How to increase B2B sales for your business in 2022?

Surya SK
January 12, 2022

Over time, B2B sales techniques have morphed and evolved drastically. While the process of sales has been much more direct and predictable in the past days, it has become way more complex and progressively more sophisticated, and less reliant on the salesperson's actions and behavior to produce results and showcase progress. 

The sales process was and is still not effortless, but meeting specific quotas has become a primary challenge, even for the most experienced sales development representatives. So, with the difficulties of running a business lurking in, how do you plan to boost your B2B sales to reap benefits for your business? What sales tactics do you use to increase B2B sales, what potential challenges can you face? We'll uncover them all below. 

Table of contents

What are the Challenges faced in sales by B2B businesses?

B2B organizations thrive in a different multitude of competitive environments where even minor errors can throw you off balance and take you to the back of the line in your industry. While there are plenty of hassles B2B companies can potentially face, here are a few challenges that B2B sales teams commonly deal with:

1. Drawing prospect's attention

One of the prime issues commonly faced by B2B sales development professionals is gaining their prospect's attention and potentially attracting them into the system. Endless emails, cold phone calls, and newsletters are common mediums of contacting potential leads, but let's be honest, for the most, nobody really pays attention to them. You may actually possess the right solution that your lead needs, expects, and is looking for but can still fall short of attracting their interest. The correct answer to pass this obstacle is for the sales teams to be more accurate and understand who their buyer is by exercising buyer personas. This provides sales reps space to move towards persona-targeted sales that gain traction towards the prospect you're having as a target.

Drawing prospect's attention

2. Losing touch with potential leads

If you're a salesperson who's been in this field for long, you have seen it often. There are always prospects who act intrigued and super hyped to launch the business at the beginning and then vanish out of nowhere for eternity. There could be several reasons: the prospect is not ready to move financially, or it could also be that you are not staying in touch without the prospect the way you should be. Losing the connection with potential leads is a challenge to overcome. The downright and straightforward solution to this challenge could be to maintain follow-ups that are more conversation-based rather than a sales pitch. It would be best if you aimed to provide your prospects some value every time you interchange a conversation with them. 

3. Generating a higher quantity of leads

In B2B sales, generating tons of leads is excellent. But, not that it isn't always an advantage to your business because quality is always better than quantity. Salespeople tend to get frustrated when they spend all their time trying to sell their product/service to someone who isn't really looking to buy or doesn't possess the capital to purchase your product or service. So, who is at the wrong end here? The Salespeople have to refine and sell their service to the right people instead of going after everyone. 

4. Post-pandemic hangover

The post-pandemic hangover has been brutal for everyone, and businesses specifically have taken a hit. While most organizations are still figuring out strategies to adapt to the current scenario, the post-pandemic hangover doesn't have to stop your business from making advancements. The key to passing this hurdle is to continue your campaign while also empathizing well with your customers. Salespeople should know how to get your compelling marketing message across to your customers and should possess empathy for the customers they are trying to sell their product/service to. Pretending like a challenge doesn't exist and avoiding the need to address it is not going to help. Make adjustments to your offers, pricing plans, and plan structures to facilitate customers to the best. 

5. Not standing out in the market

Competitors are present in all types of business and all domains of the world. Creating a distinct pattern for your business is absolutely needed to thrive in your field. In this day and age, it is pretty easy for your business to fade away and take a back seat when your business doesn't concentrate on offering the best value to the same target customers as your fellow competitors in your domain. Now, how you boost your B2B sales is another section to explore, and you'll find them as you read along. 

Not standing out in the market

The differences between B2C and B2B sales

The sales process of B2B differs mainly from the sales process of B2C. Both business models have different sales tactics that help them to sell to their specific audiences. Here are some of the critical disparities between B2B and B2C sales:

1. Transaction quantity

In general B2B transactions can be pretty significant and more expensive than B2C transactions. A B2C seller usually tries to sell one product to one user, but businesses typically buy wholesale with multiple units per transaction with much higher price tags.

2. Decision-making process

Unlike B2C, there is more than one decision-maker to get involved in the sales process. B2B sales representatives often have to get opinions from multiple people in the process of sales. Sometimes, many senior leaders in a company must sign off to allow the transaction to take replace. Whereas in B2C sales, typically, one or two people make decisions related to sales processes. 

Difference between b2c and b2b sales

3. Pricing tactics

B2B businesses and B2C businesses have varied pricing tactics and strategies. For the most, customers pay a price that is landed upon negotiation, or they have a specific payment meter depending on the B2B product or service they are paying for. For example, for the most, a Software as a service organization charges for their software based on the company size and the features that they expect and need. 

4. Payment procedure

The payment process is usually complex when it comes to B2B sales. In terms of B2C, do you need a product or a service? You pay for it, and you get it. It's as simple as that. That isn't exactly the case with B2B sales. The B2B customer pays when they are sent an invoice for the product or service once it is delivered or installed. 

