Sean HuckstepAre you in the b2b otherwise known as the business-to-business industry? Selling to a business rather than a consumer presents its own struggles. Your audience is different, their needs vary, and it’s typically on a larger scale than b2c sales, making it an entirely different ballgame. If you’re new to this type of sales or even if you’ve been in the industry for awhile and just need some fresh ideas, check out a guide from sales pro, Ryan Roche, where he gives you 4 great basic tips.
What is b2b sales?
B2b or “business-to-business” sales is the action of one business entity or salesperson selling their product or service directly to another business. In this process rather than individual customers, entire businesses are the target market typically resulting in larger deals.
What is the difference between b2b and b2c sales?
B2b or “business-to-business” sales as we established above is when businesses sell their products or services to other businesses. Well b2c sales is “business to consumer” sales so rather than selling to businesses, Netflix or Nike are prime examples of this—it’s a lower level sale, smaller amount of product and price.
In B2B sales there is a longer sales cycle that requires talking to multiple people at a company and discussing a higher price point than traditional residential sales. Even if you sell B2C or D2D right now, you can still learn about the growth and opportunities of B2B sales to help refresh your sales game.
Use these 4 tips from expert Ryan Roche to get you started:
The 4 best tips of B2B sales
- Make sure you’re always going right to the decision maker first
- Unlike other sales, don’t just focus on benefits; lay out specific outcomes and results
- Dig deep to find the challenges that that specific company is facing
- Always give the company multiple pricing options when trying to close the deal
#1 Make sure you’re always going right to the decision maker first
We all know in sales that time is money. No one wants to waste their day trying to convince someone to buy their product or service only to find out it isn’t even the decision maker. This is why Ryan suggest that you get to the decision maker right away. Don’t waste time with people that can’t give you the “Okay” you need. Simply ask whoever you contact, “Are you the decision maker for something like this? If not, can you connect me with them please?” it’s as simple as that.
#2 Unlike other sales, don’t just focus on benefits; lay out specific outcomes and results
Consumers like to know their pain points are solved, this is especially true for businesses. They usually have an entire team to keep going, business overhead or expenses, and a larger need to for a positive outcome. So instead of fluffing your sales pitch with things you think they might like or find helpful, show them the hard numbers and facts that prove your business is worth it.
#3 Dig deep to find the challenges that that specific company is facing
If you’re already established in b2b sales, you should already know what issues your target audience or ideal buyer are facing (if you don’t figure that out now, it’ll make your life much easier). Because you should already have this information, show the buyer that you understand their pain points or if you’re still in the introductory calls, have a frank conversation that shows your customer you care about the actual problems they’re having as a company.
#4 Always give the company multiple pricing options when trying to close the deal
It’s a typical occurrence when a rep gets a customer all the way to the finish line only to be rejected because their prices are too high or inflexible for the needs of the company. That’s why Ryan suggests that you offer different pricing options or tiers to your product to allow the customer the flexibility of choosing how much they want to spend. Additionally, be upfront about this. There’s nothing worse than a sales rep trying to hide fees or random prices into contracts.
More tips & tricks
Hopefully these tips helped give insight into how B2B sales functions differently than other methods and the ways you can be successful in this industry. If you want more tips and tricks about selling b2b, check out our complete guide to b2b sales with examples and strategies. Schedule a demo with us today so we can guide you through more sales tips and tricks to continue your success this year.
