B2B sales, aka business to business sales, encompasses transactions that happen between two businesses. So, if you’re a B2B sales company, it just means you sell your products or services to other businesses. Pretty simple, right?
Selling in B2B may be straightforward in concept, but doing it well is a whole other challenge. That’s because B2B sales require specialized knowledge, tips, and technique to be effective.
We’ve put together this comprehensive B2B sales guide sharing everything you need to know to get started with B2B sales. Let’s jump in.
B2B Sales vs. B2C Sales: Why B2B Requires a Different Approach
B2B sales are dramatically different from B2C sales. Sales in B2C, aka business to consumer, are transactions between businesses and consumers. It encompasses the process of selling services or products directly to consumers.
Some examples of B2C sales include:
- Fast food restaurants
- Streaming services
- Online clothing retailers
- Grocery stores
- Hair salons
- Residential real estate
By definition, B2B and B2C don’t sound too different. But B2B sales can be more challenging. Here’s why:
In B2B sales, multiple decision-makers are often involved with every purchase, so you can’t just sell to one person. The buyers also tend to be educated and are usually considering multiple offers — not just yours. This makes sense because the transactions are often much larger than your average B2C purchase.
In addition, B2B sales tend to have longer sales cycles and involve a more complicated payment process. With some fluidity around payment terms, more negotiation happens in many B2B sales.
All of this makes B2B selling challenging if you don’t have the right expertise. Let’s explore these challenges by looking at some examples of B2B sales.
4 B2B Sales Examples
If you’re only familiar with B2C sales, it can be hard to identify examples of B2B sales; here are four common types of B2B sellers:
- Suppliers – B2B sales companies that sell usable products, like uniforms, office supplies, equipment, and more to other companies (i.e., 3M co, Medtronic, AmeriPride, etc.)
- Wholesalers – These companies provide products or components to their customers to sell directly to consumers (i.e., Alibaba, JJ Foods, BuildDirect, etc.)
- Service Providers – From cleaning services to marketing services, B2B service providers are any company or agency that provides services to other businesses. (i.e., NP Digital, Golden Communications, etc.)
- Software Companies – These companies sell software solutions built specifically for businesses (i.e., Slack, Salesforce, LeadLander, etc.)
Another important part of B2B sales is the B2B sales process.
Understanding the B2B Sales Process
While every B2B sales company has a slightly different process, the B2B sales process tends to include some variation of the following steps:
- Research
- Prospecting
- Outreach
- Pitch
- Negotiation
- Follow-Up
- Close
But it doesn’t matter how many steps are in the sales process if the company doesn’t employ effective B2B sales techniques.
6 B2B Sales Techniques and Strategies
There’s no shortage of B2B sales techniques out there. Here are a few proven tactics to get you started:
1. Ditch the Product and Focus on Solutions
B2B products and services can be complex. That’s why it’s wise to focus on the solution your product provides versus the intricacies of the product itself.
This technique is extra helpful for SaaS and technology companies whose end users aren’t tech-savvy. Rather than trying to explain what a feature does, you can focus on the problem the feature solves and how it will make end-users’ lives (and jobs) easier.
2. Provide Educational Opportunities and Chances to Connect
Rather than starting with pitching and prospecting, B2B companies can host events or B2B sales webinars that allow prospects to come to them. As a result, there’s less pressure, and the prospects get to learn about the product or services in a low-stress environment.
3. Use the SPIN Technique to Understand the Prospect
The SPIN technique is an older technique for organizing the types of questions B2B sellers should ask new prospects. It’s making a resurgence thanks to its effectiveness. SPIN is an acronym that stands for:
- Situation – What situation brought the prospect to the company’s solutions?
- Problem – What problems are they experiencing that the company can solve?
- Implication – What negative implications will happen if they don’t purchase?
- Need – Why does the prospect need what the company is offering?
Asking these questions in this order helps sales reps understand the prospect and formulate a customized pitch.
4. Create Compelling Content to Win Clients
There’s a reason 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing. For one, it’s 62% less expensive while generating three times as many leads as other marketing streams. From blogs, newsletters, and emails to social media posts, marketing videos, and more, creating content is a terrific technique for establishing authority, building trust, boosting credibility, and generating high-quality leads.
Understanding and Simplifying B2B Sales
Ultimately, sales in B2B require some hands-on experience and knowledge. But with the right insight and tools, your B2B sales company can easily navigate the selling process.
One tool that can help with the B2B sales process is LeadLander’s website tracking and audience identification tool. It simplifies account-based marketing and makes it easy to identify leads and warm up prospects.
Try LeadLander free for 14 days to see how we can elevate your B2B sales strategies.