B2B News

Making a sale starts with a building a relationship – and building a relationship takes effort. A lot of it. That's not to say it's hard, of course; building a relationship may not be the easiest thing in the world, but it's certainly simpler than trying to push or bully a potential client into purchasing from you when your product isn't a good fit with their mission, goals or company. If you want to start closing sales and creating a fuller professional life, it starts with making yourself available to your prospects as a valuable source of trustworthy, honest and useful information.

If you want to sell something to someone, it's essential to know what he or she is looking for. Think of it this way: You wouldn't try to sell a minivan to a childless bachelor, just like you wouldn't try to sell a Corvette to a mother of four. When you understand your client's needs, you can work with them show them how valuable the service or product you're offering can really be to them. To do this, you need to open up a conversation with them – believe it or not, they might surprise you. Don't try to guess what they'll want. You never know, sometimes that metaphorical mom really is looking for her own sports car.

A salesperson's role is to understand the unique challenges that a client faces in its specific market or environment, then discover a solution that will help the client overcome these issues. Rather than simply asking, many inexperienced salespeople try to guess what a client needs – or, if that doesn't work, start throwing out every possible service or product in hopes that'll something will stick. This, however, is a waste of not just your client's time, but yours as well. Instead of taking this amateur approach to making a sale, start by simply asking questions, listening to their answers and working with your prospect to devise a solution.

If you want to start see your sales close, it's time to stop focusing on yourself and start paying attention to your client. Don't just sell what you offer -sell what your client needs. To learn what that is, ask questions – What are their key interests and challenges? What do they struggle with in their industry? What are they looking to fix?

Even if it doesn't appear that you have much to offer them immediately, a little extra digging might uncover a way that you can aid them in their mission. And if not, at the very least, you've opened up a productive relationship and established yourself as a trustworthy source should they ever need a service or product that you offer.

When you work in sales, it sometimes feels like rejection is part of the deal. When you call dozens of people every month, you generally can't expect all of them to be on board with the product or service that you're selling. But if you feel like you're striking out more often than you're closing deals, there might be something you can do turn things around. That's right – if you thought getting rejected was just a part of the sales profession, it's time to think again. While you may never be able to sell to everyone you speak to, you can dramatically up your chances of closing a sale by avoiding certain behaviors that turn prospects off of your products and services.

There are two ways to approach sales: by focusing on your product and by focusing on the prospect. The former will turn your prospects off, while the latter will keep them intrigued – and here's why.

If you focus too hard on convincing someone to buy from you, you begin to sound disingenuous – no matter how pure your actual motives may be. No one likes to pushed into making a purchase, which is why you need to be careful not to get overeager or forget about the prospect's concerns and questions. Remember: Selling isn't about moving, it's about finding a product that's a suitable match to someone's needs and desires. When you put prospects first, they'll be more apt to trust, respect and just flat-out like you – which will put you in their good graces, whether or not they decide to buy from you.

Of course, not every prospect you talk to is going to need the product you're selling – and that's all right. If you're honest with them, they'll walk away from the interaction knowing that you're a trustworthy resource to whom they can turn at a later date, should they ever develop a use for what you're offering. Both of you leave the conversation with your relationship in tact and the possibility of a future meet-up remains open.

After all, closing sales starts with opening relationships. When you create lasting bonds with prospects, you don't just make a sale today – you create the possibility and opportunity to make more money in the future.

Salespeople who put their prospects ahead of their quotas keep their dignity and integrity intact. Those who focus too hard on pushing a sale, even when it's not the right fit, are the ones who end up experiencing rejection. 

The foundation of any good relationship, whether it's between friends, lovers or business partners, is trust. After all, without a certain amount of confidence in one another's honesty, how can you believe another person to have your best interests at heart? When it comes to parting with your hard-earned cash, trust becomes even more important. If you plan on convincing people to invest in your service, business or product, you'll need to win their trust before you can expect them to open their wallets.

"Trust is an important issue when it comes to selling," explains Kelley Robertson on Helium.com. "It doesn't matter what you sell or to whom. It makes no difference if you sell business-to-consumer, B2B, or in a retail setting. Trust is the foundation of virtually every sale."

