Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce has experienced remarkable growth in the last few years, with sales surging to $2 trillion in 2024—triple the $650 billion expected for business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. If you need more reasons to focus on a B2B sales strategy, these figures speak for themselves.
Unlike B2C sales, which often focus on high-volume, lower-value transactions, B2B sales involve more tailored solutions and deeper relationship-building to secure deals that offer long-term, high value. While this demands more investment from the selling company, it also carves a more sustainable and resilient path for those looking to thrive in competitive markets.
As businesses increasingly rely on one another for products or services—from manufacturing and professional services to business consulting and software solutions—adopting B2B sales techniques can position your business for great success.
How to Increase Your B2B Sales Across 7 Key Stages: Expert Strategies to Consider
You may typically associate the B2B sales process with common approaches like cold calling, sending emails, or pitching to prospects on social media, but these activities are just a small part of a much broader system with many moving parts.
The success of B2B sales relies on following a structured sales flow, comprising the following key steps:
1. Prospect
At this first stage, sellers research the market and identify businesses that may potentially find value in your product or service. To streamline this step, create an ideal customer profile that outlines the specific traits of these target businesses. Once you have that profile on hand, use it as a basis for gathering insights about companies that fit the profile.
Investing in employee advocacy programs for your social media marketing is a practical B2B sales strategy that can secure you better prospects. In fact, having employees serving as brand ambassadors generates leads that are seven times more likely to convert.
Successful prospecting sets the tone for the rest of the sales process because it allows you to tailor your approach to each prospect’s specific pain points. Make sure your research goes beyond simply listing names. Understand your target businesses’ needs and learn more about their operations, financial health, and leadership by reviewing their annual reports.
2. Qualify Your Leads
After prospecting, the next crucial step is determining which leads are most likely to convert into customers. This involves a detailed evaluation of the prospect’s financial capacity and decision-making process.
Use tried-and-tested frameworks like BANT to assess a lead’s readiness:
- Budget: How much is your lead willing to spend?
- Authority: Who has decision-making power over purchases? Are you in touch with the right stakeholders?
- Need: Does your lead have an actual need for your product?
- Timeline: How long will the sales process take before your lead makes a purchasing decision?
Proper lead qualification can enable you to focus and reallocate your resources to opportunities with higher potential, reducing time spent on prospects unlikely to close.
An effective B2B sales strategy to consider for this step is leveraging Clearview Social’s advanced social selling features. Using this tool enables you to track who clicked your shared content and why, giving you better insights when following up on leads.
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3. Assess Your Leads’ Needs
At this stage, look into the potential customer's specific challenges, goals, and expectations by conducting a needs assessment.
This stage equips you with the ability to effectively tailor your pitch to their requirements and demonstrate the value of your service. Prepare questions that help you understand their situation better and highlight the unique selling points of your product that directly address their concerns.
If possible, consider taking a more collaborative approach by allowing the prospect to co-create a tailored solution—this shows that you are genuinely invested in their success, positioning yourself as a potential partner instead of simply a service provider.
4. Present Your Pitch
Now that you’ve uncovered your lead’s specific pain points and business objectives, it’s time to formally present your service as an ideal solution. Highlight the top benefits and features of your offering that provide clear, tangible value and resonate best with your prospect’s situation.
An effective presentation is highly personalized. Adapt your presentation to their communication style. This means adding more detailed technical information or focusing more on strategic benefits, whichever they prefer.
You should also maintain an interactive dialogue during the pitch. Encourage questions or feedback and be ready to adjust your pitch based on their live reactions.
5. Manage Any Objections
Receiving objections during the presentation is unavoidable. Address concerns head-on and actively listen to the lead’s feedback. By doing so, you can gain a deeper understanding of their perspective and have an opportunity to engage further, clarify misunderstandings, and better position your service as an ideal fit for their business.
Instead of viewing objections as barriers, your goal should be to provide reassurance. Ask follow-up questions to fully understand the prospect’s concerns and offer alternative solutions if the initial proposal doesn't fully meet the customer’s expectations.
6. Close the Sale
Once all objections have been settled and you’ve secured the prospect’s commitment, you can proceed with finalizing the deal. At this point, all legal and contractual terms must be clearly outlined and understood by both parties. Use this as an opportunity to negotiate key terms such as pricing, delivery schedules, and payment terms, and address any remaining concerns your prospect has to make sure both parties reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
Also, ensure that all necessary documentation—contracts, purchase agreements, and any legal paperwork—is prepared and executed properly to make the deal official.
If you want to increase your B2B sales even further and successfully close any deal, pay as much mind to your marketing efforts. Make sure your sales and marketing strategies are complementary. For best results, consider engaging in account-based marketing (ABM), which enables sellers to treat every customer as an entirely separate market. ABM is a proven B2B sales strategy, with 84% of marketers agreeing that it provides higher ROI than any other approach.
7. Nurture Your New Customer Relationship
More than closing the deal, this stage should also focus on building long-term trust that lays the foundation for future business opportunities. This is why maintaining customer satisfaction even after the sale is a must for any B2B sales strategy.
A strong post-sale relationship can lead to repeat business and referrals, boosting your company's revenue and growth. Conduct regular check-ins to gather feedback, address any outstanding concerns, and make customers feel valued and heard.
Consider cross-selling, which involves identifying and offering additional products or services that can add value to the customer’s current purchase and enhance their overall experience. You can also incentivize customers to continue their relationship with your brand through loyalty programs.
Strengthen Your B2B Sales Strategies with Clearview Social
If you want best-in-class tools in your marketing arsenal, go for Clearview Social. With our social selling software, you can maximize your social media efforts and achieve guaranteed results across every step of the B2B sales funnel—from building brand awareness among new prospects and drumming up their interest in your service to prompting them to take action.
By integrating Clearview Social into your campaigns, you can reduce your reliance on digital ads and leverage organic efforts helmed by employees as your brand champions.
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