7 B2B Sales Strategy Techniques to Control the Sales Process

It's the feeling that every sales person and entrepreneur absolutely despises: The feeling of being out of control.

Not only does everyone hate it, but it also crushes potential to close deals and ignite business growth.

But, the great news is that, if you’re currently feeling out of control, it doesn't have to be that way forever!

You can lose the feeling by using the right techniques in your B2B sales strategy!

By that, we mean the kinds of techniques that put the power back in your hands so that you no longer have the feeling that you are at the mercy of your prospects or other circumstances.

The truth is that, if you currently feel out of control, the problem is that you’re not using the right techniques.    But thankfully, you are in control of what techniques you use,  so you are ultimately in control of the trajectory of your sales success!

With that being said, we're sharing 7 of the top B2B sales strategy techniques to help boost your control over the sales process.

Infiltrate your strategy with these techniques, and you will both lose that out of control feeling and immediately increase the number of deals you make. 

Your ability to control the sales process is in your control.  It's a simple matter of which techniques you choose to put in your strategy.

What Are B2B Sales Strategies?

A B2B sales strategy is a plan for positioning your company's product or service in the market against its competitors.  That way, you can reach your sales goals.

Moreover, the strategy highlights your company's unique value proposition so that you stand out in the market.

Sales strategies make use of different sales techniques.  Techniques describe the way in which you carry out your strategy.

Much of the success of your sales strategy is determined by the techniques that you use.

Why?

Because, techniques impact the amount of control you have over the sales process.  You can use techniques that give the prospect the reins or keep them in your hands.

Whosever hands you chose to put them in will ultimately determine whether or not your prospect's make a purchasing decision in your favor!

Therefore, if you want to reach your sales goals, pay extra attention to which techniques you use in your strategy.

How Do You Succeed in B2B Sales?

Like we mentioned above, the techniques that you use in your strategy are of the utmost importance to your success in B2B sales.  Because, techniques affect the level of control you hold over the sales process.

With that being said, let's cut to the chase: Your success in B2B sales is determined by how much control you hold over the sales process!  Plain and simple.

The greater control you have, the more likely you are to get the deal closed in your favor.

Let the prospect take control of the situation, and you're asking for a disaster.

Now, you might be saying to yourself... Isn't being controlling a negative thing?

Straight-up: No. Being in control over the sales process is ultimately good for you and for the prospect!

Think of it like this... If you know that your product or service is amazing and will help solve people's problems, it's your job to get it out to them!  But, how are you going to get it in front of them and show them that it's the answer to their problems if you aren't in control of the situation?

As long as you believe in the power of your product or service to solve problems, then there is no shame in being in control.

In fact, if you aren't in control, then your prospects will never get their problems solved and you will never close any deals (not to mention that you’ll also have a headache from feeling completely helpless).

Furthermore, if you want to succeed in B2B sales, then you have to use techniques that increase your control!  In the end, everyone benefits from you running the show.

7 Sales Strategy Techniques That Help You Control the Sales Process

Losing control over the sales process has two detrimental effects:

1. Decreases the odds that sales reps close deals
2. Makes the sales process painful for both the sales rep and prospects

We can't say it loud enough: If you want to close out your sales processes with more signatures on dotted lines and fewer headaches, then you need to increase your control!

The good news is that you hold 100% of the power necessary to gain control.  It's just a matter of using the right techniques.

Here are 7 B2B sales strategy techniques that you must integrate into your sales process if you want to up your control!

1. Be Extremely Precise With Lead Generation

The first major step in the B2B sales process is filling your sales pipeline with qualified leads.

It's about deciding who your ideal customer is, why they're your ideal customer, and how you can capture their interest to eventually convert them into paying customers.

It's about drawing a picture of an ideal customer in your target market, and figuring out a sales and marketing strategy to capture their attention.

Believe it or not, but if you don't get this first step right, it will be very challenging to exercise any control over the sales process later down the road. 

By getting this step right, we mean by being extremely precise with determining who your perfect prospect is.

Why?

Think of it like this: Your qualified leads are your potential customers.  And, your job as a salesperson is to serve your customers by solving their pain points.  If you don't generate the right customers who's pain points you are fit to solve, then you've missed the point of sales and your entire sales process will eventually collapse.  Because, it’s impossible to control a sale with a customer who’s problems you aren’t fit to solve!

