What's the Difference Between B2C and B2B Sales?

Since I started my business nearly 20 years ago (not kidding – my 20th anniversary is on September 1, please feel free to send me car stuff), I’ve specialized in Business-to-Business (B2B) selling.? I’ve only had a handful of clients in the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) world, and that’s by intent.? Frankly, I enjoy B2B more and I feel I’m better at it.? I’ve made no bones about being a B2B guy.? Most of the pages on my website spell that out.

What I haven’t done is spelled out why B2B selling differs so much from B2C.? That difference is important, because it has implications for hiring , training , and managing “crossover” salespeople – as well as significant differences that the salesperson has to remember in every call.? The steps in the Buyer’s Journey are the same – but the fundamental underpinning of the Journey (Motivation) is very different, and that affects the progression from step to step.? So, let’s identify that difference.

For most large ticket B2C sales opportunities, the sale tends to be emotionally motivated and intellectually checked.? For instance, if someone decides that they want to remodel their kitchen, it’s less likely that they’ve done a time and productivity study on their cooking habits and decided that they need to reconfigure the kitchen in order to reduce cooking time, increase food quality, and enhance the social aspect of their home. ?Instead, they look around and just plain don’t like the kitchen as it is anymore.? They want nicer cabinets, newer appliances, etc.? Yes, aspects like features, convenience, and usability come into play, but those aren’t the initial motivators.? The initial motivation tends to be emotional.

What I mean by the sale being “intellectually checked” is that, once they have Investigated their needs and arrived at the Solution , the sale can hit a roadblock at the Evaluation phase.? At this point, the Buyer starts looking at their household budget, the value of their home, and other intellectual factors to ask themselves, “does this make sense?”? That’s where the sale can stall.

The emotional Motivation of B2C selling also means that the Buyer’s Journey tends to happen much more quickly than in most B2B sales.? The urgency is supplied by the Buyer’s emotions, as well as the fact that their motivating factor is basically staring them in the face every day.? The person who wants that kitchen remodel (or car, or house, or new TV, etc.) is looking at that old kitchen on a daily basis – and once they’ve seen the Solution, that kitchen looks a little worse every day.? That means that the B2C salesperson’s pipeline is a fast-moving one all on its own, and even though B2C salespeople can be some of the pushiest ones out there, they really don’t need to be.? Their Buyers are going to reach a decision pretty quickly.

On the other hand, B2B sales cycles can be weeks, months, and even years.? That’s because most B2B sales tend to be intellectually driven and emotionally and intellectually checked.? It’s a partial reversal of the B2C dynamic, but not a complete one.

Most of the time, B2B Buyer’s Journeys begin with someone in the business identifying a need for a new piece of equipment, facility, service, etc., and making at least a partial business case for it.? “If we had this new paving machine, we could add another crew, which would generate X revenue,” and so on.? The skilled B2B salesperson has a much heavier burden in the Investigation phase to help the customer identify the needs and motivating factors behind the purchase – then must tailor the Solution to those needs and achieve the customer’s definition of success.

So far, so good, right?? Here’s the biggest issue that “crossover” salespeople must confront, particularly those moving from B2C to B2B sales:

In B2B selling, the salesperson has a much more active role in helping the Buyer move from step to step through the Buyer’s Journey.

That’s because the B2B Buyer may be motivated – but the motivating factor isn’t staring that Buyer in the face every day as it is with the B2C buyer.? That new paving machine might be a great idea, and might produce amazing ROI, but it’s something that could or would be great to have.? Meanwhile, that Buyer has employees that aren’t showing up, a bulldozer breaking down, and other day-to-day factors that take him away from thinking about the new paving machine.? The proposal then sits in his inbox, getting covered up by other pieces of paper.? It’s not staring him in the face, and it sure as hell isn’t looking at him when he gets home.

The B2B salesperson then enters the “chase cycle,” which is no fun at all.? Meanwhile, the B2C seller has long since gotten their decision on that new kitchen remodel and is either scheduling the installation (because he got the sale) or moving on to the next Buyer.

What’s even funnier is that both buyers could be the same exact person at the same exact time.? The B2B buyer who repeatedly puts off a decision and is perceived as “indecisive” by the salesperson can be the same buyer that quickly says “yes” to the B2C salesperson and buys that new kitchen.? Is that because the B2C salesperson is better?? Not necessarily.

It’s because the B2B buyer can quickly lose Motivation because the need isn’t visible and urgent on a daily basis, while the B2C buyer’s Motivation stares him in the face every day.? Combine that with the fact that B2C decisions tend to initiate emotionally, and that emotional buying decisions tend to carry more urgency than intellectual ones, and it’s no wonder that the B2C selling cycles are much shorter than B2B.

“Ah, but Troy,” you’re saying, “You said that B2B buying decisions end to be emotionally checked. You didn’t explain that.? Are you going to leave me hanging?”? Nope.? The emotion that tends to slow a B2B Buyer’s Journey is FEAR.? Essentially, after the Buyer has progressed through the Investigation, Solution, and Evaluation phase, fear can set in and postpone or even kill the Decision.? That fear can be summed up in one phrase:

“What if it doesn’t work?? I might lose money/lose my job/not get the promotion/etc.”? That fear, if not alleviated, can be a sale-killer.? We’ll talk more about how to alleviate that in a future Navigator.

For now, however, let’s circle back.? What are the implications of the difference between B2C and B2B selling?

For sales leaders looking to hire a “crossover” salesperson, part of the interviewing should be assessing that salesperson’s ability to handle the different dynamic.? For a B2C salesperson crossing to B2B, the slower movement of the sales pipeline can be a morale-killer.? A B2B salesperson crossing to B2C might not understand that the motivating factors are different.? Proceed with caution.

The same goes for “crossover” sales leaders and managers.? Without significant acclimation and retraining, the sales leader can be coaching their salespeople on the wrong motivators.

If you’re selecting a sales trainer, look carefully at their writings and philosophy.? Trainers who focus heavily on customer emotion can be a bad fit for today’s B2B environment.? In fact, one of the biggest changes in selling is the decrease in emotional motivation of B2B buyers.? This has been driven by the abundance of information and technology.

I’ve heard it often said that “selling is selling.”? It’s not. At the very least, B2C and B2B salespeople are different breeds of the same animal.? We’ll talk more about some of the things I’ve discussed in future Navigators.