Are B2B Sales Getting Tougher?

Okay, today you will have to answer these five questions as true or false…

  1. Selling is tougher today than ever before?
  2. Selling is more complex than ever before?
  3. Customers are more demanding and aggressive than ever before?
  4. There is more competition than ever before?
  5. The Stress levels of b2b sales people is at the highest levels in years.

Alright, are you feeling depressed after thinking about these five questions? Do you believe all five are true?

Well, you may not like my response to your perception of the truth. I believe if you believe something to be true, then it is – to you! There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer, it is perception.

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Buying Process – Six Steps by the Prospect or Customer

My sales tip on keeping your sales process aligned with the customer or prospect’s buying process raised several questions from the group. The most common question was…

“What is the Buying Process?”

Therefore, today is all about the Buying Process.

There are essentially six steps to the buying process, in fact you could call it a Buying Cycle since it begins and ends at a similar destination. The only difference between the start and finish is your role as the seller. Usually your competition begins the process as the seller and assuming you work the process-staying in alignment with your sales process-you will be the seller in the end.

Here are the six steps…

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Four Steps to Unlocking Your Potential

One topic of continuing interest with both sales people and sales managers is how do I/we unlock the potential for sales success?

This discussion also moves into a higher level discussion about “what is potential?” Yet, that is a discussion for a later date. It is a more complex topic and I would rather help you to unlock the potential you currently possess. This is an important issue since some researchers of personal performance indicate we human beings are only getting 8 to 10% of our true potential. If this is true, and I believe there is truth in the research – then we have a huge upside to activate.

So, let’s look at four steps you can employ today to unlock your potential and improve your sales performance.

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Top Five Customer Frustrations

Recently I was asked by a client – “What are typical customer frustrations with sales people?”

That question created a discovery and research process which uncovered several major issues for customers – caused by the sales people who call upon them. This was amazing to me. It seems sales people have the uncanny ability to shot themselves in the foot – then admire their marksmanship rather than not shot at all!

Yes, we – the sales people create major frustration for our customers – consciously or unconsciously – which makes building trust and successful selling more difficult. Here are the major customer frustrations created by sales people.

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Think Simple to Win More Sales

It continues to amaze and amuse me watching sales people operate in selling environment. So what are they doing that amazes and amuses me? Sales people are complicating their offers with all types of complexity.

Okay, yes, I admit it – I have done it too! Sometimes we get too smart for our good and think we need to add all kind of information, variations, variables, formulas, and other mind-numbing ideas for our prospects and customers. This is just a bad move. I know I have lost sales opportunities due to complexity of ideas or solutions.

The key to more success is to keep things simple. Simple influences the sale more than any form of complexity. Simple offerings, simple presentations, simple pricing, and simple understanding of situations all have a positive influence on the sale. Stop with the complexity already! Here are five areas you can add simple and win more sales.

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