You’re not setting up a roadside lemonade stand for your B2B business, even if it might be more fun most weeks.

For B2B sales, your task is much more demanding than connecting thirst with a cold glass and calling it a day—your job involves bridging the gap between need and want, priority and budget, people and problems.

The nature of B2B is problem-solving on a massive scale, where results can only be measured by first locating the unique markers of success that will come to define each project. No small task, but together, I’m sure we can make something happen. After more than a decade of driving sales for B2B through software and more, I’m excited to offer my insights that can help you drive sales in the B2B sector.

While there are entire novels to write on the subject (coming as soon as I get any more than 15 free minutes a day), below are some of my top tips for B2B sales. Let’s get to it!

Use Impactful Verbiage—Less is More

Working out your thesaurus is suitable for love letters, not so much for B2B strategies. You might have fun tossing as many buzzwords into your pitch as possible, but for most situations, less is more. 

Focus on what makes you unique and why a customer needs your service to help solve their pain. Better yet, create multiple pitch decks, email templates, case studies, and marketing materials that can best address the unique needs of your target business. Trim the fat wherever possible and show them only the results that matter.

Locate the Decision Makers Early

Have you ever run into a self-checkout grocer that is waaaaay too pleased to jump in and remind you that they haven’t wiped yours yet? Or a bartender who talks about the orange slices like they grew them themselves? Staff (especially SDRs) you connect with may speak of themselves as indispensable employees or pillars of the organization. In some cases, they might even be! But whether or not it ends up being the case is immaterial—it is your job to locate the decision-making bodies that will implement your solutions.

While this is often a C-level employee, each organization is different. They may have advisors, CFO’s or even ground-level team members who are consulted before large-scale changes are made in the organization. Determining who these bodies are and meeting with them early will help you to craft a more compelling proposal, better understand the pain that has driven your meeting, and prevent you from wasting time on unnecessary meetings.

Lay the Groundwork at Each Meeting

I’m not exaggerating when I say: begin every meeting with an agreement as to why we are here.

Every. Single. Meeting.

This one may seem tedious, but it has saved me hours when it comes to having only meetings that matter—not to mention it’s kept me from looking selfish as client priorities changed without my pitch keeping up.

So much can change between discovery and proposal. Your client may have reached out internally to someone and discovered the pain was of more or less priority than initially thought. Budgets can change, roles can move around, and entire companies can be made or unmade overnight. Beginning every meeting with laying out the groundwork is the only way to ensure no one is having their time wasted.

Prioritize Their Success, Not Your Own

As you get closer to close, it is essential to remember that the conversation began with discussing their pain. You wouldn’t be on the phone with them at all had there not been a problem that brought them to the point of actively seeking a solution. Now that the problem has turned to a solution in your eyes, it is crucial to keep their organization in mind, as tempting as it may be to drive the pitch home through bravado alone.

You should appear eager to get started on their problems, not keen to fill your quota and calendar. Even late into negotiations, using compassionate language and continuing to enquire about their organization and methods will give them the confidence needed to sign with you.

I hope you find these tips helpful in your B2B sales strategy! Building great relationships begins with excellent communication—know your value and match it to the pain you uncover. Once you’ve got that down, you’ll be running free in the wide-open fields of B2B sales. They grow up so fast… it almost brings a tear to my eye.

Want to learn more? Contact me to get started on sales coaching, marketing strategies, and more. I’m eager to get started!