Are you ready to up your B2B selling game but haven't yet found the right advice yet on how to take things to the next level?
Good news: You’ve finally found what you’re looking for!
We're sharing 15 B2B sales tips that every up-and-coming sales pro needs to know if they want to reach their full potential.
Think that these tips are the same old jargon that most people are currently preaching on the internet?
Well, consider this... The people who have put these exact same tips to use after going through our Deal Flow Accelerator program have made more than $26 million in sales as a direct result!
The proof is in the pudding.
With that said, here are 15 B2B sales tips that every high-performing sales rep uses to close out more deals in less time (and with less stress)!
Here Is How to Be Good at B2B Sales
Is there a main skill required for B2B sales success?
In short: Yes.
But, it's less of a skill and more of a technique.
And, that technique is simplification.
What makes a sales rep that has so much potential lose out on that potential? Simple... Overcomplicating their sales strategy!
The harder and more complex you try to make things, the less success you will have in B2B sales.
Therefore, each of the 15 tips below are intended to help you simplify your sales process. If you use these tips, you won't end up feeling like you're jumping through hoops trying to close deals. And, most importantly, you will see greater results.
If you want to be good at B2B sales, then quit making things harder than what they need to be.
B2B sales is challenging, but that doesn't mean it is difficult. That is, unless you make it that way.
Here Are 15 Tips to Master B2B Sales
Now without further ado, here are 15 tips that up-and-coming sales professionals can use to reach the heights of their potential.
Regardless of how experienced you are, anyone can use these tips to ignite their sales career.
And, the best part is that each of them is simple enough to start working on right away.
Follow these 15 tips to become the most effective B2B sales professional possible!
1. Believe In Your Solution
Here's something fun that you can do in your free time: Open a new tab in your search engine and look up 'least trusted professions'.
Or better yet, we can summarize right here what you would find... Among the least trusted professions, you'll find journalists, lawyers, members of congress, and salespeople.
It doesn't take a genius to understand why many people consider sales reps to be wildly untrustworthy.
When you consider how often people make purchasing decisions because they feel forced into it, or have had a sales rep lie straight to their face, there is no shock at all.
The real question here is… Why do so many salespeople put pressure on or mislead their potential customers in the first place?
They do so because they don't believe in the quality of their product or service. They don't think that it's really all that good, so they feel like they need to force things in order to close a deal.
With that said, if you want to be successful in sales, you need to believe in the solution that your product or service has to offer. You need to be so convinced that it is good that you would 100% buy it if you were in your prospect's shoes.
If you don't, not only will your prospects see you as untrustworthy, but you would be doing something completely immoral.
How would you like it if someone tried to force a sale upon you and then take your money knowing that the product or service sucks?
Furthermore, before even jumping into the sales cycle, you must fully believe that your product or service’s solution is excellent! Otherwise, you will sink to the level of the notorious used car salesperson.
2. Shorten-Up Your Sales Cycle
There is a common misconception that the B2B sales cycle should be extremely long and drawn-out. For example, many salespeople believe that the average sales cycle should take several months to complete.
However, that misconception must be broken! And, it's important to keep in mind that, just because something is average doesn't mean that it is normal or right.
When you approach B2B sales, know that it doesn't need to take several months to go through a full cycle. In fact, a healthy cycle should only take a matter of weeks to complete.
Therefore, when you kick off your sales cycle with lead generation, make sure that you have everything you need prepped for the next step in the process. That way, you can shorten up the time in between phases of the cycle.
Think of it this way: The shorter your sales cycle, the sooner your prospects get to solving their problems.
3. Focus Only on Quality Qualified Leads
For many sales reps, filling their sales pipeline with qualified leads is the most painful part of the entire sales process.
Thankfully, you can avoid this pain if you focus solely on gathering high-quality, qualified leads. By high-quality, we mean prospects that fit your ideal prospect profile.
Also known as an ideal customer profile, the ideal prospect profile is a drawn-out picture of what a perfect prospect in your target market looks like.
