B2B (Business to Business) sales, which are the exchange of services or products between companies, are growing year after year, both nationally and internationally. Especially the sale of digital products. In fact, according to Statista, in 2022 About 22% of Spanish companies made B2B and B2G (Business to Government) sales online through websites and applications. That was six points more than in 2021.
From Fundación Empresa y Sociedad they explain that business relationships between companies are characterized by being sales in which the buyer wants to create value for his company in four ways: sell more, spend less, reduce risks and valuable intangibles create.
Therefore, “Companies only buy what they need and the decision is made in multidisciplinary teams. That’s why B2B sales are very different from B2C sales, sales to the general public, where factors such as impulse purchases are very important. Increasing B2B sales opportunities requires empathy, listening, learning, imagination, speed, passion, energy… and skills“, Details Paco Abad, Co-founder and director of Foundation for Economy and Society.
Important recommendations for success in B2B sales
Based on their experience helping the entrepreneurial world develop, market and sell disruptive digital solutions for enterprises, the Business and Society Foundation offers ten key recommendations for success in B2B sales:
- Investigate. It is important to first find out everything we can about the company we want to sell to. This allows us to learn more about your needs, challenges and specific goals and find out who makes the decisions, making it easier to connect with the person actually making the purchases.
- Hear. During the first conversation it is important to listen to the customer. That is why the Fundación Empresa y Sociedad recommends that after the courtesy presentation we ask the customer what motivated him to receive us, what his needs are and why.
- Personalize. In B2B sales, it’s important to personalize the message and develop tailored sales arguments. In this sense, we must remember that the same product can be sold in very different ways, so we must choose the perspective that best suits the customer.
- Highlight your advantages. Explaining to the company the benefits and problems you will solve will help the customer correctly assess the benefits of your cooperation. Therefore, the speech should focus on how you help the customer, rather than the technical excellence of the product or service in the abstract.
- Stand out from the rest. The customer will get to know you better as you explain what sets you apart from your competition, what you solve, and what method you use. It is important to make it clear that your proposal is different and that your product and everything that surrounds it is not repeatable.
- Use success stories. Showing successful examples of your work will let the customer know that your solution works in environments similar to theirs and even in competitors. Having gone through demanding and similar selection processes is always a guarantee.
- be patient. B2B sales are complex and time-consuming as they are typically decided by multidisciplinary teams where not everyone agrees with the changes.
- Earn trust. It is important that the sale is viewed as a long-term relationship. To achieve this, it is important to build a relationship of trust and cooperation that shows that we can adapt to the customer’s future needs.
- Follow up. A positive follow-up must take place after the proposal has been submitted. This maintains momentum, shows interest and increases customer trust.
- Learn from selling. Every sales process is a process for the business growth process itself. This will help us think big and create a team, community and alliances that will benefit us in future sales.
This is the decalogue that the Business and Society Foundation shares with scaleups, young and digital startups that already have reference companies as customers and have therefore reached their business maturity.
Finally, remember that it will happen on October 3rd ScaleupsB2BdayThe best cases of disruptive digital solutions that come from the entrepreneurial world and are already being used successfully in companies are revealed here. An appointment at which the 25 best cases among the candidates are selected for the PRICESscaleupsB2B. An inspiring day with inspiring speakers and success stories in B2B sales.