How to increase B2B sales?

You think about your work and you still have a question – how to increase sales? Unfortunately, like many others, there is not one correct answer. There are as many theories, as many sellers exist on the market. That is why in the jungle of information one has to find the most useful ones.

We have prepared for you a list of the 10 most effective ways on how to increase B2B sales. We hope that the advice will prove helpful and that after applying your profit will increase. However, remember that everything takes time and changes, they will not appear immediately. There is no method that will increase your company’s efficiency in one day. Nevertheless, we invite you to read and draw conclusions that are right for you!

Increased sales and customer relations

Let’s start with what is worth ensuring in the relationship with the customer in order to succeed in selling their products.

Contact with the customer

Where to start? First of all from yourself. Regardless of what type of business you run, contact with the recipients of your services is the basis. Make sure you approach each client individually. Be open and listen to his expectations or ideas. Ask open-ended questions that you’ll be able to answer on your own. Thanks to this, despite the fact that you give the track to the conversation, the client will have the feeling that he passed on what he wanted most.

Try to make contact not only business. Nothing connects people together like shared experiences or hobbies. During the conversation, you can always refer to what you both are interested in or what you know that will give the customer pleasure.

Smile is also important – it often helps to communicate. Even when talking on the phone, the person on the other side knows that you are smiling at her. Our voice sounds different and conversations are immediately more pleasant, and a positive impression is created.

Conducting a telephone conversation

If you are talking to your client over the phone, it is worth ensuring that the conversation is carried out correctly. Regardless of whether your goal is sales or, for example, informing about an offer, remember to specify at the beginning of the conversation that you will not take much time of the customer. This is important because time is at a premium for everyone. So you can specify the exact length of the conversation or just mention that it won’t be long.

Such a procedure will also cause that the potential customer will not have an excuse to hang up and will be more willing to hear what you have to say to him. What’s more, remember to set the goal of the conversation. It will help you frame the conversation so that it becomes clear to both sides.

It is also worth equipping yourself with the right conversation script. Before making a phone call, determine the questions you want to ask the customer along with the possibilities of his answers. Based on them, you can create arguments that will make him aware that using your service or buying your product is profitable for him.

Take care of the speed of response

It often happens that the time between the client submitting a query and getting the answer is quite long. And yet it is a key factor that often determines whether a person will use our services. For this reason, you should definitely increase the speed of answering your query. If you can immediately establish a relationship with a potential customer, there is a good chance that you will be able to go with him to the next stage of sales.

The right time for conversation and meeting

You have established the so-called time for your own work? In many organizations you can meet the principle that the designated hours work in silence on their own tasks. Your customers may have a similar mode. Therefore, before you start harassing them with their phones or meeting suggestions, ask them what hours they can devote to you.

Remember that it’s not worth calling contractors right in the morning. Wait until about 9:00, when they will be after dealing with family matters, reading important emails and after the first coffee. It is also worth taking advantage of the afternoon time – between 16:00 and 18:00, when customers are not absorbed in other business matters.

Research shows (insidessale.com, 2009) that the day of the week can also affect the success of a transaction. It turns out that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the most convenient days to finish off the fair. So let’s consider this when planning a contact.

Use psychological techniques

Do psychological techniques sound enigmatic to you? Fortunately, you don’t have to be a psychologist to use them freely. There are several proven ways that can get a person to buy.

The first is social proof of equity. The technique is to present the recipient with the opinions of other consumers, which have a huge impact on our decision. Most of us believe more in the value of a product if we find that others also use it and that it meets their requirements. So use the recommendations and recommendations of your other customers as evidence of the effectiveness of your product or service. During the conversation, emphasize that they enjoy great interest and success. This will certainly encourage your interlocutor to at least pay attention to them.