Furthermore, generating the right leads early on ensures that you are perfectly fit to solve your prospect's problems.

When you are confident that you are capable of helping them, it gets simpler, both tactically and psychologically, to control the rest of the sales process.

Therefore, get together with your sales and marketing teams to put together a profile of your target customer.

By doing so, you pave the way for an overall more controllable sales process.

While it might cut down on the number of leads you generate, it ensures that the leads you do generate will be easier to close on at the end of the sales cycle.

2. Use An Assertive Outreach Approach

To put it simply: If you aren't using an assertive sales outreach approach, then don't expect to be in control of the sales process.

You can still use your typical outreach tactics like cold calling and emailing, but you absolutely must take an assertive approach when you're on the phone or coming up with your email campaign. 

Your assertiveness is perhaps your most powerful sales tool of all.  You can have the most perfect cold calling or emailing script, but if you don't take an assertive approach to keep the prospect in line, then forget about it!

But, what exactly do we mean by an assertive approach with outreach?

We will give you an example: One of the most effective tactics for cold emailing is sending a 1-minute video of yourself along with the typed message.

In that video, you explain to your prospect that you see a problem in their business that you know you can help them solve.  Then, you offer to show them what that problem is and how it can be fixed IF they agree to jump on a short sales call with you!

We like to call this tactic... Giving Your Prospects FaceTime!

What makes this assertive tactic so effective?

For starters, letting the prospect know that you've found some dirt on their company creates a sense of urgency in their mind.

They don't like the fact that you've spotted one of their pain points!  Therefore, they're more likely to respond to your message.

Second and most importantly, sending a video of your face makes it harder for a prospect to ignore you.

Forced to look you in the eye, they have a harder time closing the video and walking away.  Simply showing your face can be the thing that makes them respond to you!

In conclusion, we encourage you to stick to the classic outreach tactics like cold calling and emailing.  But, take an assertive approach with them by doing things like sending a video of yourself along with the cold email.

3. Talk Less, Listen More! (Ask Questions)

Believe it or not, but the more you talk during a sales pitch or sales call, the less control you have over the sales and buying process.

This completely contradicts our human instinct to talk more when we want to dominate a situation.

However, our instincts are incorrect!

Here's the thing: In order to control the sales process, you need to have the clearest possible picture of your B2B customer's needs.  That includes what their pain points are and how they want them solved.

And, it's really hard to know what those needs are if you are constantly talking!

Therefore, you need to flip the switch and get your prospects to do most of the talking.  By doing so, they will vomit out valuable information about themselves that will help you control the sales process.

Perhaps the best way to turn the tables over to your B2B companies and get them talking is by asking questions!

The truth is that the humble question is one of the most effective sales tools in the tool box.

Not only do questions help you gather the information you need to solve your prospect's problems, but it makes the prospect feel like they can trust you.

By asking them questions, they feel you value them.  And, the more valued they feel, the more likely they are to place their trust in you.

With their trust in your hands, you have an easier time controlling the sales process. 

That being said, stop talking and start listening!  Ask questions and then listen attentively.

By doing so, you will gather all the necessary information on the prospect's needs and establish a sense of trust in them.

With greater information and trust, the greater control you have over the process!

4. Take Advantage of Your Prospect’s Psychology

Every human likes to think that they are a highly logical individual.  But, the truth is that humans are the opposite of logical.

In fact, human brains are quite scattered and difficult to control!  We like to refer to this as the monkey mind.

This fact can either be an advantage or disadvantage in sales.

In terms of being a disadvantage, it's quite clear why it would be one.  If you can't keep your potential buyer's monkey mind focused on making a buying decision, then it's nearly impossible for you to make the sale.

On the flip side, you can use that monkey mind to your advantage by harnessing the simplicity of it to reel in your prospective customers and gain control of their psychology!

The way to do that is by using psychological sales tactics.

In short: Psychological tactics turn the disordered human brain that can't focus into an asset for B2B sales teams.  The tactics take advantage of the fact that the monkey mind needs simplicity to stay focused.

How is that possible?

Think of it like this: If you have a monkey in front of you, you probably can't grab their attention with a rock.  But, you can grab their attention and make yourself irresistible with a simple banana.  

