# 12 B2B smart techniques to win new customers

We all know the fact that B2B sales are tough. At times, it can feel so daunting that you may think why are you in this space at all. Plus, the days of the traditional sales model are numbered. Today’s B2B buyers are behaving like B2B buyers. They do their own research & almost want to buy on their own instead of speaking to a sales REP.

Our latest research shows that only 30 % of buyers want to talk to a salesperson to learn more about a product,

60 % of buyer decisions are made before buyers even pick up a phone to speak to a supplier,

And, 45% of salespeople admit that closing deals are getting harder.

So, are the days of sales quotas numbered?

Not at all. However, to keep closing new deals, you need to understand the dynamics of modern B2B sales. Then, we can look at the sales strategies to achieve our objectives.

The traditional B2B sales model :

If a person needed a product or solution, they’d do some basic research, speak to a few friends or colleagues & then reach out to a potential vendor and deal with a sales rep, who’d pitch them with the best options to choose. And if they were happy with what they heard, they would make a purchase. It was a relatively straight forward process, in which marketing was responsible for creating and passing leads to sales reps & sales teams used to move leads down the funnel. But today Marketing owns up to 70% of the buyer journey.

The new B2B Sales model:

A person identifies a problem & then he conducts online research, they look at customer reviews on review sites or social media. They may even speak with their peers or friends as they don’t trust Marketing messages like it used to be. They may even click on some ads offering the solution but the entire effort is to collect all the necessary information online. Once they shortlist a few products they will then call the sales reps of those companies to pitch.

The reason for this change is that a lot of information is now available online, we spend huge amounts of time on social media and searching information, secondly, sales reps have not evolved as they focus on selling, rather than helping prospects along their path to purchase. Buyers don’t want to be pressurized by sales reps anymore. They don’t want to receive those unwanted calls. So, sales teams which incorporate social selling tend to perform better than those who don’t.

So, what are the best sales techniques to win B2B customers?

I can think of 12 simple techniques which can help you win new customers. They are :

1.  Preliminary Research:  The first step is to research the prospect company and try to gain insight. You can follow the company, subscribing to their newsletters, visit their website & gather relevant information. Then you can connect with the key decision-makers on social media.

2.   Implement a sales enablement strategy: By implementing a sales enablement strategy you can help buyers with the relevant information they need across the buyer journeys. Buyers want information and assurance and you can provide them easily by building a proper content library stacked with high-quality content assets like eBooks, case studies, videos, infographics etc.

3.   Don’t stop calling: Lot of sales reps have become hesitant to call their prospects and some of them just call. Neither of them is good. You need to call your prospects but do it mindfully. First, build some kind of a rapport and then you can politely call. During the call don’t try to sell but provide solutions.

4. Personalize communication: Buyers expect personalized communications so avoid generic email blasts etc. Create high-quality personalized content like beautiful emails, share customer success stories etc. The objective of all communication is to build trust.

5. Visibility: Try to achieve more visibility. Sales directors can be positioned as thought leaders where they can write regular blogs, secure speaking engagements, create Vlogs etc.

6.  Align Sales and Marketing: I have seen many companies work in silos where sales and marketing are not on the same page. Sales teams are not aware of the type of content developed, the messaging strategy etc. This type of misalignment can cost companies 15% of revenue losses per year.

7.  Develop Common Understanding:  Top decisionmakers in the company should have a common understanding of the lead definitions, MQL leads, SQL leads (Marketing qualified lead vs Sales qualified lead) etc.

8. Focus more on providing a great buyer experience: Focus on providing a great overall buying experience and proving ROI instead of the price.

9.Leverage marketing automation & AI to build scale: AI and Automation have become mainline. Many platforms for CRM, Sales enablement and Marketing platforms are now available. They are inexpensive and easy to use.

10.Create ICP: Create Ideal customer profiles, try to understand their pain-points and buying journeys etc followed by a master list of prospects you want to engage. High growth companies work on predefined targets.

11.Try to get an in-person meeting: This may sound a bit bizarre as we are all used to zoom meetings etc but an in-person meeting is always better. You can learn a lot from the subtle cues you get when you are actually in front of the prospect.

12. Address difficult questions upfront: Lot of sales rep we meet. try to indulge in sweet-talking instead of addressing the elephant in the room. Client prefers to deal with people who are straightforward and who can come straight to the point without beating around the bush.

Conclusion: B2B sales has changed. It’s no longer as simple as waiting for prospects to come to you. You will need to be brave and proactive and find the channels where potential customers are and share relevant content with them that addresses their needs. You also need to create awesome content and experience to move prospects further down the sales funnel. It’s all about building authentic relationships.

About the author

Shantanu is the founder of an award-winning B2B business growth consulting firm & passionate about helping startups and mid-size companies grow better & faster. He has been empowering CEOs, CMOS and Sales Leaders of B2B companies build high growth firms. As a successful entrepreneur who has successfully built & sold multi-million $ business, he knows what it takes to really differentiate, scale & build a high growth company. Shantanu is also involved in building thriving communities, so in partnership with Dubai Government & leading brands, he has been organizing business growth summits like SME World Summit, Global Innovation Summit, Emirates NBD Global Business series etc. Over the last 6 years, he has brought together over 20,000 entrepreneurs & business leaders to learn the battle-tested strategies of building great businesses. Reach out to him to avail a free business strategy assessment session. Visit www.spigroup.ae to learn more.