7 Steps of the Sale in the Industrial Markets/B2B
Prospect
Qualify
Present
Trial Close
Negotiate
Close
Follow-Up
Prospect
Qualify
Present
Trial Close
Negotiate
Close
Follow-Up
A Beginners Guide to B2B Sales Success by Vince Lombardo
If you think B2B customers care most about product and price, you’re mistaken. What is most important to them is a satisfying sales experience, and for sales professionals, that means getting the basics right. Here’s what you need to know to get out of the gate and hit the ground running:
Be familiar with your product/service. Sales reps should know their products or services intimately and how their offering compares with those of their competitors. Customers are looking for—and need—information that explains exactly how a product or service will make a difference to their businesses.
Be professional. Customers seek out professionals they can trust and relate to within their industry. Be the consummate professional at all times when interacting with the customer or prospect.
Listen. This is crucial in the first few minutes of any sales interaction. Obviously, you want to introduce yourself and discuss the purpose of your visit (or phone call), but you don't want to deliver a three-hour product seminar. You need to first determine what a customers’ needs are before you have any idea whether what you're offering can be of any use to them.
Determine barriers. Ask the merchant if there are any barriers preventing he/she from taking the next logical step. By this time you should have a good understanding of your prospect's needs in relation to your product or service and should have developed a mutual level of trust with each other so you can proceed to the next appointment.
Follow up. Follow-up and follow-through are keys to prospecting success. If you don’t remain in contact, you will never break through. Follow your initial meeting or sales call with a brief letter or email confirmation concerning your next appointment.
If you think B2B customers care most about product and price, you’re mistaken. What is most important to them is a satisfying sales experience, and for sales professionals, that means getting the basics right. Here’s what you need to know to get out of the gate and hit the ground running:
Be familiar with your product/service. Sales reps should know their products or services intimately and how their offering compares with those of their competitors. Customers are looking for—and need—information that explains exactly how a product or service will make a difference to their businesses.
Be professional. Customers seek out professionals they can trust and relate to within their industry. Be the consummate professional at all times when interacting with the customer or prospect.
Listen. This is crucial in the first few minutes of any sales interaction. Obviously, you want to introduce yourself and discuss the purpose of your visit (or phone call), but you don't want to deliver a three-hour product seminar. You need to first determine what a customers’ needs are before you have any idea whether what you're offering can be of any use to them.
Determine barriers. Ask the merchant if there are any barriers preventing he/she from taking the next logical step. By this time you should have a good understanding of your prospect's needs in relation to your product or service and should have developed a mutual level of trust with each other so you can proceed to the next appointment.
Follow up. Follow-up and follow-through are keys to prospecting success. If you don’t remain in contact, you will never break through. Follow your initial meeting or sales call with a brief letter or email confirmation concerning your next appointment.
22 Ways to Prospect and Develop New Customers by Deborah Shane
The first principle in the sales process is prospecting.
Finding new customers on a continual basis is even more important today as attrition percentages skyrocket, due to our challenging economic cycle.
How we find and develop new customers has changed as fast as technology and how we network. Used to be you went “cold calling”! Door to door in a neighborhood, business area, office building. We know that just doesn’t work anymore. Companies and people just don’t want to be “cold called anymore”. We just don’t want to be intruded on by someone we don’t know or trust! I for one couldn’t be happier about this!
The days of canvasing businesses unannounced are fading as fast as daily newspapers still trying to publish daily news that most of us have already seen in real time many times already.
So, how do you prospect today?
Prospecting is about ONLINE AND OFFLINE relationships and trust building. It should be about giving people “reasons to buy” as opposed to selling them something.
How do you do that?
There has been a very big paradigm shift from sales centric to serve centric. Pushing products on people who don’t know you, like you or trust you yet is not going to work and is actually quite annoying.
If you really look at the social persona of companies, social leaders and experts you can learn a lot about the “new prospecting” process they are using, which is the new norm and where we need to be.
We should be involved in relationship building and expanding our network of human capital.
Some of the ways we can do this is through:
The first principle in the sales process is prospecting.
Finding new customers on a continual basis is even more important today as attrition percentages skyrocket, due to our challenging economic cycle.
How we find and develop new customers has changed as fast as technology and how we network. Used to be you went “cold calling”! Door to door in a neighborhood, business area, office building. We know that just doesn’t work anymore. Companies and people just don’t want to be “cold called anymore”. We just don’t want to be intruded on by someone we don’t know or trust! I for one couldn’t be happier about this!
The days of canvasing businesses unannounced are fading as fast as daily newspapers still trying to publish daily news that most of us have already seen in real time many times already.
So, how do you prospect today?
Prospecting is about ONLINE AND OFFLINE relationships and trust building. It should be about giving people “reasons to buy” as opposed to selling them something.
How do you do that?
- Chambers
- Networking Group
- Professional Organizations
- Websites
- Blogs
- Social Media
- Article Marketing
- Internet Radio
- Volunteering
- Pro-Bono
- Referrals
- Sponsorships
- Events
- Email Marketing
- Keynote Speaking
- Webinars
- Teleseminars
- Workshops
- Traditional Media
- Neighborhood Community
- Faith Community
- Business Community
There has been a very big paradigm shift from sales centric to serve centric. Pushing products on people who don’t know you, like you or trust you yet is not going to work and is actually quite annoying.
If you really look at the social persona of companies, social leaders and experts you can learn a lot about the “new prospecting” process they are using, which is the new norm and where we need to be.
We should be involved in relationship building and expanding our network of human capital.
Some of the ways we can do this is through:
- engagement
- content
- surveys
- discussion
- commenting
Qualify your Prospect
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