Today’s B2B buyers operate differently than they did a decade ago. They are more independent, conduct extensive research, and rely heavily on peer networks before ever speaking to a sales representative. The critical question for companies to address is whether the buying experience your company delivers is aligned with is the way modern buyers want to engage.
B2B buyers no longer wait for a sales pitch to explore their options. They research independently and often form impressions of a company long before engaging with a sales representative. This shift has made social selling a critical component of modern business development. Yet sales and marketing teams often spend resources on flooding feeds instead of building trust and nurturing relationships. This approach can lead to strained credibility and prospects who tune out.
It’s a familiar story in B2B: a well-qualified lead comes in, conversations start strong, and then the process drags. More meetings. New decision-makers join the mix. Another follow-up. A revised proposal. All separated by stretches of silence. Eventually, the deal closes later than anticipated, turns into a disappointing “no,” or fizzles into oblivion. In B2B, long sales cycles are often considered an unavoidable cost of doing business. They may stem from buyer indecision, large buyer committees, organizational red tape, or budget constraints. The potential client, however, is not always to blame. Sometimes the friction comes from the seller, resulting from misalignment, missing information, or a buying experience that creates more questions than answers.
Cold calls have long been a staple of sales. In some cases, calling on prospects who have not had any interaction with your organization can generate direct, real-time conversations, but those calls come with the downside of being intrusive to the recipient. Meanwhile, cold emails provide scalability and flexibility but risk being ignored. Which approach drives better results? The truth lies in using both methods strategically.
The B2B sales journey is complex, typically involving multiple small decisions about your brand that lead to a decision to purchase. According to Roy Chitwood, late author of World Class Selling: The Science of Selling and president of global sales training firm Max Sacks International, there are five key impressions that impact B2B decision-making, even if the prospect is not aware of them. By understanding the decisions buyers make throughout their journey, marketers can take strategic actions that meet the needs of today’s B2B buyer.
Social media continues to be a leading source of information, connection and promotion for B2B and B2C companies. These platforms create one of the most accessible routes to link companies with their target markets. Using social media does not necessarily mean a company has social selling acumen or a strategy for social selling. Social selling is the process of using social media to connect and engage with existing and prospective customers.
While sales and marketing functions are different, the two teams share a common goal: to present products and services in a way that creates new customers and keeps existing customers coming back for more. In his Track Selling System, master trainer Roy E. Chitwood taught salespeople (and marketers) what he believed was a scientific approach to selling (and marketing). It included seven steps in the sales process, five buying decisions and six universal buying motives.
Business leaders have discussed the differences and similarities between sales and marketing for years. Too often, the conversation ends there, without any clear and actionable takeaways. Yet, there are many insights to be gained that can lead to better sales results, deeper understandings of one another’s needs, and more camaraderie, collaboration and engagement. This process is known as sales enablement.
Generating quality and consistent leads is a priority for most businesses. As communication platforms grow and change and as customer preferences and new marketplaces emerge, business trends shift. For marketers to effectively create, implement and evaluate lead generation programs, they need to understand and leverage the latest statistics, research and trends.
Since the onset of the pandemic, social media use has surged significantly. In particular, LinkedIn has seen record growth in the past several months. Originally launched as an online job and career board in 2003, the platform has transformed into a rich social network. Today, professionals around the world connect about careers, company and industry-related
Trade Press Services had the pleasure of speaking with John Golden, chief strategy and marketing officer of Pipeliner CRM and publisher of Sales POP! Magazine blog. Golden is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. In a time when connecting digitally is increasingly important, we appreciate his insights and expertise on social selling.
How do buyers make purchase decisions? If more salespeople understood the answer to this important question, sales productivity would increase. To begin, recognize there is an emotional and logical component to every buying decision. The emotional component has to do with two factors: 1) Does the buyer like the salesperson? and 2) Does the buyer trust the company and the brand? The logical component represents how buyers think.
Some suggest that telemarketing is dead. Some research indicates that a mere one percent of cold calls ultimately convert into appointments. But at the same time, other research shows that 78% percent of decision-makers have taken an appointment or attended an event because of an email or cold call. Why the discrepancy? The issue isn’t whether or not cold calling is an effective marketing strategy. Instead, it’s about knowing how to execute telemarketing initiatives that effectively reach and influence potential customers.
Dealing with rejection is a reality in sales and marketing. Fortunately, rejection isn’t always negative. It provides professionals with an opportunity to set themselves apart from the crowd. They can analyze their roles as knowledgeable resources, use the time to learn more about their prospects and themselves and create a competitive edge to help them with future success. Help your sales and marketing personnel better respond to no by considering the underlying meaning, motivation and reasons why these responses occur.
It’s true that corporate revenue is dependent on monetized customer transactions that result from sales efforts and activity. However, the quality, strength, consistency and implementation of a comprehensive marketing strategy is the backbone of the sales organization. Marketing creates interest, identifies marketplace needs, outlines a competitive differential and positions the company as a viable solutions provider.
Too many people think sales and marketing are the same thing. They aren’t. Often, there’s no collaboration between the two. In some organizations, there might be a sales executive who heads up marketing. In other companies, you’ll find a marketing executive who is also responsible for business development. To complicate it further, there are companies that
Is there a magic formula for shortening the sales cycle? Unfortunately, the answer is no. But there are some tried-and-true techniques that can help improve the time it takes to close a sale. After finding qualified prospects, use these to help prospects discover how your products or services assist them solve problems or become more
In order to manage the sales cycle, it’s important to know who the best prospects are for a company’s products or services. Calling on the wrong company or the wrong person at a qualified company squanders time and delays closing the sale. That’s why defining the right target markets and creating customer profiles are important
