Sales & Marketing Strategies & Technologies’ Post

B2B Selling is Not All About Logical Decisions Recently I read an article that talked about how you need to understand the mentality and emotions of how buyers make purchasing decisions…. but only when you are talking about consumers. The author stated that business purchases are made with logic only.   I totally disagree!   We might like to think we make logical decisions at home and at work, but anyone who’s ever worked with an ego-driven boss, in a team with two factions that don’t get on or have themselves stated that they just ‘know’ something to be right, will know that’s not entirely true!   From FOMO (fear of missing out) to career progression - whether you are creating your ideal customer persona, developing your marketing messaging, updating your website, or briefing your sales team - don’t forget to think about the personal drivers of the people you are trying to persuade.   Read my blog to see the personal drivers you might want to think about when positioning your offering: https://lnkd.in/gGQCikmK   As always, I'd love to hear what's working (or not) for you, so drop your comments or insights below or DM me! #B2B #B2Bsales #marketingstrategy #sales

B2B selling in complex environments has two major challenges for a salesperson. The high number of stakeholders (or decision-makers) and as a consequence even more potential for no decision (the most probable outcome of the B2B buying process). To better handle those two challenges, make sure you do two things: 👉 Regarding stakeholders, make sure you unite them around solving one agreed problem (by clarifying what problem each of the stakeholders thinks they are solving with a buying process and then aligning them on the single, joint problem). 👉 Regarding no decision, make sure you ask two questions: "What would happen if you did not do anything? How much will that cost you?" Uniting different stakeholders (decision makers) around solving one agreed problem is much easier than uniting them around a single solution (yours). But by doing that you have a chance to co-create with them a single list of decision criteria and you have a more controllable decision process. This will help you prepare your value proposition to address known and agreed customer problem. Asking "what if" questions and "quantifying" the impact will allow you to estimate if the pain is big enough for the customer to not live with "no decision". It will also allow you to push the sales process by emphasizing the cost of inactivity. I know it is a hard task for any salesperson to do, but if you want to act as a challenger seller, you need to be brave, knowledgeable, and capable. #challengerselling #B2Bselling #complexselling #decisionmakers #nodecision

Influencing Strategies in B2B Sales <The following is adapted from the Amazon Best-Selling Book, P3 Selling: The Essentials of B2B Sales Success.> Selling means different things to different people, depending on the kind of selling you’re involved in and perhaps your level of experience. But in B2B sales, sellers are almost always involved in a consultative sale where success is highly dependent on their ability to influence. The goal is to influence a prospect’s perspectives, behaviors, and situation as it relates to making a buying decision in your favor. So how does today’s consultative seller actually do this? The starting point for influencing is creating or increasing a person’s awareness of their current state, specifically around their Problems, People, and buying-decision Processes (the foundation of the P3 Selling methodology). There are three ways to create this awareness: 1.     Tell – for example, a seller could say something like “You really should consider other criteria beyond price.” The problem is that even though telling is many sellers’ go-to behavior, studies have shown that it’s not very effective at creating awareness. It also tends to annoy most buyers.   2.     Ask – here we ask questions that cause the prospect to think and consider whether their perspectives, behaviors, and situation are optimum for meeting their business and personal goals. However, this strategy really only works when the person already has some level of awareness, so the questions simply bring it to the forefront of their thinking. A classic example is the Hail Mary question where a seller asks, “What keeps you up at night” and the prospect replies “Not much!” 3.     Suggest – this is probably one of the most powerful, yet under-utilized, techniques in creating awareness because it encourages prospects to consider something that they hadn’t previously been aware of. This is where a seller can truly demonstrate their value as a consultant by bringing new ideas and perspectives to the conversation, instead of just asking what the prospect thinks. High-performing salespeople will use a combination of each of these techniques but the key to success is knowing which to use and when. Interested in deeper dive on how to apply these and other best practices in your selling situation? Pick up a copy: https://lnkd.in/g9h3AHF5   #P3selling #b2bsales #solutionselling #salesstrategies #salesenablement #sales

Influencing Strategies in B2B Sales <The following is adapted from the Amazon Best-Selling Book, P3 Selling: The Essentials of B2B Sales Success.> Selling means different things to different people, depending on the kind of selling you’re involved in and perhaps your level of experience. But in B2B sales, sellers are almost always involved in a consultative sale where success is highly dependent on their ability to influence. The goal is to influence a prospect’s perspectives, behaviors, and situation as it relates to making a buying decision in your favor. So how does today’s consultative seller actually do this? The starting point for influencing is creating or increasing a person’s awareness of their current state, specifically around their Problems, People, and buying-decision Processes (the foundation of the P3 Selling methodology). There are three ways to create this awareness: 1.     Tell – for example, a seller could say something like “You really should consider other criteria beyond price.” The problem is that even though telling is many sellers’ go-to behavior, studies have shown that it’s not very effective at creating awareness. It also tends to annoy most buyers.   2.     Ask – here we ask questions that cause the prospect to think and consider whether their perspectives, behaviors, and situation are optimum for meeting their business and personal goals. However, this strategy really only works when the person already has some level of awareness, so the questions simply bring it to the forefront of their thinking. A classic example is the Hail Mary question where a seller asks, “What keeps you up at night” and the prospect replies “Not much!” 3.     Suggest – this is probably one of the most powerful, yet under-utilized, techniques in creating awareness because it encourages prospects to consider something that they hadn’t previously been aware of. This is where a seller can truly demonstrate their value as a consultant by bringing new ideas and perspectives to the conversation, instead of just asking what the prospect thinks. High-performing salespeople will use a combination of each of these techniques but the key to success is knowing which to use and when. Interested in deeper dive on how to apply these and other best practices in your selling situation? Pick up a copy: https://lnkd.in/g9h3AHF5   #P3selling #b2bsales #solutionselling #salesstrategies #salesenablement #sales

