In B2B sales, a lot depends on a few. Compared to a B2C business that seeks to reach as many people as possible, a B2B company faces a small number of customers in very specific sectors. And although the average sales tickets are much higher, this leads to a slow and complex sales process.
“As a B2B company, your priority should be to invest in a solid commercial force,” recommended Israel de la Cerda, managing partner at G2 Consultores, and specialist in startups. “Your focus should be on nurturing a sales area to begin with, but at the same time you should also adopt marketing practices to make your salespeople more productive,” he added.
Purchases of solutions and services are carefully studied by companies. According to Harvard Business Review, the number of people within a company involved in hiring a supplier is on average 6.8. The different roles, backgrounds and perspectives make it difficult for them to agree beyond seeking to obtain the greatest benefit for their organization and their aversion to risk.
To increase the possibilities in this delicate sales process, the startup LeadPioneers give you the following recommendations:
1. Simplify the purchase process for your customer
According to a study carried out by CEB and Gartner, those in charge of hiring a service provider live under constant stress. The respondents, more than a thousand senior executives, claimed to have taken more than twice the expected time to hire a supplier, and more than 65% said they had taken the total estimated time for the purchase just by preparing internally to make it.
One of the main culprits for this complexity is information overload. Companies saturate the customer with information about their characteristics, which is often not something that customers are interested in.
On the contrary, those who were more successful in sales according to the study, were those who approached potential buyers with a diagnostic and recommendation approach.
That is, instead of overwhelming buyers with information that is not very relevant to them, they carry out an objective assessment of the company’s situation and map out a series of routes or scenarios for different courses of action, including the purchase of the solution they require. offered by the provider in question.
According to the report, a diagnostic approach to sales increased ease of purchase by 62% and proved effective in winning high-quality sales.
2. What interests B2B buyers?
As in any other purchase, a B2B sale is influenced by objective and subjective factors, with a different weight for each one according to the type of organization and the people in charge of the purchase.
At the base of this “pyramid of needs” when making a purchase is the most basic thing: that the required specifications are met at an acceptable price. In a second level is the added value, how cheap is this option compared to others and what is the quality of the product?
As you progress through this pyramid, the more subjective the criteria are. While near the base we find measurable factors such as reduced effort on the part of the buyer, time savings and greater organization. At the highest levels we find elements that are difficult to quantify or that are specific to each buyer, such as a tie in the culture of the two organizations or how good a job the seller does to mitigate the specific fears that that purchase generates.
The most important factors in closing a sale will depend on each industry. While some items are more critical to sell than others, the more needs a supplier adequately meets, the more likely the company will buy back and recommend it.
According to a study conducted by Bain & Company, there are three qualities that are ranked as the most important by B2B buyers: product quality, expertise, and response quality. That is, how good is the product, how much expertise is perceived in the supplier and the warmth of the relationship with the supplier.
3. Understand your customers so you can retain them
Customers expect from their suppliers an understanding of their needs as individuals and as an organization.
Knowing your clients and their professional aspirations, the way in which they prefer to interact, as well as the challenges they face within their organization and the ways in which you can help them, will make the relationship flow more naturally, they will become stronger in your company. and consider you an ally throughout their career.
All this information will result from listening carefully to your customers and asking them the right questions, which will give you a guideline to know where in the work or interaction you should improve.
The main thing is to align your work team with the expectations of your client to generate value in each step and help them achieve their goals.
Remember that help is always welcome, especially from experts in the area. Consultancies can help you identify your clients, know the real reason why they buy and set the prices correctly.
At LeadPioneers, we help you generate B2B Sales Leads, this will allow you to have consitent growing pipeline with potential buyers for the now and the future. Contact us and let us support you in creating or updating your business strategy.
