To successfully sell to your target customers, you need a B2B Sales strategy. But most companies struggle with generating leads, which is why we've put together this guide.
B2B sales are far different to B2C. If you're not a seasoned veteran, this could be the first time that you've heard of it!
Most companies struggle with generating leads for their products or services.
The reason behind it is mainly due to them having limited exposure from other firms in their industry and how they are perceived by prospective customers as well as competitors. It can also be because lead generation isn't taught at school or college, as it is seen as a very specialist area.
So what's the answer?
The solution lies in your B2B sales strategy. This basically comprises of 3 main components:
Before you can develop a B2B sales strategy, you need to first determine your company's primary goal. You will be aiming for this goal throughout the entire process of selling and marketing, so it needs to be very clear in your mind.
The best way is to think about what makes money for your business.
If I was thinking about how do we maximize profits (the main reason why businesses exist), then my answer would be:
If you aren't sure what your primary goal is, then here are some questions that can help:
Developing a system will help you to achieve your primary goal more effectively. It will allow you to do the following:
Now, all this can be achieved by:
There are a number of basic metrics that you need to track in order for the above strategies to be effective, but you should also check on how your competitors are performing and compare this against yours.
1) One-third Rule - This is an important one as it will give an indication of whether or not your business is focused enough on acquiring new customers. Even though some businesses may only have 30% of their customer base coming from referrals, they might still be a success if they are getting an average of one new customer every thirty days.
2) Acquisition Cost per Customer - This metric will give you an indication as to whether or not your marketing efforts have been effective in bringing customers into the fold, and it's important that this measure is based on all sources (offline and online).
You should look at what percentage of each dollar spent on acquiring new customers was going towards paid advertising, for example, as opposed to referrals or other methods. This metric is also useful if you are looking at the average cost per customer lifetime value.
3) Customer Lifetime Value - Another important metric that can be used for determining whether or not your advertising campaigns have been successful in driving customers into the door is by calculating the LTV of each customer acquired using a formula such as:
Lifetime Value = Acquisition Cost / Customer Lifetime
If this measure is positive and your business hasn't been spending a lot of money on paid advertising, then it's likely that you are doing something right in terms of marketing efforts.
4) Cost to Acquire Each Customer - This metric can help give an indication as to how much profit each customer brings into the company over time, which will be very useful for determining whether or not there are any areas where costs need to be cut. This metric is also useful in determining whether or not there are any opportunities for a business to increase revenue by improving its marketing strategies.
5) Average Cost per Lead - If you want your advertising campaigns and lead generation efforts to be more efficient, then it's important that you pay attention here. A lot of businesses assume that the average cost of acquiring new customers will remain constant over time, but often this isn't true due to many factors such as where a customer is located and their level of education.
It's important that you understand the cost to acquire new customers for your business, so make sure this metric is included in any advertising campaign performance reports.
The sales process shows several benefits of agile B2B software that help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of this critical business function.
The most important benefit is increased revenue since the technology makes it easy for businesses to find new customers by automating many manual processes while streamlining repetitive tasks such as document review, email follows up and customer tracking. This frees up time so that sales reps can focus more on selling rather than simply following a script.
Sales reps work best when they are in a relaxed state, and that's why it is important to provide them with the proper tools so that they can focus on their customers rather than worrying about what comes next.
In order for this approach to really work, sales reps need effective customer relationship management software which allows them access to all pertinent information, including emails sent by prospects as well as any internal communications regarding product pricing changes or other issues of interest.
It's important to remember that the sales team is made up of a number of people and that each rep has its own unique strengths. By implementing tools like communication management software, you can better manage your reps so they will concentrate on what they do best while making sure they are working toward company goals and objectives.
Strategic selling is about developing long-term, sustainable customer relationships centered around products and services that provide a tangible value for the customers.
B2B sales professionals who sell to big corporations know this model works best in large companies because it allows them to maintain repeat business with their clients by helping them secure more deals than they would if they were less strategic.
Strategic selling requires hard work on the part of B2B sales reps as well as their teams. This is why many companies choose to have marketing professionals handle their B2B sales, and it's also the reason that managers of these departments can be given more time off work to help maintain the relationships with prospective customers.
Strategic selling requires a well-oiled machine that allows for proper communication between reps on a daily basis as well as regular one-on-one meetings with existing clients who want new services or products or who just need some advice.
There are several ways a company can support its sales reps in achieving this goal, including A sales manager can schedule regular one-on-one meetings for each rep to help them identify new opportunities and keep the reps up to date with what is happening in their respective areas of responsibility.
These managers can also be given more time off work, as well as additional training on strategic selling techniques, so they are better able to manage these ongoing relationships.
Finally, companies need an effective communication strategy that outlines how all B2B sales professionals interact with each other, including their managers.
Strategic selling is not just about planning new campaigns and winning the next big deal. It's also about building relationships with existing customers so they will continue to buy from your company in the future, which allows you to keep on top of current trends as well as identify potential threats or opportunities that can help increase sales for years to come.
In order to better understand how companies can improve their B2B sales process, it's important for them to view the challenges from both sides.
Of course, there are some high performers who have a clear picture of what is needed in order to reach an ultimate goal of becoming one of the top-performing brands within their industries, and they work tirelessly towards achieving this goal on a daily basis; but not everyone has access or resources as these individuals do.
This leaves many companies struggling with providing their sales reps with the tools needed to succeed.
In reference to a recent survey done by "Salesforce," 34% of B2B buyers have said that as new business customers, they're currently using Sales Management software for demand generation and production management, with only 24% stating that they use it primarily for lead qualification alone. This shows an increase in IT-based speciality software's usage in B2B sales.
The second most common question asked in customer surveys is, "What do you need to do your job better?" In order to keep up with the changing environment and be successful, companies must make it a priority for their employees to stay on top of technology trends because they are constantly evolving.
They can expect these advancements will continue over time as new technologies come forth, giving them an advantage when looking at certain things, such as how to improve their CRM systems.
One of the biggest challenges that B2B sales reps face is low productivity, as most companies often feel like they are unable to get things done in a timely manner due to having high turnover rates, poor management and lack of training, among other issues.
To wrap it all up, in order to stay competitive, B2B companies must focus on providing their sales reps with the right tools necessary in order for them to help grow and maintain a strong relationship with their customers.
Through all this, they will also need to make sure that they're training and managing employees effectively in an effort of bringing more value out of current employees as well as attracting new ones.
