much about marketing and sales as you do. Your B2C tactics won’t work here. Respect your lead’s time and get to the point. Communicate in terms directly relevant to their business. Speak to the bottom line. Create a strong value proposition. While an experience is great—results are king.
Improve Your Long-Term Game
While you might stumble across the occasional holy grail of a customer who seeks you out and knows exactly what they want, in most cases, you will be qualifying prospects and pursuing the sale in B2B markets. Unlike B2C, where the sale might take place over one or two interactions, B2B sales generally run much slower.
Instead of focusing on closing the sale, focus on moving to the next step with each interaction. Establish rapport, build trust and always be ready to adjust your approach. Pressuring the sale in B2B is a quick way to lose business.
The global B2B market continues to grow at a record pace. As one of the most competitive sales and marketing fields, rising to the top requires expertise, aptitude and determination. If you’re looking for additional B2B sales tips, be sure to check out Top Sales Tips for New B2B Salespeople.
