Top 5 Secrets of B2B Sales Success That Nobody Will Tell You.

‘It’s a deal!’ might be every business owner’s favorite word. Closing a deal is a surreal feeling.

However, if you go in without a strategy, you are almost guaranteed to lose a sale in the B2B arena.

The reason is that B2B sales are more than mere transactions. As compared to B2C sales, B2B sales deal with the heavy transaction and long-term relationships. If the other business likes what they are buying from your business, they will keep coming back every time they need supplies.

However, to keep customers coming back requires a strategy. A strategy to convince all the parties involved that your product is best for their business in both quality and costs. This is easier said than done for most wholesalers.

In this article, we will share the top five B2B sales strategies to help you close a deal.

#1 Know your customer’s challenges (and provide solutions)

First, you might want to discuss your product, past customer success, and how it’s great. But here’s the truth. Talking about yourself, your product, and product success won’t help you close the deal.

According to research, close to 70% of customers think their problems are not being discussed on the first call.

As always, a successful sales strategy is customer-focused.

You need to focus on your customer’s needs and not yours. Your customer is uncertain and stressed. No matter what, buying enterprise products such as software or manufacturing equipment for business is always a tough decision to make.

Customers don’t want more information. They are already bombarded with information from all directions.

What your customer wants is to solve their problems and get rid of stress. Easier said than done. Right?.

Hence, to be helpful, you need to be aware of their industry. What challenges are they facing? Finding your customer pain point requires extensive research.

Once you are aware of the problem they are facing, you can jump on calls or chat and offer a solution (your product) tailored to their needs.

For example, if you are a wholesaler dealing with perishable items such as baked goods, your customers will need them long before expiry dates. So, if you can manage to get them their goods well on time, your customers will appreciate you.

#2 Know everyone involved in the purchasing decision

In B2B sales, there are on average 7 decision-makers involved in the purchase. You obviously won’t talk to all of them. But you need to bypass the ones that don’t hold purchasing power.

Do your research and find the ones that hold high purchasing power and get a meeting with them. Many times, your B2B clients will have other employees that handle the task such as ordering products, managing accounts, and sales, etc. Hence, it is necessary to target the correct person who can help you connect with the owner.

Here’s the catch. Most business owners are always hard to catch. You need to find them fast. Because you will be wasting time and dragging the sales process if you try building long-term relationships with employees who don’t have the final say in the purchase. Many B2B clients will be accessible if you have a large network. So, try to create industry connections to gain access to key decision-makers.

Moreover, there are also online tools available today to help you find key decision-makers. You can send them a LinkedIn request or ask someone close to the main owner to set you up for the meeting.

# 3 Don’t try to close too early

Closing is the hardest part of any sale.

Of course, you want to close the deal. You have a quota to fill and a commission to make.

But, here’s the thing. If you try to close a sale too early, two things can happen.

First, your prospect might back out even before considering your product. Nobody likes when someone pushes them to buy things.

The second thing, which is even worse, is that even if you close a deal too early, the chances of closing with the wrong customers are high.

Why? Think of it this way. By default, B2B sales are long. So, if you manage to close on day 1, either the prospect didn’t understand the product clearly, or they said ‘yes’ under the pressure.

Nothing is worse than a customer with a product that cannot help them.

Suppose you sell teak wood furniture wholesale. Your potential customer needs mahogany furniture. So, if you try to sell them teak wood furniture when all they need is mahogany wood you risk losing your reputation and potential customers.

Here’s why?

Just to close the sale, many wholesalers trick buyers into thinking that the product they are showing is good for the (buyer’s) business. But if the buyer never wants teak furniture, no matter how good it is, they will never be satisfied.

They will never be happy with your product and most likely won’t recommend it to anyone because of their bad experience.

#4 Provide real value

In the past, prospects didn’t expect any value from salespeople. But that changed. Today, prospects expect real value from salespeople during the selling conversation.

According to a study, 82% of B2B customers think their salesperson does not provide them with valuable information on the first call.

Just having a good product or service is not enough. Also, firing off two or three important questions is not enough. For your prospect to trust your recommendation, you need to build trust and authority.

You need to provide them with a reason as to why they should trust you over others.

The best way to provide value is by helping and sharing insights with your customers. As a salesperson, you have experience with people and products. You might have inside knowledge that your prospect does not have. Also, you have worked in their industry, you have a bird’s eye view of what works and what does not.

For example, suppose you have been working as a wholesaler in the apparel industry for the past 10 years. You know the ins and outs of what happens in the apparel industry. You know which trends to follow and which ones to ignore.

So, you can use these insights to provide your customer with real value and engage in proper conversation. This is where the customer will think “ he knows what he is talking about. He’s an expert”. So, they will open up. They will provide detailed information on the problems they are facing.

And this is your chance to know whether the prospect is a good fit to sell your wholesale merchandise.

#5 Always have a clear next step or Plan B

You discussed the product with your customer. You convinced them your product can help them solve their problem. Your prospect is happy. Everything said and done. Now what?

What is your next step? Should you follow up? The answer is yes.

Although, according to Forrester Research, 59% of B2B customers like to manage their relationships, and don’t like being approached by the salesperson. This stops many salespeople from following up with prospects.

But they are wrong. B2B sales rarely close on the first contact. Sometimes there are more than 5 steps between meeting a prospect and closing a deal. Hence, the follow-up can make a difference between losing a sale and making a sale.

However, there should be balance. You don’t want to annoy your customers. Neither do you want to seem nonchalant, like you don’t care if you close a sale or not? Maintaining a delicate balance is the key.

Also, sometimes at the last minute, your prospect might say no to the product for some reason. You need to have a strategy to handle such a conversation.

Let’s take an example of why you need a plan B. Suppose you are a wholesale dealer in plastic and thermocol items. Now, imagine what will happen if suddenly the government decides to ban plastic and thermocol items? You will within a day lose all your business if you don’t have a backup. Your previous merchandise would be illegal to sell. You would have no option but to get rid of it at a hefty loss.

So, in the end, it pays to have a plan B.

Conclusion

B2B sales might be a tough nut to crack, but it is not impossible. With a few simple strategies, you can take qualified leads and convince them for sale.

So, there you have it. Top secrets of closing the B2B sale successfully. Which ideas did you find most useful? Let us know.

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