B2B sales is often complex and slow-moving. However, there’s a straightforward way to gain an advantage: Avoiding common B2B sales mistakes. With my limited experience in B2B and Industrial manufacturing companies, I have observed that due to lack of training and more focus on technical aspects of business, sales teams are unable to focus on quality selling and closing deals. This is prevalent mainly in traditional B2B industries due to the following reasons:
- Focus more on the technical aspects of sales
- Poor business sense
- Lack of sales knowledge
Also, the other trend I have observed is, that most of the MNCs take the cream crowd from the market. The leftover talent is left to the remaining industries. Also, these B2B companies offer limited salaries with poor training methodologies. Due to this, there is a lack of fresh ideas in sales management and very little progress being made to achieve the sales quotas. This is especially the case for B2B and traditional manufacturing industries.
Feature-driven sales instead of value-based selling
Customers aren’t just seeking products; they’re looking for trustworthy solutions to their current or future challenges. Tailor your pitch accordingly. Help customers grasp the value and qualitative benefits your offerings provide.
How to build a value proposition with your customers is mentioned in the video link here. Although this video is largely applicable to digital marketing, sales professionals can also use this framework to build their own sales communication.
Don’t just spit out the features of the product. Instead,
- Listen to the customer
- Understand the pain points
- Explain how you can help them
- Explain the value proposition (Remember it has to be in 4 aspects – Time, Cost, business relationship, and overall health of your business)
The concept of “Technical Sales” is going to be extinct in the near future. Customers are becoming more knowledgeable and aware. They need someone who can tell them about the value proposition and how you can help them, not just blabber out some random features mentioned in the brochure.
Genuine help to customers can help you achieve desired sales quotas and not feature-driven sales.
Ignoring existing customers
Everyone wants to acquire new customers, and that’s alright. However, it is equally important to pay attention to your existing, loyal customers. Engage with them frequently and meaningfully. Don’t lose clients who are ready for a repeat sale. In a B2B sales environment, there is a limited pool of customers you are working with. So, after some point, you will be left with limited new customers to sell your products.
Try to :
- Understand their key organizational changes
- Build stronger relationships with existing customer
- Upsell
- Ask for references
Limiting sales to single-channel
B2B customers use multiple online and offline channels to start and end a transaction. So, if you’re focusing your sales only on one channel, you’re likely to miss key opportunities. An integrated, omnichannel approach ensures that you’re targeting customers and generating brand awareness across several channels.
Understand how you can use digital marketing to your benefit. Try to push your value proposition through digital marketing and then push for a face-to-face meeting. Try to be organic in your approach where you build a strong funnel of sales activities with digital help and eventually get a face-to-face meeting with the customer.
3 things to focus:
- Email marketing
- Customer search through LinkedIN, and ZoomInfo
- Sales Automation
I have explained this in detail in my Sales Prospecting blog.
Using pushy sales tactics
Aggressive sales techniques are no longer effective. Instead, focus on asking insightful questions. For example, inquire about the customer’s ideal solution or past challenges with similar products. This approach helps identify specific pain points, allowing you to offer tailored solutions that meet their needs.
Not addressing all the stakeholders
B2B sales decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders, including C-suite executives, finance heads, partners, and end-users. A successful sales strategy recognizes the needs of these diverse decision-makers and crafts value propositions that address each one’s specific challenges and objectives. By tailoring your approach to each stakeholder, you increase the likelihood of closing the deal.
Also, the communication should also change based on the stakeholder that you are communicating with. Eg: An Operations Head will be interested in how your product can help him improve this existing process. A CEO or Founder will focus on value that they will get using your product at the best possible price. So as a salesperson try to modify the conversation in based on the needs and see magic happen.
