The B2B sales process and B2b sales cycle is complicated. There are so many different steps and people involved in the process, it can be difficult to know where to start. Let’s understand what a typical b2b sale looks like from start to finish.
The B2B sales process is a complicated and lengthy one. It starts with prospecting, moves on to qualification, and ends with the close. The sales cycle is a three-stage process that can be broken down into prospecting, qualification, and closing stages.
One of the most important parts of an effective sales process is understanding your sales cycle. The anatomy of the sales process is not the same for all companies. However, there are some commonalities that can be found in most successful sales cycles.
In this blog post we will discuss what a sales process looks like, how to execute it.
First Things First: What is a B2B Sales Process and B2B sales cycle?
Again, first thing first – what do we mean by "B2B" ? The acronym means "Business To Business". It refers to any kind of transaction between two companies rather than between a company and individual consumer.
The kind of business you're in has no impact on whether or not this process could be useful for your organization. You may have heard people refer to this as a "traditional" sales model, but it doesn't matter so much where it came from as what it can do for you.
Now What is a Sales Process?
The sales process consists of the stages and steps in which a business goes when selling their product or service to another company. The process will vary depending on the structure of the company, with large corporations having more formalized processes than smaller businesses.
sales process is the procedure of generating and nurturing leads and converting them into sales. This sales model can be sophisticated, but at its core it follows a simple pattern:
What is a B2B sales cycle?
The B2B sales cycle is the process from finding a lead for your product or service, to making a sale. In most cases, this sequence of events takes multiple sales cycles before an account makes a purchase decision.
This series of buying decisions is made by different individuals in the account. The "sales cycle" may include several attempts at selling and many contacts with buyers that don't result in a final sale.
The sales cycle begins when the buyer expresses interest in your product. At this point, they're likely not ready to buy it immediately, but want more information about it and what it can do for them.
From there you enter the initial discovery phase of what will be a long process to close the sale--often more complicated than it would be with a consumer because you have to convince its managers and IT professionals that your product is right for their company's needs.
As part of this persuasion phase, you need to research and qualify leads so they meet certain criteria - i.e., industry, SIC/NAICS codes, number of employees, revenue - that will ensure you're targeting buyers who can actually purchase from you.
What is the difference between b2b sales cycle and b2b sales process?
Despite many of us might believe that they are one of the same, there still exist some of the differences between these two concepts. The main idea behind both management processes is to generate revenue for your company.
However, while working with clients from different industries or market sectors, it might seem that there are some differences in generating revenue. Even though the conclusion is that both of these processes have the same goal to be achieved, they do work differently for each other.
1). Sales Cycle
It refers to a continuous process throughout which an organization acquires new customers. It includes many steps starting from lead generation, research of market for new product, selecting prospects based on their potential of buying products, up to closing new deals.
2). Sales Process
It is a part of marketing management that controls activities related to obtaining customers. It describes how organizations will carry out specific actions in order to find customers, convince them about the significance of a company's product/service and turn into loyal customers.
Sales Process vs Sales Cycle
Both can be viewed as a series of steps that result in achieving the organization's goal which is selling products and services. However, if looked from different angles, we can say that the sales cycle focuses on creating new clients and getting them ready for closer interaction.
while the sales process shows how organizations create and deliver relevant messages to its prospects in order to turn them into customers.
As you can see there are many similarities but also differences when it comes to sales cycle and sales process. The main difference between them is that processes are more steps/actions you take to actually get the sale while the cycle includes many different types of activities, not just sales-focused.
Now The Important part, B2B Sales Process
When you hear the term "sales process" what images come to mind? You could probably think about a well-oiled machine cranking out sale after sale. Maybe you picture a group of people huddled together, planning their next attack on the marketplace.
The truth is that there are really just four steps in the sales process: qualifying leads, getting appointments, making proposals and handling objections. Each step has its own strategy--and if executed properly--can move your business closer towards achieving your goals…
The process will vary depending on the structure of the company, with large corporations having more formalized processes than smaller businesses. However, this explanation encompasses most standard B2B sales processes within companies today.
1). Utilize Sales Intelligence
One of the first steps in the sales process is for marketing teams to collect accurate information about its target markets, customer needs, competitive landscape and overall market environment.
This information can be used by both marketing and sales teams to guide future strategies. It can also be utilized by sales reps during client meetings to show that they have a strong understanding of their customers.
2). Produce Sales Briefing Documents
In order to prepare for account planning, sales teams create documents that summarize key information about an organization's structure, which departments are involved in the buying process and who is ultimately responsible for the final decision.
This information will be useful for both marketing and sales teams during the next stages in the B2B process.
3). Conduct Account Planning
After gathering relevant intelligence and creating brief documentation on prospective clients, the next step in the sales process is account planning.
