5 Impactful Sales Techniques That All B2Bs Need to Know

Every business needs to pursue an effective B2B sales strategy that would allow it to grow continuously. Of course, this is easier said than done. The world of B2B marketing and sales is also growing and evolving, and as such, it’s necessary to stay up to date with all the new digital trends, ways to communicate with the target audience, business processes, etc. That said if you’re looking to adopt some of the most impactful sales techniques for your B2B business, keep on reading.

1. Social Media Selling

One of the main reasons for the shift in the B2B sales is the change that occurs in the actual buyer process due to the natural generational switch in the target market. Namely, millennials take the biggest part of the modern audience and the way they discover products and engage with businesses has considerably moved to the realm of social media.

Instead of relying heavily on the power of email marketing and phone calls, B2B businesses should focus their attention to identifying and nurturing new prospects on social media channels. Not only is this a simpler way for the prospect to make a favorable decision when it comes to your business, but it’s also a chance to present your business in a more relatable and human fashion.

It's important to differentiate social media marketing from social media selling techniques. The latter may be more time-consuming but it also brings greater value. The goal is to create a personal connection with an individual prospect as opposed to a wider audience through relevant content and one-on-one engagement.

2. Referral Sales Technique

Many B2B businesses still shy away from tapping into the powerful technique of referral networking, probably due to the uncertainty and fear that this approach would backfire and cause damage to brand reputation. As mentioned, things are different nowadays, meaning that the majority of prospective buyers actually look for peer recommendations in order to make a sound purchasing decision.

That said, don’t hesitate to reach out to your existing customers, especially if you already have proof that your product helped them boost their ROI, and ask for referrals. Start by contacting the customers who have already left you a 5-star review and kindly ask them for a referral. There’s a lot of value that you can gain from this while the worst thing that could happen is for them to say no.

Image source: FrontSpin

3. Warm Calling Sales

Cold-calling used to work well for many years, but the modern audience doesn’t seem to take as well to getting unplanned product calls. Obviously, phone calls are still valuable asset for all B2B salespeople, but the latest change is not to call them when they’re cold – call them when they’re warm instead. Essentially, the warm calling sales technique is based on calling prospects only when they openly show interest in your product.

For instance, you can start the warm calling sales technique by contacting people who are visiting your website. Obviously, keeping track of all the prospects you wish to target this way or via social media and so on can easily become overwhelming. Modern-day sales techniques require modern digital solutions as well. That said, using a proven cloud CRM for your B2B business is a great way to follow up on every lead that comes your way and build effective strategies for converting them.

4. The “Challenger” Sales Approach

The so-called Challenger sales technique is based on the book by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson where they describe 6 different sales personality types, one of them being the Challenger which has proven to work the best in the modern world of B2B sales.

Essentially, this technique assumes a more controversial yet optimistic approach to sales where the majority of effort goes into learning as much as possible about the prospect and then using that info to challenge them on their current processes.

The whole point is not to bother with simply offering an extension to what they already have in terms of process but to actually convince them to transform the entire process around your product.

Of course, this particular sales technique is not for everyone. Make sure to trust a specific kind of person within your sales team to master this kind of approach.

5. SPIN Selling

Image source: Hubspot 

Even though SPIN selling is not a new technique per se, it’s still paramount for successful B2B sales.

Essentially, this particular selling technique is based on the questions that are utilized for new sales lead qualification. Thanks to these carefully crafted questions, you can efficiently tailor the entire approach in order to engage and establish a strong connection with the potential prospect.

When coming up with these questions, make sure that they:

●  Ask about the prospect’s current situation

●  Help you identify the prospect’s motives as well as their problems and business weaknesses

●  Point to the potentially damaging impact of leaving these problems unresolved

●  Make the prospect understand the value of having a proper solution to their problems in terms of their own business success

Every sales technique, and especially those that are relatively new and untapped into, requires some trial and error. Don’t get discouraged if a certain approach doesn’t show great success right from the start. Take the time to analyze and adjust your efforts and further tailor them to your prospects.