What are some excellent tips for B2B sales reps?
- It’s about the prospect, not you
- Keep consistent contact
- Listen, listen, listen
Business to business (B2B) sales reps are responsible for prospecting and closing potential clients while keeping existing clients happy. Most companies use sales enablement tools in order to supplement these efforts. There are some sales reps, however, that are too focused on creating opportunities for the company and unconsciously develop a one-way sales talk procedure.
When it comes to B2B sales, the sales reps should understand that it’s not all about them offering solutions to their clients. They should focus more on solving issues that their clients have. The tips below will help B2B sales reps better anticipate customer needs and more effectively market to them. Read on to learn more.
It’s About the Prospect, Not You
You provide solutions to problems that your client may not know already exists. You can assist customers by educating them regarding issues that may be affecting their organization. You should also educate clients about potential future risks and share ways your solution will help protect them. You have the supporting role of offering to better your prospects’ operation, services, and business processes. Keep in mind that your job is to make your prospects excel by giving them both information and eventually, your own services.
Many businesses believe that their processes are flawless and highly efficient to the point in which they’re blinded from acknowledging even a few obvious issues. This is where B2B sales reps come in and try to educate their clients on the things that can be improved on.
Providing valuable information increases your credibility and assists you with building rapport. Both are essential to building lasting profitable relationships in B2B sales. Explaining how your solution will solve known and unknown issues let customers know that you are truly interested in supporting them.
Keep Consistent Contact
Maintaining constant communication with clients is essential to keeping your customer base. A good B2B sales rep should know when the best times to communicate with their clients are. You must not insistently contact your contact over and over again. Keep in mind the first point — focus on helping out your prospect instead of barraging them with sales talk. Knowing when to reach out to a client is essential to building strong business connections and retaining customers. Relationship marketers use this technique to keep their client relationships alive, and B2B marketing reps are wise to do the same.
Track your calls. Make a note of when you have the best success reaching your clients. Choose times wherein it’s convenient for your prospects to answer their phone. This will facilitate sales acceleration, meaning you will close clients faster. To make it more convenient for you, there are a number of sales enablement software that focuses on these functions and many more!
Calling at the same time/day each time you contact clients also helps build better relationships. You will find that many of the businesses you work with appreciate a scheduled call. Some businesses may be more difficult to reach, but when your clients know you will be calling, they will make sure to answer when they need you.
Listen, Listen, Listen
Don’t bombard your client with your ready-made solutions. Not only will this show that you do not value what they have to say, it also limits how much you can help them. Yes, your clients may not be aware of most issues at hand, but the things that they do know will aid greatly in solving their problems.
Always listen to your client’s concerns. Ask questions to better understand your client’s needs, then point out ways your solution can help solve these issues. Finding solutions for the concerns that are most important to clients instead of throwing your solutions at them will help build valuable, healthy client accounts.
Remember that communication is a two-way process. Sales reps asking about what their clients want and need is to be expected. If your clients have questions, you should be competent enough to answer them as well. Take note of not only their issues, but the things that they want to improve upon. As long as your sales reps and your clients listen to each other, then you’ll have a working relationship that will go far down the road.
Make notes while talking to clients. Write down answers to the questions you ask about their concerns. Use the information you collect to determine ways in which your solution can eliminate each client’s concerns.
Key Takeaway
There are many things that sales teams can learn from different aspects of marketing. The use of sales enablement tools as supplements make it easier for them to do their job and focus more on improving their individual skills. That being said, keep in mind that sales enablement software is only there to provide support for your team. At the end of the day, it will be your sales reps who will provide you with more leads and sales opportunities!
To recap, a good B2B sales rep should focus on the prospect, keep in consistent contact, and listen to client needs. Supporting prospects and customers through regular communication and showing them how your solution can solve their problems are essential to your success as a B2B sales rep. Following these tips will help you succeed and provide excellent service to the companies you work with.