Account planners will evaluate each potential opportunity and determine whether or not it aligns with current strategic objectives of the company. If so, they will officially add it to their target account list; if not, they will either reject the opportunity or find ways to align it with other company goals.
After account planning comes opportunity qualification. This step involves formally presenting an opportunity to other members of the sales team in order to determine whether or not it should be pursued further.
Potential roadblocks that might cause a rep to drop an account are also discussed at this time.
4). Socialize Sales Strategy
Once all of the opportunities on their target account list have been qualified and potential roadblocks have been addressed, sales teams must socialize their sales strategies internally before approaching prospects externally.
During this final stage in the sales process, current customers are invited to provide feedback for future marketing campaigns or adjustments can be made to improve existing ones. Understanding how current customers interact with the company will allow sales reps to better tailor their strategy for future target accounts.
B2B Sales Cycle
Selling to businesses is not like selling to individual customers; it has its own set of challenges. Here are the main stages in the sales cycle .
1) Prospecting
Finding potential business customers requires more effort than finding individuals who might want to buy your consumer products or services.
You need to identify whether they have a problem that you can solve, whether they have a budget to pay for a solution, and what your potential return might be.
2) Lead Generation
Once you've identified a few possible targets, it's time to get more information on them by telephone or e-mails. If the person likes what you have to offer, s/he may ask you for more details on your product or service or even send you an RFP (Request for Proposal).
3) Evaluating the Sales Opportunity
When someone asks for a proposal from you, this is usually the first major hurdle in getting an agreement. To make sure that everything goes smoothly later you need to know if the prospect has enough money and authority at their end to make a purchase.
4) Appointing a Decision Maker
In many cases you will discover that your potential customer has more than one person who can sign off on a purchase – so how do you find out who the decision maker actually is.
This step is especially important if you are selling to larger companies and corporations where sales deals involve complex financial and legal negotiations.
5) Presentation
The presentation stage, as the name implies, is when you present or demonstrate your product or service to show how it can fulfill their needs. If they like what they hear then this would be the point where you would come up with an offer for them.
6) Negotiating
Even after coming up with an attractive proposal, there's no surety that your client will agree to it. In fact you may have to go through several rounds of negotiations before agreeing on a price.
7) Closing the Business
Finally, if negotiations are successful and all goes well, you will sign an agreement with your customer , which is when the deal becomes officially closed.
The sales cycle is much longer than the B2C cycle because multiple people are involved in making decisions along the way. This means that everything takes time - from finding leads to developing proposals, closing deals and delivering services. The entire process can easily take months or even years, so patience is required!
What Is A B2B Sales Funnel?
A b2b sales funnel is, at its simplest level, the path of interaction between a business and their current or prospective clients.
The goal of this initial meeting (and all subsequent interactions) is to determine whether there is value in building on the relationship between both parties.
The ultimate aim is to convince the potential client that your products or services can meet their needs. A b2b sales funnel is therefore where this process begins, and the difference between a successful introduction or not. The B2B Sales Funnel include the following components:
1. Lead generation: Lead generation is the initial contact made to potential customers and represents the first part of your b2b sales funnel. The aim here is simple: get in front of as many potential clients as possible and convince them that you can provide value for their business or organization.
2. Lead nurturing: Once you have successfully created contact with a potential client, lead nurturing is the next step in the b2b sales funnel. This is where you begin building trust and rapport with your new prospects by providing helpful information via email (or other appropriate medium) to convince them that your product or service can meet their needs.
3. Sales process: If your initial attempts at contact were successful, then this is how your sales process works; moving from initial contact, to establishing rapport and trust, and then pitching your product or service.
4. Business development: This is where the main bulk of the b2b sales funnel is completed - closing deals with customers who are happy to pay for what you're offering. A small percentage of those contacted will be interested initially but will not buy into your offers at that time (for whatever reason), therefore it's important that you continue nurturing relationships with these potential clients to push them into a later stage of the process.
5. Retention: This is possibly the most important part of a b2b sales funnel, and one that receives very little attention in comparison with other stages. Once you have closed a deal with a company, it's vital that you continue providing an excellent level of service - if not, they'll go elsewhere for future purchases.Conclusion
In order to have a good understanding on how to proceed in a sales process and cycle, it is important to understand what makes a good business relationship and what are the stages before closing a deal.
This will help reduce uncertainties when handling negotiations that usually occur during the process.
In a highly competitive market, it can be difficult for many businesses to stand out. Many companies struggle to differentiate themselves and lose potential customers due to lack of brand identity and low visibility.
Customers also tend not to look around as much as they used to, instead relying on their social networks and word of mouth – meaning that less than favourable reviews or unhappy clients could be extremely costly for your business .
In order to have an effective sales process and cycle you need to have outstanding content. If you're able to produce interesting, valuable information that's relevant to your industry, people are far more likely to share it online (which means even more traffic for your site). So by all means get creative with your content and it will work like a charm.
