Developing Your B2B Sales Skills
Unique Skills for Business to Business Selling
Okay, you have taken the time to plan out an ideal customer profile and have identified several companies which you want to call. You know the rank or title of the position you need to get in touch with to make an appointment to start your sales process.
Now comes the hard part – you have no name or phone number and especially no email address. So what do you do? You know the probability of success increases when you have a specific name to call upon. Again, so what do you do?
Must of the readers here know I’m a big supporter of the Questioning Model of selling. And, due to this preference I don’t place a lot of emphasis on closing the sale – a favorite of the traditional sales person using the Presentation Model of Selling.
Yet, I have found several readers who are positioned with companies that are pressing the sales people to use the older models of b2b selling. So, in the interest of fair play today I will share the top fifteen closing techniques.
So here on Friday the Thirteenth are the 15 Closing strategies to use…
Recently I have observed several interesting sales negotiations taking place whereby I could make the call on who would lose any major points. Strong statement? Yes, I know it is. The reason for my prediction was quite simple. One of the players broke rule number one of b2b sales negotiation tips. Okay, so what is … Read more…
Okay, so you have done your homework with research and visiting with different people within a major account opportunity. Now you have the first opportunity to visit with The Decision Maker about what you have found.
One thing I have to make clear at this point, I’m talking from the framework of a Consultative B2B Sales Person rather than a commodity positioned b2b sales person. Since the latter is only talking about their product or service along with features and benefits, they usually is no discussions with higher level decision makers.
Now is the time you have been waiting for, the opportunity to prove you are the right person to be involved with this company. So, how do share your knowledge with the high level decision maker?
Okay, some sales people questioned my business fit example in an earlier b2b sales tip. And, good for you. The ones who questioned it most be in the b2b sales superstar group and knew there were some missing pieces to my earlier explanation.
Well there are a number of key issues to resolve when working toward a true business fit and surprise – it has little to do with your product or service.
I know the traditional trained sales people are thinking I have lost it when I say it has very little to do with your product. Well, somebody needs to tell you this before you start losing business due to positioning mistakes.
I recently uncovered an interesting fact about what executives are looking for from the B2B Sales Person that improves the level of credibility for the b2b sales person.
This key is “Knowledge of Your Own Industry.”
Yes, during the past decade and a half, executives have doubled the importance of the Knowing Your Own Industry relative to a b2b sales person gaining credibility from the executive.
So how do you Know More About Your Industry?
Those of you who are regular readers of my b2b sales tips know I believe sales AND marketing should be tightly aligned in you want consistent increases in your b2b sales results.
Qualified Leads are one of the most important elements for improving sales results. Why? Because b2b sales people only have one precious thing to trade – their time. If a b2b sales person is chasing every lead they get without qualifying the lead – the b2b sales person loses their irreplaceable time they could have spent on a qualified potential customer.
Therefore, if Sales and Marketing are tightly aligned you will see these five techniques providing the majority of the new b2b sales leads…
This question is one of the more interesting questions I want answered when working with a sales person or a sales team.
Product Pusher or Solution Puller?
The answer lies based upon two factors…
When looking for one of these factors, it gives insight into how successful a b2b sales person will be – overall. Let take a closer look at what these two factors are actually telling us.
Okay, several of you have asked me…
“What Do I Talk About with a Prospect, If I’m Not Talking About My Product or Service?”
I will get to a logical progression for talking about business results in a moment. Before sharing this information, I want to remind you to forget about all your old school or traditional sales training. Remember, no matter how bad you want to start your sales “pitch” there is no selling allowed with the top level prospect. If you must pitch something, pitch your old sales techniques and tactics in the trash before entering the room.
This simple progression is designed to show your prospect you are experienced and have done this before – providing the credibility and confidence they need to even think about moving forward in their buying process. Yes, they do want to buy, they do not want to be sold.
Today, I will discuss the fourth part of a five part series on major change issues for b2b sales.
Breaking Old Success Habits is one of the biggest obstacles for b2b sales people to make the changes necessary for future b2b sales success. And it is a two step issue – one with the b2b sales people and the other with sales managers and executives who only have traditional sales background experience.