5-Step-Guide to Boost Your B2B Sales Approach

Are you tired of being turned down while trying to sell to business professionals? Well, here’s the truth: You cannot make B2B sales work with the archaic “always closing” perspective. Pressurising prospects into buying your product or service only drives them farther away from the sales journey. 

B2B sales vary broadly from other kinds of sales in terms of the target audience, duration of the sales cycle, lead pool size, pricing points, etc. The target audience here is highly digitally equipped and more educated and needs to be handled differently. 

A successful sales strategy, therefore, demands a significant pivot from sellers feeding information to feeding educational content that makes sense to the buyer.

A seamless B2B sales today is backed by a complex series of behind-the-scenes that involve chalking out an effective sales strategy. A strategy that does not centre around pitching but follows a more modern approach to avoid leaks from the sales pipeline. 

Let’s look at how you can have a more effective B2B Sales approach. 

5 Steps for Sealing B2B Sales Deals 

The modern buyer is spoiled with self-service options such as product websites, user reviews, newsletters, product demo videos, etc., to gather information regarding a product or service. 

Therefore, a B2B buyer is more drawn to your product when your sales professional offers objective help, educational content and a delightful approach. 

Below are five steps you should take to seal a B2B sales deal:

Step 1:  Chalk out your ideal customer profile

Targeting everyone will take you nowhere but targeting a specific segment that might show interest in your product or service will increase your likelihood of what they call ‘less leakage’ from the sales pipeline. 

B2B leads have unique specific needs and are more likely to convert when they find products that can potentially solve their problems. In such cases, the best way to position your business’ products firmly is by indulging in meaningful conversations with them, which is no cakewalk unless you thoroughly know them and their business in and out.

Therefore, you can draw the ideal customer profile for B2B sales by knowing who you’re going to address, their age range, their pain points; social media platforms they use; their interests, etc. Such thorough research makes more room for tailor-made solutions, personalised communications, and more robust positioning of your business’ products — ultimately increasing the likelihood of conversions. 

Step 2: Engage more to learn about pain points 

Sales professionals often don’t ask their customers about things they should know, which is the worst way to go about a B2B sales deal. 

Making assumptions about the customer’s needs can often turn the wheel in the wrong direction, putting you at high risk of losing them. 

Therefore, one of the best ways to build a solid foundation for your B2B sales strategy is by asking probing questions to gain deep insights into your client’s pain points and needs. 

Some examples of probing questions are:

• What are some of the difficulties you’re facing with your current software?
• What all are you aiming to solve through our product?
• Is this problem affecting other areas of your business too?

While replacing “yes” or “no” with discovery questions, you should also aim to listen attentively, as it can help you clinch the deal more quickly.

Step 3: Advise and educate 

B2B buyers make their way to you after thorough research. Repeating what they’ve learnt is only going to kill the deal. Therefore, the only way you can increase your product’s appeal is by educating them on subjects they’re unaware of. 

Leverage the power of reciprocity and climb your way to being a loyal sales professional. After all your discoveries, it’s time to shed your knowledge on how your product can help your prospect do their business better. 

Some of the intelligent ways to educate and wow your B2B are: 

• By throwing in relevant and good tips
• Advising them about a new ongoing trend they could adopt
• Tutoring them about unknown features or upgrades of your product
• Offer personalised solutions 
• Directing them towards courses that might help them upgrade 

Step 4: Qualify sales approach

While throughout all the stages of the sales pipeline, up until now, you gather information about your customer’s goals, plans, challenges and timelines, now’s the time to qualify your sales approach. 

Discuss the prospect’s budget, needs and the timeline for implementing the solution and determine who has the ultimate purchasing authority. 

If it fits well, you’ve got yourself a deal to close. 

Step 5: Close your win

If you’ve done your job up until this point, you don’t need to fear losing your win. However, if the customer at this stage feels hesitant to proceed with the closing agreement, you can help them revisit the first four stages to satisfy his needs better. 

If the prospect still doesn’t feel convinced, don’t pressure them into making a decision right then. Instead, keep them in the loop and follow up in the future.

Step Up Your Sales Game with Juno

Developing a B2B Sales strategy can be a tricky business. 

The truth is that closing deals are all about a run of trial closures spread across time. Learning these techniques, however, can take you a step closer to higher success rates and customer loyalty. 

Sales as a career require a vast amount of knowledge. One needs everything from good communication skills to technical expertise to succeed in this performance-based career. Therefore, whether B2B sales or B2C, it all comes down to setting a solid sales foundation for yourself. 

Juno School is an interactive online platform that welcomes you to sharpen your sales skills from the very beginning. To know more, visit our website.