So, the key to grabbing your prospect’s monkey mind attention is by taking advantage of their instinctive psychology to control their decision making!

Moreover, the key to using psychological tactics is by taking advantage of the simple fact that the human brain needs simple, straightforward stimuli to fulfill its needs.  If you can fulfill those needs, then you can control the decisions they make.

Make sense?

Take back control of the sales process by using the human monkey mind to your advantage!

5. Use Your Prospect’s Emotions to Your Advantage

Not only should you take advantage of the scattered human monkey mind to control the sales process, but you should also take advantage of the emotional nature of the human brain!

Just like how humans like to think that they are highly logical, we also like to think that we can keep a cap on our emotions.

But, the truth is that the majority of the purchasing decisions we make in life are motivated by purely emotions!

Sales reps can use this to their advantage by selling their products and services to fulfill their B2B buyer's emotions, not their logic.

Facts tell.  Emotions sell!

While it is important for your potential customers to have all the facts on your product or service, they aren't what make a sale in the end.

For example, if you are a car salesperson, you would start the sales process by asking questions to gather information on your potential buyer's needs.  Then, you would take them to see cars that fit those needs.  After showing them cars that check the need boxes, you would close on them by hyping up their emotions!

Rather than saying things like, "And it gets 35 mpg, which is good for the environment!", you would say things like, "Driving this car really gives you a feel-awesome sense that you're being good to the environment." 

See how the second statement aims to hit the prospect's emotional desire to look environmentally conscious?

Just like the car salesperson, you should identify the emotional needs of your customer base and then close them on those needs!

By doing so, you control their emotions which motivate their buying decisions.

​To put it simply: Controlling the prospect's emotions is perhaps the most sure-fire way to control the entire sales process.

Therefore, if you cater to the fact that your prospects buy based on emotions, then you stay in control of the process!

6. Work With the Decision-Makers

What if there was a way to have greater control over the business-to-business sales process AND speed up the time it takes to get to a closed deal?

The truth is that there is a way!  And, it's very simple.

What you need to do is connect with the person doing the decision-making at your prospect company.

These decision-makers, or stakeholders, are the ones with the authority to make a purchasing decision at the prospect company.

Believe it or not, but many sales reps go through the entire sales process without speaking directly with the decision-makers.

As a result, they make it to the final sales pitch, put the deal down on the table, and then they get hit with a "We will get back to you" or "We need to talk before we say yes".

Being left in the dust like that makes the sales rep feel out of control to say the least.

You can easily avoid this scenario if you connect with the B2B buyer company's top decision-makers early on in the sales cycle.

By doing so, you save yourself from potentially losing all of your control right at the very end!

It's a simple tactic that can make all the difference in your ability to control the sale.

7. Build Relationships With Your B2B Customers

Here's the thing: B2B sales isn't as serious as some salespeople make it out to be.

Don't get us wrong: It's an important situation!  But, your sales approach can't be too serious.

Why?

Because taking things too seriously damages your ability to form customer relationships with your existing customers.  And, building relationships with your current customers is key to gaining control over the sales process!

​Again, why?

The truth is that for many B2B companies, a majority of their sales come from referrals, thanks to their existing customers!

With that being said, you can gain control and security over the sales process if you focus on giving your existing customers the best possible buyer's journey so that they refer you to others!

Strong B2B relationships = sales security = an increased sense of control.

Therefore, get together with your sales team and work on building a customer-centric culture.  Some day-to-day things you can do to work on that include:

• Always answering customer follow-up questions in a timely manner
• Connecting with prospects on social media, particularly LinkedIn, to form a more personal connection
• Simply injecting joy into the process of solving the customer's pain points!

The little things that you do on a regular basis to boost relationships will increase the odds that your existing customers refer you to others.

With more potential customers on your plate, you get a full sales funnel that increases your long-term security in sales.

In short: If you want more control... Then build up your existing customer relationships!

Final Thoughts on Techniques to Control the Sales Process (& Close Deals)

Tried of feeling out of control all the time?

Boom.

Infect your B2B sales strategy with techniques that boost your control over the sales process.

Not only will you lose that dreaded out of control feeling that every sales rep truly despises, but you'll also end up with more closed deals.

If you hate the feeling of being out of control, know that the solution is in your hands.  You alone have what it takes to get back control and become the most successful version of yourself.