5. Sales period

The B2B sales timeline is relatively longer than B2C. B2B companies don't typically view a lot of impulsive customers. Instead, B2B customers have a tendency to think long and make definite choices about their product/service purchases. New B2B customers often take up months to make a purchase.

Efficient ways to boost B2B sales

B2B sales require a different approach than B2C sales do. However, with the right strategies in place, B2B companies can thrive to their best. Below are ten B2B sales techniques to help boost B2B sales:

1. Take advantage of inbound marketing

Make use of inbound sales strategies to their best. Your sales team should lay down a well-structured process, content library, email sequences, templates, and set up customer relationship management to track progress with every potential lead. This way, the marketing team and sales team can work together to find the errors and voids throughout the entire sales process. This helps businesses obtain valuable information exchanged during sales emails and calls, thus helping to improvise wherever necessary.

2. Make use of demo videos

Videos are captivating and entertaining; they have a high return on investment; you have to understand that customers prefer watching a demo video of the product/service details and working instead of reading about it. Stats prove that videos boost the probability of closing a deal by 1.8 times. Client testimonial videos can also show a more exclusive approach to your business.

Make use of demo videos

3. Do your research!

Communicate and talk with existing clients to understand how they found your company, who referred it to them? What hassles were solved by your product/service? and why did they choose to associate with you? This is incredibly useful for lead generation purposes. Listen to feedback and opinions and turn their comments and challenges into consideration for future updates. This allows you to now know what will be helpful and needed in the simplest way possible as you heard it from one of your customers.

4. Use multiple mediums to generate traffic

As mentioned before, B2B sales usually depend on various people signing on a decision. Therefore, it is essential to target platforms where each of these individuals is most active. While social media can potentially attract visitors to your site, tactics like email marketing can result in higher engagement with boosted app downloads. Focusing on digital channels is excellent but is not enough. Making use of trade shows, industry events, networking events, and outbound initiatives can all be significant contributors to your overall B2B sales. 

5. Work according to your sales timeline

As B2B sales timelines take much longer to complete the process than B2C cycles, you need to plan your marketing and sales accordingly. Ensure you plan your sales timeline in a way that makes sure that your sales pipeline is being active around the clock. 

6. Cater to your clients individually

All organizations have customers that cater to various personas – each with a need of a different kind. Everybody has a separate module and need in sales, and giving out a similar structure to all your clients will not work today. Modern-day sales are about focusing on understanding every individual client's specific content needs and catering to them. Instead of just pitching your services, realize what your prospects need and cater to it. 

7. Use case studies as proof of successful clients

A study stated that 73% of B2B buyers made use of case studies to decide B2B purchasing. Case studies tend to serve as proof that your product/service can deliver outstanding value to your client's needs and that a potential collaboration can be successful for both parties. Therefore, if you hold the record of some successful partnerships you are proud of, showcase them and present them to your prospects.

8. Give prospects multiple means to communicate

Keep in mind that clients are going to communicate with you through different means. It's your job to analyze if they prefer an email, a regular phone call, by scheduling a video chat, or just by text to communicate. Figure out how your prospects like to share and converse with them in the most comfortable way for them. This will help you establish better. 

Give prospects multiple means to communicate

9. Try out keyword bidding

Although inbound marketing focuses mainly on organic traffic and SEO, businesses of smaller sizes have the option to make use of paid advertising tactics to boost sales. You can take advantage of this type of strategy if you're looking to reap instant results. This is widely known as pay-per-click advertising. PPC involves bidding on select keywords, so business webpages appear on top of search engine results. 

10. Get your message across clear and loud

To get your news across loud and clear, you will have to locate your target clients on the mediums they are active in, provide them your best content, and then provide a solution for their specific needs. This is where your database of content is critical. Creating additional resources like blogs, ebooks, etc., can make your potential clients' and visitors' pursuit simple. This can potentially attract them to notice you and hopefully collaborate with you.

11. Technology for the win

At the end of the day, tech always wins. It makes the buyer's job easier and the seller's job convenient. Making use of B2B eCommerce platforms and solutions like Growmax can reduce the hardships of the seller by helping with various actions, namely,  order management, quotation management, and management of customers with ease. While also making it simpler for the buyer to find their required services and products with ease. For the buyer, the process of communication, buying, installing becomes effortless. For the seller, it is way easier to automate repetitive work and much more efficient in organizing and managing orders. So make use of tech to increase your B2B sales efficiently. 

Conclusion

While B2B sales have their fair share of challenges and obstacles to overcome, there are also just as many opportunities and space for success. If implemented and tapped-in in the right way, the benefits to reap are limitless. Experiment with the different B2B sales tactics and see how it helps you and your business. B2B sales is a happening subject in a business corporation, and best belief, marketers and sales professionals are going to witness a lot of new sales strategies in the upcoming days. Be open to them all and make the best out of them. Good luck!