B2B sales used to be a lot easier. Businesses would have to reach out and talk to a salesperson who’d pitch them the product or service. However, today’s buyers prefer to conduct research and select what to buy on their own, without any influence from a salesperson.
B2B sales success hinges on your approach. Businesses now do internal research for every buying decision they must make. The growth of the internet makes this task an easier one, one that doesn’t always require information from a salesperson.
Although buyers can easily find information, it isn’t always the right kind of information. Buyers still need salespeople. Because prospects won’t as easily come to salespeople as they use to, salespeople must take new approaches to sell.
Teaching is the new pitching
A big trend at the moment is teaching is the new pitching. Supplying the buyer with valuable information they can use in their business is a big plus for you.While listening to your prospect’s needs, you should be thinking of different ways to teach them how to solve their issue. Your goal should be to point them in the right direction leading them to tips and tricks within the industry. Show them the best solutions through your blog or social media sites or stats posted on your website. The more you help them out the more loyalty you’re building up for your company.
Teaching doesn’t just involve giving them outside information on how to improve their business, it also involves teaching the prospect about your product. The more the buyer knows about how your product or service can help them, the more likely they’ll be to buy.
Having a basic understanding of the ins and outs of how your product/service works before buying is a huge advantage for buyers. The more they learn from you the less they have to learn on their own. It helps drive investment of time and information in the buyer.
Social Selling is Effective
Social selling is effective in B2B selling. With the overabundant supply of sales and marketing messages buyers see, they are highly skeptical. This skepticism is carried over into their conversations with salespeople. Because of this skepticism, it’s important salespeople help prospects to the path of purchase rather than focusing all their energy on closing the deal.Sales teams who incorporate social selling into their strategies tend to perform better than those that don’t. Social selling breaks through some of the skepticism. Your presence and interaction with the online community gives your business a better reputation, especially among the younger buyers.
Social selling also allows salespeople to lay out the path to purchase giving buyers a glimpse into how the process would work. The community can then engage, leaving comments, asking questions, and sharing your content. The more you engage online the better reputation you’ll build and the wider of an audience you’ll be able to reach.
Buyers today rely a lot on peer recommendations. Having a social presence that drives consumer comments and interaction is good. People will look to social media and other online channels to learn more about solving their problems and researching your company.
Don’t shy away from talking about the risks involved
Everyone wants to feel confident that they’ve made the right decision for themselves and their growth. It’s the same situation in business to business buying.
Talking about the risks a client perceives is an important step in the buying process. Salespeople should be open to discussing risks. The more a salesperson talks about the risks with their client, the more confidence they can instill in their decision to buy. Without ever talking about it you have no control over how they react to the doubts they have.
B2B buyers are increasingly seeking out ways to identify and reduce risk factors. In identifying the risks involved throughout the process, you can work with your client to reduce and erase risks driving them to a more confident decision to buy.