Despite the recent disruption, enterprise selling is still a very important part of most businesses. But what are the fundamental things you need to know to succeed? I've compiled this guide on top tips for enterprise selling, with all the advice you need to become an expert at it.
Enterprise selling is the process of convincing business owners to buy products or services from your company. The whole activity of Enterprise Selling is based on the relationship between sales representatives and clients. The goal is to identify potential customers, discover their needs and then convince them that your product or service is right for them.
I would say it's all about having a good understanding of what your client wants from this process so that when they come to meet with you, they feel like "You're not just another vendor". You need to understand how important their business is in order for them to want to spend time talking with someone who can help them.
In essence, Enterprise selling is about relationship building and helping your customer to identify their needs, rather than just trying to sell a product or service. This way, you'll be able to build trust with the client so that they can make an informed decision when it comes time for them to buy from you in the future.
There are many benefits associated with enterprise sales, including increased revenue growth, reduced cost of goods sold (COGS) as well as improved profitability due mainly to volume discounts offered by manufacturers who want more repeat business from existing customers.
These benefits include:
1. Finding New Clients - The most important part of enterprise selling is being able to find new clients. This can be done in a number of ways, but the best way would be by developing relationships with people who are already interested in your services and products.
For example, if you're an IT company, then it's likely that there will already be other companies out there that offer similar solutions for their own customers, so it may not make sense to try and sell directly to these companies as they have no need for what you have on offer.
The solution here would therefore lie within finding potential business partners or even customers who are currently using the solutions you offer.
2. Building Relationships with Customers - Once you have a relationship established with your existing customer, it is important to keep that going and build on these relationships as this will allow for more sales in the future, which of course, leads to an increase in revenue growth.
For example, if there was only one other IT company out there looking after their own systems, then it wouldn't make sense for them to buy from you instead of just buying directly from another vendor; however, if they were able to purchase some software through your company, then they may be inclined to do so.
3. Creating new products and services - This is a very common method of increasing revenue in the enterprise, as it allows for an increase in product sales without having to make any additional investment or hire more staff members to handle these transactions.
For example, if you were able to develop a software solution which could be used by other companies, then this would allow them access to your existing customer base; therefore, they may have no need for their own IT company anymore but would still want some sort of service from you instead.
This way, they can purchase what is essentially another version of the same product but from a different provider and therefore save themselves some money in the process.
This whole process can be done through a variety of channels, including:
1) Direct Sales – Where you talk directly with the customer, offering them an opportunity to purchase something (e.g., over-the-phone sales).
2) Marketing – Where you use marketing techniques such as advertising and publicity in order to promote your product/service and generate interest among potential customers. For example, if you're trying to sell software packages for companies, then it's likely that there will be some kind of marketing campaign to generate interest in your product.
3) Referral – Where you use a third party to sell your products/services and then receive some kind of commission for each transaction that they complete on behalf of the customer (e.g., through an affiliate marketing scheme).
4) Subscription - Where you offer a service or product which is only available periodically; e.g., software updates are released once per month, so customers have to pay again every time this happens as opposed to having it installed automatically by default when they first get their system upgraded (i.e., subscription services such as automatic software updates).
5) Commissions – Where you pay a commission to someone for each transaction that they complete on behalf of the customer (e.g., through an affiliate marketing scheme).
For example, if I were selling some kind of financial product and my salesperson was paid $100 per sale, then I would want them to make at least 100 sales in order for me to receive this amount as part of their salary; therefore, it's likely that such people will be more willing to sell your products/services than those who are not being paid by commission.
In addition, there may also be other reasons why you might want to promote your product/service. For example, if you're trying to sell a new type of software package, then it may be that there is some kind of marketing campaign in place already which has generated interest among potential customers (e.g., through advertising).
It's important to understand that there are many different types of sales, and it is not necessarily true that enterprise sales will be the best type for startups. In fact, I would argue strongly against this because:
1) Enterprise customers tend to have more money than individuals; therefore, you're likely to get a much better return on investment (ROI) from selling your product/service directly rather than through an intermediary such as an affiliate marketing scheme or another third party (e.g., via referral).
This means you can make far higher profit margins if you sell directly without needing any additional costs involved.
2) Enterprise customers are usually more interested in the quality of your product/service than whether you're paying a commission. Therefore it's likely that they will be far less willing to try something which is promoted by an affiliate marketing scheme or another third party (e.g., via referral).
This means that there may be fewer sales for you and therefore lower profit margins if you sell directly without needing any additional costs involved; however, not all enterprise customers will have this attitude, so it's important to understand what type of customer they are before deciding how best to promote your product/service.
3) Enterprise customers tend to be less likely to spend money on marketing than individual customers. Therefore it's possible that you could make more sales for the same amount of marketing expense if you sell directly rather than through an intermediary such as an affiliate marketing scheme or another third party (e.g., via referral).
4) Some enterprises have a high level of brand awareness. Therefore, they are much easier to find and contact; this means that finding enterprise clients can be made far easier by using your own website rather than relying upon search engines which may not work well in all circumstances.
There are many challenges to selling enterprise - the main ones being:
1) Enterprise customers may require a different approach from individual customers. For example, an organization that is interested in buying a product/service for its employees may have very specific requirements, and therefore it's important that you understand these before making your sales pitch.
If you don't, then they could simply choose another supplier who meets their needs. Therefore if you're not aware of what type of customer they are when trying to make contact with them, then it will be difficult or impossible for them to find out about your products/services.
2) You may not get the same level of response from enterprise customers as you would if you were selling to individual customers. This is because they are less likely to be interested in your product/service therefore it's important that you provide a compelling reason for them to buy, and this can only happen through effective marketing, which will engage their interest.
3) Enterprise sales require more time and effort than individual sales due to the fact that there needs to be an initial contact made before any sale takes place. The way in which such contacts take place varies according to each organization, so some prefer face-to-face meetings, others prefer telephone calls, and some prefer email.
It's important that you know the preferred method of contact with your enterprise customers in order to make effective sales pitches.
4) Enterprise clients may not be able to afford a large initial outlay for their product/service, which means they will need to purchase it on an ongoing basis - this could mean that they would have no choice but to pay more than individual customers who can make one payment upfront.
Therefore if you're selling something which has a high upfront cost, then it's important that the customer is aware of this before making any commitment.
5) Enterprise customers may not have the same budget for marketing as individual customers. This is because enterprise clients are more likely to be interested in products/services which provide tangible benefits therefore they will spend less on advertising than their individual counterparts.
6) The way that you present your product/service and make it look good can make all the difference between a sale or no sale - this means that if you're selling something very cheap, then it's important that you know how to market such items in order to get them noticed by potential buyers (this could mean using discounts etc.).
If, however, your product/service is expensive, then you need to make sure that it looks good and of high quality so as to avoid potential buyers from passing over your product.
7) Enterprise customers are more likely than individual ones to be concerned about the security of their online transactions; this could mean that they will want extra reassurance before making any purchase; therefore, if you're selling something which has a higher level of risk associated with it, then you should know how best to present such items in order for them look not only appealing but also feel comfortable enough in purchasing them.
SMB and Enterprise customers have very different needs when it comes to buying online. This is because they are more concerned with the following:
1) The speed of their purchase - SMB customers will want things delivered as soon as possible, whereas enterprise customers will be looking for something which can be used in a working environment; this means that if you're selling something which has high upfront costs, then your customer may not feel comfortable making such an immediate commitment (this could mean offering them some kind of discount).
2) The quality of what they buy - SMB clients tend to value higher levels of quality when it comes to their products, whereas Enterprise customers will be more concerned with the following:
