One thing I get a little confusion on from time to time is how different B2B sales are from B2C.
In my opinion the prospecting parts of the process can be somewhat different, depending on the item, but the sales process shares more similarities than differences.
Here’s a primer for how the sales process itself should look pretty close in each case, so we can work from the point of commonality before we look at the different later.
Rapport:
I did an AMA yesterday about marketing where I said that business was a contact sport.
Too often in the sales process, if we aren’t careful, we become too automatic, too familiar, too distant…to the point that we never make a connection with our potential buyer.
No matter what sales situation you are in, rapport is key.
Find out “What’s Up?”
You need to have a basis for the conversation.
Alan Weiss says, “What’s your deal?”
Me, I’m more of a “So, what’s up?” kind of person.
Either way, you need to know what is going on with the person you are talking to.
Show the impact of change:
Remember this, you are always selling against the status quo.
When I was selling theatre tickets in Times Square, a lot of visitors didn’t need to see Wicked to make their trip to New York magical…at least until I talked with them.
The same can be said for a lot of the businesspeople that came to me to get tickets for a special client or prospect.
They thought that they were only getting a seat, but by the time we were done talking, we were talking about an experience. One that could make or break a deal or a relationship.
Uncover challenges:
There is always a why to making the sale.
You can call them objections. You can call them questions.
Whatever.
You need to discover them.
Because if you don’t do it early, they will trip you up later.
No matter if you are selling B2B or B2C.
Show how challenges are harming people:
When I write about overcoming objections, I write about the 4 real objections that people are dealing with:
- No trust
- No desire
- No urgency
- No money
Your job at this stage is to take these objections and turn them around to show why action is necessary.
Gain trust.
Create desire.
Get urgent.
Money, that’s usually because of the above 3. But you need to be aware of that.
Share your solution:
Eventually you need to get to your solution.
The problem for most salespeople in most situations is that they start with themselves from the very start.
If you rush it, the likelihood is that you aren’t going to find any success.
That’s why you need to wait until you know what is going on, you know what pain is being created, and the kind of impact that can be created.
Once you have that, share your solution.
Finally, you can close:
Coffee is for closers!
But you don’t need all the shenanigans if you have followed a systemized process.
Got it?