Trust, of course, isn't simply given away. It must be earned – and that takes time. It only takes one or two burns at a used car dealership or a shady insurance company to realize that not everyone is honest when it comes to the sales game, and most seasoned businesspeople will have their guards up when you first talk to them about purchasing something from you. The only way you can break through to them is by winning their trust with time, effort and patience.

Winning a prospect's trust starts with the very first phone call, email or meeting that the two of you share. Trust takes a long time to build, but like a house of cards, it can come crashing down in a second with just a single mistake. To earn the trust of a prospect, you must first believe in yourself to stack those cards right – by being knowledgeable about your product, answering questions directly and not being afraid to negotiate. From the first moment you talk, you should be ready to supply your prospect with all of the information that he or she needs to make an informed decision – even if that decision turns out to be no. Pressure is never the answer; trust is.

So how can you win trust? It goes without saying but you must never lie or mislead your prospects into buying a product that they don't want or need. You must always be honest, even when the truth might not flatter the item you're selling. You must always be on time, keep your promises and answer questions promptly and truthfully.

And it's not just how you treat your prospects, either – to earn trust, you have to be on your best behavior at all times. Your prospects are paying attention to how you treat the wait staff at a lunch meeting, how you behave towards the receptionist who answers the phone and how you talk to your fellow salespeople. Be honest with everyone, and you can't go wrong.

When you do these things, prospects will begin to trust you – and to trust what you're selling. 

According to Business2Community, the key to generating, nurturing and closing leads is communication. Approximately 70 percent of leads never receive effective sales follow-ups, and it's important that the seller communicates with the client properly after first contact.

Consistent communication with qualified inquiries keeps the company's brand at the forefront, and effort needs to go beyond just getting the lead – a relationship needs to be fostered as well. Following up within 48 hours guarantees that a prospect remembers the site and the material that he or she viewed, according to B2B Marketing Insider.

The goal is to reach the prospect within that 48 hour window. The company will see a diminishing return on every call made outside of that time frame, with a 60-70 percent drop in leads generated after seven days, the news source adds.

In addition, sales opportunities increase by 20 percent following nurtured leads versus non-nurtured leads.

The key, according to the news source, is to create a nurture program for immediate leads. All information that is gained from a client is valuable, and should be utilized for further discussion with the prospect. This puts the seller in a position to engage when the sale is ready. 

As a general rule, if the seller does not truly believe in his or her product, the client on the other end is not going to buy into it either.

Entrepreneur recommends not only maintaining a positive attitude about a product or selling point, but increasing the energy level and enthusiasm – both of which can go a long way in forging long-lasting customer relationships.

According to the media outlet, energy and overall success are inherently related. Being energized increases motivation, which leads to positive outcomes. Additionally, most top sellers take a pro-active approach to life. This mindset keeps them going even when setbacks or rejection occurs.

The news source suggests three strategies to maintain a positive attitude in the sales field as well as in life – appreciate the good, increase physical activity level and, if all else fails, fish for compliments from previously satisfied customers.

In order to avoid sales call reluctance on less motivated days, Hedge Fund Blogger proposes that the seller choose a moment in time when he or she felt completely confident or successful. Replaying this moment repeatedly prior to the next sales opportunity can positively affect one's mindset.  

In order to succeed in today's business environment, professionals must revert to some of the same sales tactics that were used before the advent of social media – old-fashioned authenticity.

Entrepreneur magazine notes that whether it's attempting to grow a business or close a sale, it's important to spend time talking to customers. Making connections and building relationships are far more valuable than being overly pushy on the phone or placing promotional videos online and hoping they go viral.

The website Flotown notes that authenticity can no longer be faked. A lack of sincerity can be seen in real life interactions, as well as displayed for world to see over the internet. 

A company thrives when its owners and salespeople are genuine. Avoid tactics like pulling out the charm only when a big spender walks in the room, replying to inquires with form letters or calculating that one sales opportunity is worth more than another.

