Selling is not an easy job. And there are some unseen traps and mistakes even the most seasoned sales reps constantly repeat. It is necessary to work on those and implement an effective sales strategy that will avoid those B2B sales mistakes that can cost you revenue and a hard-earned reputation.
Here are some frequently and commanly encountered mistakes in B2B sales:
1. Running after the wrong leads
It is being noticed that sales reps may chase leads with very low chances of conversion. This is completely a waste of time and resources that can instead be used to nurture good quality prospects. With proper filtering and lead qualification, you can efficiently work in on the leads with the most potential to convert.
2. Overlooking existing customers
Every business wants to acquire new customers and it is equally important to pay attention to your existing, loyal customers. Engage with them frequently, meaningfully and efficiently. Never lose clients who are ready for a repeat sale.
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3. Not asking the right questions
In today’s competitive business world, pushy sales tactics don’t work anymore. Instead, focus on asking the right questions to the clients– such as what an ideal and perfect solution for the customer would look like, or what difficulties the customer came across in the past while trying a similar product. This way you identify the customer’s exact pain points and deliver what they are looking for.
4. Missing out on connecting with your value proposition
Customers are not just looking for products, they also look for trustworthy solutions to their existing or future challenges. Thus, mold your pitch as per the need. You are the important connection for your customer. So, help them understand the value and qualitative benefits that your offerings bring.
5. Not collaborating with other departments
B2B sales is a challenging task and it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. They need to communicate and collaborate with other departments like marketing, product development, and service. Collaborating with these teams can better understand customer needs, identify gaps in the customer journey, and work towards aligned goals.
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6. Not addressing or ignoring all stakeholders
Generally, sales decisions in B2B businesses are often influenced by many stakeholders, including the top management, finance head, partners, and end-users. An efficient and successful sales strategy will identify the needs of these multiple stakeholders and identify value propositions that address each one’s challenges and goals.
7. Limiting To Single Communication Channel
An era where we live in the database period, it is pivotal not to restrict your communication to only a single channel. In order to nurture each prompt customer, business people tend to opt for multiple devices, platforms, and communication mediums throughout the day to become aware, communicate, and research new features. Henceforth, it is better not to restrict your methods or your master plan to stick to a single channel any more. Try to integrate email, contacts, social media, meeting through video conferencing or any further meetings for the optimum growth.
8. Dread about Premium Price
In a cluttered market, even though having a strategic sales approach, price is the pivotal component to close the deal. Consider sales representatives who know how to quote nicely along the price line which may affect their success benchmark.
All the founders and decision-makers or any influencer tend to charge the least amount for their products with a mindset that this will greatly boost the sales growth. However, there are cases where business customers are pretty quick to smell a lack of confidence. Hence, it is beneficial during interactions, and you might end up costing even less than your original price value.
Always price your product in a way that reflects the hard work, investment, and production cost, and be confident of defending it. It shows your ethics for your work and you believe in your product. If you win at convincing B2B customers about the results, they will surely accept the price.
9. Spotlighting Only Features of Product
Even though there are multiple interactions, it doesn’t matter how appropriately the new lines for communications work or how uniquely the formats portray, it is not effective for the customers unless and until it is not visible in results.This is an era where a businesses do not indulge much into the features of the products but put more efforts on how a specific product can help overcome their key issues and obstacles.
Now you know why it is essential to swap our perspective to them. Try catching up with the extra mile, and figure out your prospect’s key obstacles, their competitors, and the industry overall for better growth.
10. Devastating the customer with information
An irritating way of repelling customers is to bombard their inboxes with information and marketing campaigns. There is a thin line between keeping your customer well-informed and spamming them. Always, think and plan about how and when you communicate. Remember to share information with the customer that needs to make a well-thought-out decision.
11. Rushing or compelling your prospects
Never hesitate or wait to follow up with your prospects or leads. But always remember not to rush them into making a decision either; you could end up driving them away. Stay empathetic and cool and give them the time they need to decide on their purchases.
12. Limiting or restricting sales to a single channel
B2B customers use multiple platforms like online and offline channels to start and end a transaction. Thus, if a company is focusing their sales only on a single channel, it may likely miss key opportunities. Using advanced features – an integrated, omnichannel technique may ensure that they are targeting customers and generating brand awareness across multiple channels. However, it’s always advisable to focus more on only those channels where your target customers have a strong presence.
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13. Missing measuring your sales processes
To determine if your sales processes are effective always monitor and measure key metrics – sales cycle length, customer churn, lead-to-sales ratio, etc. It helps you see how you are performing and what can be improved. They also support you in getting a greater insight into the market and your target audience. It’s very important to determine and efficiently measure only the data that is essential to your sales process.
Conclusion
Win more deals by giving the right information and tools to B2B sales teams
Your sales team should learn and gear up to recognise these common B2B sales mistakes and how to avoid them by successfully executing the perfect B2B sales strategy. With SalesBabu cloud CRM salespeople can easily score and smartly nurture leads, manage prospect and customer interactions, perform follow-up actions, and configure deals to meet customer needs and finally minimising the chances of errors.
Cloud sales CRM unifies data from multiple sources to create a foolproof 360-degree customer view that enables sales reps to build meaningful, personalised relationships in an informed manner. Online sales CRM streamlines everyday sales tasks and processes with automated lead management, forecasting tools, automated workflows, etc. And to guide your sales strategy, also get insightful analytics, letting you achieve greater sales success in any industry vertical.