The second effective impact technique is the use of unavailability. Just present that your service can only be used by a certain number of people and that the offer is limited in time (e.g. the promotion lasts only 3 days) or limited in quantity (e.g. the last 3 pieces). Thanks to this, your interlocutor will want to be in your “chosen” group and take advantage of the “limited” offer.

The third psychological mechanism used in sales is the manipulation of the quantity of products. It has been proved that we are more willing to make decisions if we can choose from several available options. We then have the impression that we are making the right decision and that our choice is conscious and rational.

The fourth noteworthy mechanism is the contrast principle. If you present several offers to your client, you can easily make them buy. First, show him an expensive product, and then another slightly cheaper one, i.e. the one you really want to sell. Thanks to this combination, the second product will become more attractive, even if its price will still be high.

Higher B2B sales and company activities

To succeed in B2B sales, however, it is worth focusing on the other side of the relationship, that is, on yourself and your employees. That is why we present another 5 ways to increase B2B sales from an enterprise perspective.

Equip your team with the right tools

If you or your employees work in sales, an inseparable element of your work is a car, telephone and laptop. These are, of course, basic accessories, without which it would be difficult to do anything. Remember, however, that these are not the only tools that facilitate, improve and support your work. It is therefore worth equipping yourself with:

– specially prepared scripts for conversations and meetings,

– developed sales methodology that will regulate the entire process and allow it to orientate even new employees,

– ready presentations, offer templates, notes and other materials necessary for meetings.

Thanks to this equipment, you will not only simplify your work, but in the case of a team exchange, you will have the basis to implement new candidates and guarantee efficient work processes.

Have frequent meetings with sales staff

Daily meetings are not about controlling your employees. After all, they are people you can count on. It is very important to mark the goal of the meetings from the very beginning, regarding the summaries of what has been achieved.

The meeting does not have to last longer than 15 minutes. That is enough to discuss the assumptions made, what is still ahead of you, and to set possible new tasks or strategies. During the meetings, it is worth raising all current issues, e.g. something may prevent employees from executing the plan today, whether there are issues they would like to talk about or seek advice. It is also worth highlighting the achievements and successes of employees. Praise them for their work, which will further increase the team’s morale.

Extend the time for sale

Of course, it is not about your employees staying after hours. It is important to remove excess duties from them so that they can spend more time on sales alone. This applies to those things that they do not need to do at all. For example, participate in all meetings regarding their clients, help in writing contracts and preparing documents, deal with invoices, accounting matters and other obligations that other employees will successfully perform. Thanks to this, you will save time that can be spent on sales and you will increase your efficiency.

Measure team activities

Unfortunately, in many companies the most popular way of settling salespeople is measuring their sales results. Summaries are made at the end of the month and beyond the numbers, no constructive conclusions can be drawn.

For this reason, it is worth focusing on measuring activities, not just results. Thanks to this, you will find out who is better able to make phone calls and who works best during direct meetings. Who devotes more time to analysis, and who quickly draws conclusions. With this data, you’ll be able to better separate your work and increase its efficiency.

Also remember that if your company has different types of customers, it is worth dividing them into segments. You can then use other sales methods depending on the industry, and assign the right salespeople to them. If you find that one is better at, for example, finance, and the other is great at selling technical offers, let them work according to predispositions. Thanks to this, your profits will certainly increase.

Show your employees how to sell

If you’re a manager, it doesn’t mean you should watch the business from behind your desk. Practice is the best way to learn. When you make sure that your employees have a good example of how to act, they will certainly acquire the necessary knowledge faster. Show them live. By traveling with them, you will present good practices, correct any errors and motivate the team to act.

This does not mean that you have to demonstrate your own knowledge when meeting with clients. Let your employee do it, and after the meeting summarize the results and draw conclusions from them – what was good and what needs to be worked out.

Regardless of what you focus on in your business and what your vision is, the sales department is one of the most important elements. It is your business card and is often responsible for the first contact with the customer. So if you take care of its proper functioning, it will definitely translate into better operation of your company.