Selling to business has an entirely different dynamic when compared to pitching to individual consumers. The tactics that could draw you, individual buyers, in droves may not work when you are persuading a business to buy. Businesses are typically much more sophisticated customers.
Business-to-business (B2B) transactions come with elaborate sales quotes, longer sales conclusion cycles, and have a much higher dollar value on average compared to business-to-consumer (B2C) sales. When executed right, B2B sales can be highly lucrative and have a huge payoff. The stakes are understandably high.
For your online B2B sales pitch to have a good chance of success, the following tips will come in handy.
Understand the Market
A single B2B transaction could be what pushes your product into profit territory for the year. Naturally, your competitors are angling for the deal too. They will be looking to make an impressive pitch and you should aspire to do at least the same. Arming yourself with the right knowledge is where it begins.
Start by performing a high-level analysis of the marketplace. Establish the general demand for your product, identify your competitors, and evaluate the kind of messaging your prospective B2B customers are receiving from other sources.
Understand Your Customer
Though they may eventually end up buying the exact same product from you, no two B2B customers are identical. Market research should give you a general feel of the state of the industry. You need to delve into your customer’s specifics to better understand their business.
What do they sell? How is the business doing financially? Have they launched a new product recently? Did they close a major fundraising round recently? Has the business’ leadership changed over the last one year? These questions will help you better understand the customer and whether they are in a position to buy your product.
Map Out Where They Are Along the Sales Journey
Your B2B customers aren’t all at the same point along the sales journey. Customers will move from awareness to consideration before they finally make a decision. To make your sales pitch more effective, you must evaluate where the prospect is along the sales journey. With this, you can better strategize and deploy tactics that are tailored to their current place.
For instance, if the customer is in the awareness phase, inundating them with sales quotes would be misplaced as they haven’t signalled their intent to buy just yet.
Have a Face-to-Face Meeting
One of the things that distinguish B2B sales from B2C is the need for a face-to-face meeting to close the deal. Online B2C sales can be concluded without any conversation taking place between the salesperson and the client. B2B transactions, on the other hand, may demand one or more face-to-face meetings.
Why? Decision-makers hardly have the time to read through pages of documentation. They will want a quick rundown then an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns. Note that face-to-face here doesn’t have to be a physical meeting. You can achieve the same goal via video conferencing.
Close the Sale
This is where you facilitate an agreement outlining the payment terms for the product. Closing the sale would appear like the logical end of the sales journey. Instead, this is really the start of the heavy lifting and, hopefully, a long-term relationship.
Coordinate with the service organization to ensure your customer is onboarded and supported to use the product. Let the buyer know the various channels they can use to get in touch, including phone, email, live chat, social media, and walk-in appointments.
In case your engagement doesn’t result in a sale, thank the prospect for giving you an audience. Offer to get in touch with them when you have a product that might be more suitable for their needs. Just because a customer says no now, doesn’t mean they’ll never have an interest in the future. Perhaps it’s just not the right time for them.
Follow these steps and you could substantially increase your rate of closing B2B sales.