Where the problem comes in is when B2B salespeople aren't specific enough on who their ideal prospect is because they want to gather as many leads as possible.
As a result, they get a lot of names on their list, but their sales funnel ends up compiled with a bunch of people who are bound to say 'no' right off the bat.
Therefore, at the early stages of the lead generation process, you should focus only on high-quality leads that fit your ideal prospect profile.
While it will certainly reduce the number of leads on your list, it will also reduce the odds that you are immediately slammed with dozens of 'no's'. Even better, it will save you a lot of time when it comes to cold calling and emailing!
Do yourself a favor and don't go crazy trying to make a long lead list just for the sake of it. Save your future self a lot of rejection down the road by only focusing on the best of all leads.
4. Let Leads Come to You
Is there anything better in sales than having a prospect knock on your door, instead of you having to go find them?
Probably not!
Want in on these organic leads that come to you first? Simple.
Set aside 10 minutes of your time everyday to employ inbound marketing tactics. Specifically, take time to write a short post on your social media everyday.
But, what is the most effective way to use social media to get prospects to come to you?
Perhaps the best social media marketing tactic is to share one of your current customer’s success stories on LinkedIn. You can do this in one of two ways:
- Write a short post about the success your client is having working with you
- Share your client's content and write a caption about the success they are having
First off, take one minute to share with your network the success that your current client is having working with you. This method employs social proof, one of the most effective sales psychology tactics in existence.
When others in your network see the success that someone else has working with you, they will be much more inclined to reach out to you for help or refer someone else to work with you.
Second, when you share your client's content, it's a way of showing both them and your potential customers that you care about their success.
And, when you show that you care, you show that you are capable of building strong relationships with your clients. As a result, others inside and outside of your network will be more inclined to work with you.
All it takes is 1 minute per day to take advantage of these excellent inbound marketing tactics. You would be crazy not to do them!
5. Shift to a Service-Oriented Mindset
Mindset is something that we talk about a lot here on the Business Growth Insider. Because, all results that manifest on the outside begin on the inside.
With that said, what is the best possible mindset that you can have to manifest the best results on the outside?
In short: A service-oriented mindset is the best mindset to have if you want to achieve the heights of success. All BOLD CEOs are service-oriented.
Truthfully, sales is equal to service.
Think about it... You have someone who has a problem in their business, and you, the sales rep, set out to help them solve it. Not only that, but you make them feel great in the process!
Sales = service.
Therefore, your entire B2B sales approach should be all about providing the best possible customer service. If you can do that, then you have accomplished the most important thing that a sales rep can.
Never underestimate the importance of having the right mindset in sales! It is the difference between a successful sales rep, and someone who never even gets their feet off the floor.
6. Discover Their Pain Points
Going off of having a service-oriented mindset, let's take things one step further.
How do you know how to best serve a B2B client? Simple... You need to discover what their biggest problems are! Those problems are better known as their pain points.
Discover and then serve - that's all your job is as a salesperson!
How do you discover the prospect's pain points? There are two ways of doing so, including:
- Asking the right questions
- Letting the answers slip out of the prospect's mouth
First off, the most obvious way to figure out what a prospect's problems are is to simply ask them what they are. However, asking effective questions in sales is often easier said than done.
Many B2B salespeople ask overcomplicated questions, or ones that back prospects into a corner and make them feel uncomfortable.
Your job then is to ask prospects direct questions in a way that makes them feel the most comfortable.
For example, can’t you see how a salesperson asking the question, "Do you know what's wrong with your business?" is very direct but almost sounds like it could be taken out of context as offensive?
Moreover, ask direct questions but be sure to phrase them and say them in a way that is lighthearted!
Second, there is a way to get prospects to, essentially, barf out all their problems organically without you ever having to ask many questions at all.
To learn how to do that, you'll need to read up on sales negotiation tactics! In our guide to sales negotiation, we uncover key ways that you can get prospects to barf out all their problems without you having to do much at all!