Author Gary Vaynerchuk recommends that every company instill caring as its cornerstone. The same mantra can be applied when closing a potential sales deal with a prospect.

Lead nurturing is a delicate process, and according to Kuno Creative, there's a successive process through which inbound marketers can cultivate their sales leads.

The process involves piquing potential clients' interest with the offer of a webinar or free whitepaper, followed by an email or phone call thanking the lead for his or her interest and finally a conversation or the extension of expertise to the client, notes the media outlet.

Business2Community supplies some tips on how to set a foundation for a broad dialogue around client goals.

The news source suggests attempting to connect with the client through social media. Become a part of the prospect's LinkedIn network, or add them as a friend on Facebook.

Additionally, viewing the page source of a potential lead's website homepage may provide some clues about his or her company's SEO strategy, meta data as well as the content management system their site uses.

Finally, thoroughly reading a lead's About Us or biography page may provide high-level context about an organization. Uncovering individual management team biographies is even better, as it can add a personal touch to the next conversation.  

Salespeople engage each call knowing that not every lead is the same. The prospect's needs and timelines all vary. Nevertheless, when it comes to inbound leads or referrals, the indicators that determine the temperature of that lead are often consistent, and these trends can determine success when building a sales pipeline.

According to Donna Siegel at SalesMBA.com, cold or cool referrals could simply be a matter of indirect passage of information. Siegel uses the example of a current customer informing you that a colleague of theirs is having a problem. The lead stays cold because the salesperson does not know the depth of the problem nor the costs associated with finding the right solution.

That lead could heat up if the customer directing you to the colleague initiates contact as the middle man. In Siegel's example, she writes that the lead can gain traction if the customer presents you to the prospect as the answer to the problem.

Of course, the lead becomes hot if the customer contacts you directly and cites your success with his or her colleague. In that situation, a salesperson has a ripe opportunity with a much greater chance of closing. 

There will inevitably be some hot sales leads that turn into a stalled ones. It is not uncommon for a prospect to originally voice enthusiasm to buy, only to retreat into a lull where he or she hasn't decommitted, but appears unwilling to move toward a positive conclusion. Working through those delays in the sales process is an important step to maintaining a strong sales pipeline.

A salesperson should engage in a fresh round of probing questions to ascertain what is causing the delay. Often, topics could include the prospect's other projects, difficulty from a decision maker above the prospect, budgeting and more.

It is important to drill down to find out what is causing the delay, if anything at all. This scenario also provides a good lead nurturing opportunity because it will provide salespeople experience to handle for future instances when leads stall.

Even if further approaches result in a continued delay, it is still important to never write off the opportunity completely. There may be a reason why the prospect suddenly paused the sales cycle, but it doesn't mean it's over entirely. Be sure to maintain proper records of communication for new points of contact at a later time.

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This article is provided by eti Sales Support – offering business to business sales lead generation and client retention services to businesses nationwide. ETI's sales support professionals can maximize your sales lead generation, lead qualification, lead nurturing, and channel development efforts. 
 

For salespeople, there is always a quota to achieve and a deadline to meet. To ensure you are getting the most of your schedule, Susan Regier of Evan Carmichael has a few value tips that will improve your time management.

Regier suggests tackling your hardest assignments first, while building time into your schedule to complete the day's most important goals. By doing so, she states that you significantly decrease the likelihood of overlooking important tasks and simplify how you spend the rest of your day. The same task can be copied for each Monday, allowing you to allocate important objectives for each week.

She also suggests classifying your email. Not every message needs to be responded to at the drop of a hat. A salesperson can save time by prioritizing messages and clients. Additionally, you can clear out items that are less time sensitive by scheduling a 30- or 60-minute block to answer less timely messages.

A salesperson can dramatically save time by staying on task with the truly imperative work and sorting the more menial details to be solved once larger requirements are completed. By building such installments into your schedule, you can improve your time management and productivity.

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This article is provided by eti Sales Support – offering business to business sales lead generation and client retention services to businesses nationwide. ETI's sales support professionals can maximize your sales lead generation, lead qualification, lead nurturing, and channel development efforts.