🤔 Is your sales process a well-oiled machine or a day-by-day gamble? A solid sales process is essential to drive profit and growth for your business. A structured sales funnel can bring in a steady stream of customers who need your products, saving you from the exhausting cold calls for that one “maybe.” 🛒 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹? A sales funnel maps a customer’s journey from brand discovery to purchase, sorting potential customers along the way, saving time and effort. Imagine selling wedding gowns: the funnel captures all retailers looking for bridalwear, then filters based on specific needs—ensuring targeted, efficient sales efforts. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀? Sales funnels remove the guesswork from your sales process. They help you identify where potential customers drop off, allowing you to optimize and streamline the processes. Instead of relying on luck, you can control your sales flow, refine your strategy, boost efficiency, and reduce costs. 🚀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 1. Determine your ideal customers, those who benefit most from your product and can build loyalty. 2. Identify where you can reach these customers to interest them in your solution. 3. Understand their main pain points and position your product as the right solution. 4. Build excitement to convince prospects that your product meets their needs perfectly. 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 Mistakes are part of the process. If leads aren’t converting, take some time to re-evaluate your approach. Test new strategies, refine your messaging, and keep optimizing. 🌟 Bottom line: A well-crafted sales funnel transforms your sales process, driving consistent growth. Start building and refining your funnels today for predictable success. Learn more here: https://ow.ly/5rzi50RWrmi #B2B #B2BeCommerce #B2BSales #WholesaleBusiness #B2BSalesTips

"The B2B buying process is changing." You've probably heard this phrase a lot recently. But what does it mean? It means your prospects are a lot more prepared now before they speak with you about your product. According to Forrester Research, 80% of the prospect's buying process is done before they speak to your sales rep. They're buying on their timeline, not yours. Gone are the days where you have a stringent sales process that you force prospects into because that's the best way to "shorten the sales cycle" for your product. Kiss that good bye. You're now selling according to your prospect's timeline, not yours. It's requiring sales leaders to shift their thinking. Traditionally, sales people have been trained to "control the deal" and make the prospect follow their timeline. The challenge now is for sales leaders to train their reps to follow the prospect's timeline, and it means forgetting about controlling anything. We must now relinquish control of the buying cycle to the people who are buying. They're smarter now. They're more prepared before they talk to us. That means now more than ever we have to focus on illuminating the issues they face. It makes asking deeper questions that more important. And it requires sales people to not be a control freak and give power to the buyer. Ultimately, sales people have to trust that what they're providing is the solution and act as a facilitator to the purchase. Yes, their are tactics you can do to move up the sale, but pressing too much on that button, now more than ever, has the potential to shut down the sale and make the prospect move on to another solution. Putting the full court pressure is an annoying and outdated approach to selling. Sitting back and trusting your buyer and your solution will now go a long way. I have an example of this new approach coming up in my next post. Until then, happy selling! #sales

B2B Selling is Not All About Logical Decisions Recently I read an article that talked about how you need to understand the mentality and emotions of how buyers make purchasing decisions…. but only when you are talking about consumers. The author stated that business purchases are made with logic only.   I totally disagree!   We might like to think we make logical decisions at home and at work, but anyone who’s ever worked with an ego-driven boss, in a team with two factions that don’t get on or have themselves stated that they just ‘know’ something to be right, will know that’s not entirely true!   From FOMO (fear of missing out) to career progression - whether you are creating your ideal customer persona, developing your marketing messaging, updating your website, or briefing your sales team - don’t forget to think about the personal drivers of the people you are trying to persuade.   Read my blog to see the personal drivers you might want to think about when positioning your offering: https://lnkd.in/gGQCikmK   As always, I'd love to hear what's working (or not) for you, so drop your comments or insights below or DM me! #B2B #B2Bsales #marketingstrategy #sales

Ever thought sales is all about preference and “who’s better at what”? Well, not really. This week has been a positive whirlwind at Jobbatical, with several big clients – major players in their respective fields – giving us their thumbs up and signing up for our services. 🌟 So I had a fascinating chat with our new CRO, Frederik Ballon, who shared a fresh perspective: 🔷 Sales isn't about preference; it is about recognizing value. In the B2B world, preference takes a back seat. Unlike consumer sales, where emotional appeal and brand loyalty can heavily influence choices, B2B deals are different. Decision-makers are not just choosing a product or service; they're selecting a partner who will impact their bottom line, operational efficiency, and even their market reputation. What really matters is how you present your value. It's about making it so compelling that the client recognizes the value you bring and the decision to go with your solution becomes a no-brainer for the client. So, how did we win over these big clients? We made it crystal clear how Jobbatical could add value to their operations, making their decision to choose us straightforward. To sum up – sales is not a game of preference; it's a strategic play to guide your clients to recognize the value you will bring to them. Thanks for reminding me of that, Frederik! 🙌🏼

Go to market is still the foundation for the sales growth.