If you want to be a top notch salesperson, getting to those pain points is of the utmost importance. If you can't get to them, then it will be nearly impossible to close deals.
7. Go Beyond Just Surface Level Pain Points
Ask yourself this question: How many times have you been talking with a friend and they were telling you about their problems? As they were explaining their issues, you knew that they were missing a key part of the problem. For example, they were saying to you that they have a problem with procrastination. But you knew very well that what’s causing that issue is their lack of priorities?
Moreover, how many times have you been in a situation in which someone was telling you about their issues, but was only addressing those on the surface and not at the core?
Not only is this common in life, but it's also very common in B2B sales: So many salespeople think they know what their prospect’s pain points are, but the truth is that they’re only hitting those on the surface.
Therefore, when working to uncover your prospect's pain points, be sure to dig beneath the surface. Ask yourself whether or not the points you are hitting are at the root of their issues. Or, are you merely scratching the surface?
In short: Dig deeper with your prospects! Just like every other person on earth, B2B buyers are complex and multilayered individuals.
Don’t assume that your prospects are telling you their root or core problems until you’ve done some digging!
8. Understand Their Perspective
Serving prospects is about more than just giving them a product or service that solves their problems and then walking away. If that were the case, then there would be no such departments devoted entirely to customer experience or service.
With that said, in the process of delivering a solution to your prospects, you need to focus on more than just giving them a product or service. In addition to that, you also need to help revive their emotions.
Think of it this way... When prospects have a clear problem in their business, they're most likely stressed, frustrated, or worried to some degree.
Therefore, you also need to work to alleviate those emotional challenges.
The most effective way to do that is to develop empathy by seeing the issue from their perspective. Literally imagine yourself in their shoes and how you would react if you were experiencing their problems.
With empathy, you're able to respond to the prospect's emotional needs just as much as the needs they have with their business. If you can do both, then consider yourself as the best kind of salesperson.
9. Don’t Be a Robot
Too many sales professionals are under the assumption that business-to-business sales is strictly business.
They think that, in order to be the best salesperson possible, they need to be stern, stoic, and statuesque.
But, once again, put yourself in your prospect's shoes... Do you think that they want to work with a personality-less robot, or a genuine person who is fun to be around? If you didn't choose the second option, then you are just fooling yourself!
With that said, don't be afraid to show off your true personality throughout the buying process!
Having a personality is so important because, when prospects are choosing someone to help solve their problems, they're not just looking for someone with the best deliverable. They're also looking for someone who they think they can develop a solid supplier-customer relationship with.
And, it's really hard to form a relationship with a robot!
Therefore, don't be so serious. B2B buyers want to get to know the real you, not the fake persona that you put on during the sales process.
Do you want to be known as the robot sales rep, or the likable person who is their authentic self AND closes deals in the process?
10. Go to The Decision-Makers
Want a full-proof B2B sales technique that will shorten-up the sales cycle and make things easier on both you and your B2B customers?
Instead of connecting with, making phone calls, and doing your sales pitches with people who aren't the head decision-makers, connect with the head stakeholders at the B2B prospect company right off the bat!
Believe it or not, but there are many sales professionals who make their way through the entire sales process, only to realize at the very end that they have been talking with people who have zero authority over making buying decisions.
Then when they do find out that they haven't been talking to those with that authority, they have to backtrack to connect with them, and then practically re-do the entire process!
Save yourself the time and energy by connecting with the people in charge of the decision-making right away.
The sooner you can connect with them, the smoother your sales process will go.
11. Use Outreach Techniques That Actually Work
Do you feel like you and your sales team are putting tons of work into your sales process but aren't seeing the results to reflect it? Perhaps a better way of putting it is… You feel like you're spinning your wheels but going absolutely nowhere?
If so, that feeling is extremely frustrating to say the least. But, if you are currently experiencing it, just know that you are not alone AND you don't need to feel that way forever.
With that said, the way to get out of that useless sales process is to employ outreach techniques that actually work.
