Steps in B2B sales process
A good B2B sales representative needs to conduct research about the market, competitors, and find out who are their ideal customers. They need to answer questions such as:
- Which businesses are more likely to buy their product or service
- Who is the person to reach out to in a business
- Does their business’s solutions match with the prospect’s needs
In this step, you can connect with prospects through cold emails and cold calls or through building relationships with them. The main goal is to not to sell but rather to get people to be interested which will make it much easier to make sales in the future.
After finding the prospects who want to know more about your business’s product or service, it is best that B2B sales representatives to ask open ended questions where they will help find:
- The challenges and issues that prospects face and can be solved by your product or service
- Their budget so you can know whether they can buy your product or service
The main goal is to know which of those prospects are suitable and which aren’t so that B2B business representatives can continue the sales process with those who are the best fit.
Pitch the business’s offering
Once the suitable prospects are found who are interested and are the best fit based on the questions that sales representatives asked. It is time to present the product or service as the solution that would help prospects in their businesses.
For products or services that don’t cost a lot, you can pitch them as soon as prospects show interest. You can do so by introducing the product or service, answering their questions, and making the offer.
While if the products or services are of a higher value, prospects will want to know everything about them so it’s best to schedule meetings with them and show them a live demo where they will get to see and understand how your product or service works and see if it offers the solution that they are looking for.
In negotiations, a B2B sales representative negotiates the deal with the prospects about terms such as the pricing or contract terms to reach a mutual agreement about those terms.
Once the negotiations are finished, closing the deal becomes easier to do because both parties reached an agreement about the terms.
In this step, the B2B sales representative finalizes the deal with the prospect through completing the sale such as through getting their signature on the contract and receiving the money.
Tips for getting effective B2B sales
Selling to businesses can be tough which requires preparation and keeping your emotions in check as a B2B sales representative, you will need to be calm and not take things personally or feel scared when there are objections. By doing so, you guarantee that there will be sales.
Focus on providing solutions
As a B2B sales representative, you will need to find the issues that the business that you want to sell your product or service has by asking a set of questions about the type of challenges that they have and their goals.
You will need to also focus on showing and presenting the solution that your business’s product or service provides to help their business achieve its goals.
Have a unique value proposition
The value proposition is what sets your business apart from others because of the unique value and solution that it delivers through its product or service.
For that very reason, a B2B sales representative must know how to present the value proposition in details and as clearly as possible which will definitely lead to sales if done effectively.
In conclusion, a B2B sales representative will help your business grow and make lots of sales. They are essential for getting profit through selling a business’s product or service to other businesses.