We're not saying to stop making cold sales phone calls or emails, but we are saying that, if you follow the exact same script as everyone else, you'll get the same results as them. Which is unfortunate because so many salespeople never get beyond mediocre results.
The types of outreach techniques that actually work are those that are the most direct.
For example, perhaps the most effective outreach technique to get your prospects to respond to you is sending them a video of yourself along with your cold email. In that video, you explain to them that you know some valuable information on their business that you think they ought to know!
What makes this technique so effective?
First off, a prospect is more likely to open an email with a video because it's unusual to see something like that. Second, if you tell the prospect that you have some information on them that they don't even know about, that creates a sense of urgency. Third, sending a video takes a lot of guts, and prospects will respect the heck out of you for doing it!
Furthermore, while you should stick to core sales techniques like cold calling and emailing, don't think that using run-of-the mill tactics that everyone else is using is going to do you any good.
12. Don’t Waste Your Time With Sub-Par Automation
Going off of using outreach techniques that actually work, don't waste your time writing up mediocre automated emails that get blasted out every single day via your crm.
While you shouldn't completely ignore the power of automation, don't think for a second that it is the secret sauce to sales success.
In sales... Pounding prospects with low-quality messages everyday isn't going to do anything but make your prospects think you are annoying.
Moreover, sales outreach success is based on quality. And, unfortunately, most automated messages are low-quality.
Therefore, if you are going to use automation, then you can't neglect the quality of that automation. Otherwise, your actions will have an adverse effect by making your prospects want to run away!
13. Keep Up the Follow-Up
Did you know that it takes an average of five outreach attempts before a prospect responds to a sales rep? And, that's just on average!
That means that in some cases, you could have a perfectly qualified prospect that takes six, seven, eight, or even more outreach attempts before they even pick up the phone and dial back or respond to your email.
With that said, you don't need us to tell you that following-up with your prospects is of the utmost importance to your success.
You want to land the deal? Then you need to be consistent with quality follow-up messages!
And, don't for a second think that you are bothering the prospect. As long as you believe that you have something of value to add to their life, then you are in the green!
Bottom line: You can't have success unless you are persistent.
14. You Can Be Helpful Without Negotiating
One of the biggest challenges that up-and-coming B2B sales pros make is undervaluing themselves and their solution.
As a result, they open themselves up to negotiating their price tag for less than what it’s worth.
While you might think that negotiating is a good thing, what you might not know is that it actually cheapens you and your product or service. It's an indirect way of saying "Oh yeah, my solution and I aren't as valuable as I said we were, so I'm willing to cheapen things.".
Negotiating your price point might help the prospect out in the moment, but it will make you look cheap AND lead to an unequal relationship between you and the prospect in the end.
If your prospect truly can't afford your price tag, you can certainly help them out by coming up with a payment schedule or asking for some non-monetary compensation. But, don't offer to lower your price!
Respect yourself and your solution by not acting cheap. You might think that it makes you a better sales rep, but it is actually the opposite.
15. Your Success = Your Customer’s Success
There is a reason why we use the term sales cycle... Because whatever you as the salesperson put into the sales process will ultimately circle around back to you.
Therefore, if you are going through the process with negative energy or a negative outlook, know that it’s only going to come back around to you. And, more likely than not, it will come in the form of poor results.
If you want to achieve the heights of success in your sales career, then you need to focus on the success of your customers.
Straight-up: Your customer's level of success comes back around and defines your own success.
So, before going any further, take a moment and ask yourself this question: “Are my intentions solely about helping my customers and their businesses become the absolute best versions of themself?”
If your answer to this is yes, then you have a bright future ahead in sales.
Final Thoughts on Top Tips for Up-And-Coming Sales Pros
Are you an up-and-coming sales pro who wants to achieve their full potential?
If so, just remember that B2B sales is simple as long as you don't overcomplicate it! And, the simpler techniques you use, the more successful you will be in the end.
Follow these 15 tips to become the most effective B2B sales professional possible!
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