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5 Proven B2B Sales Outreach Strategies

January 1, 2018
5:25 AM

Let’s be honest…B2B sales is a bit of a tougher challenge compared to the B2C counterpart. Primarily because it frequently involves products & services that cost far more and it takes more time. In B2b sales those who have overachieved their targets get the chance to ride out to the sunset on their steeds while the underperformers duel with their seniors & get shot down.

Along with the headache of targets, B2B sales managers are tasked with additional responsibilities which include direct sales rep management to territory planning, designing the company’s sales strategies, managing change, executing & overseeing incentive programs, examining & designating the right technologies for sales support, sales development & more.

Moreover, the blame for an underperforming sales team mostly falls on the shoulders of sales management. This is why formulating the right strategy, understanding how the corporate-digital-world is impacting B2B sales, mentoring reps to exceed expectations, performing competitive analysis among other practices are key to B2B sales success in today’s fast-paced sales universe.

Read on to get acquainted with the most effective B2B sales strategies that will help you to build trust with prospects, win over competition & close more deals.

1. Infusing ABM(Account-Based Marketing)

The term coined by ITSMA in 2004 has been practiced for many years in one form or another. But many are making the mistake of treating account-based marketing as a marketing approach only even though it’s for sales too. There are researches that say that as many as 17 decision-makers will be involved in enterprise sales.

Account-Based Marketing applies just as much to sales teams as it does to marketing teams as it looks at a company or an account in a holistic manner. Salespeople can tailor their approach methods specifically to reach personas in that buying center & try to engage as many personas as possible across the account.

Bonus: 9 SUPERB MARKETING AUTOMATION FEATURES TO FOCUS ON

2. Taking on data

Data has the ability to empower sales teams to reallocate sales efforts, avoiding wasting valuable selling time on prospects that are unlikely to convert. Sales teams of this century use data to find high-impact patterns that lead to success.

Data has the power to be the judge & jury behind crucial decisions of your company today. Data is also breaking down the silos between sales & marketing by centering their strategies on identifying best-fit prospects, expanding & deepening the understanding & insight into those prospects, and engaging directly with them through multiple sales & marketing channels.

It’s better to avail the services of professionals to attain verified data insights on both companies & individuals.

3. Intelligent cold calling

True business people will never underestimate the value of relationship-building even in today’s digital age. People do business with people, not with technology. What salespeople should focus on is that instead of cold calling a large list of contacts randomly & selling your services to a small percentage, calls should be more based on targeting & permission. Before you pick up the phone, you should define targeting criteria & only pursue contacts who meet those requirements. Instead of directly pitching your product, you should offer a piece of content or a resource that is relevant to their needs & ask for permission to follow up.

All this research will ensure that you bring relevant & helpful information to the conversation. If you are aware of their challenges before they share them with you, it will be easier for you to present solutions to them off the top of your head. This will increase your chances of converting those leads.

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4. Differentiate yourself from the competition

You should make sure that your company doesn’t blend in with the many different businesses which are out there so that you will stand out in some way if you want to gain the attention of your target prospects. This is also the key to long-term success in B2B sales.

You should always stay a step or two ahead of your competitors by finding your unique value proposition, getting back to basics by talking with customers, reading customers’ minds through emails, etc.

Leveraging these techniques will help you to maintain differentiation at the top of your priorities list & help you to stand out from your lead’s perspective.

5. Amplifying sales with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is growing progressively capable of handling many sales transactions. Technology is advancing so quickly that the growing number of transactions will require no human involvement. Machine learning is aiding salespeople in forecasting which companies are going to be good customers, which sales team members are going to have a great quarter etc. by the use of data.

Artificial intelligence is going to be the perfect weapon to fuel any organizations’ sales efforts & boost sales teams with genuinely intelligent tools to effectively organize their work & sell more. It is not going to displace the salesperson but amplify & accelerate the person’s ability in understanding & employ the data which will not just improve productivity & push performance but also improve customer experience.

Bonus: HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS REVOLUTIONIZING SOCIAL MEDIA & EMAIL MARKETING

Summing it up!

B2B sales that are developed in the right way will ultimately lead to attaining more customers, which includes long-term ones. An average B2B company won’t have the resources to run prospecting campaigns at full speed across all channels.

This makes it all the more important that your approach in sales should be changed & all these techniques should be incorporated by keeping in mind about building relationships instead of closing sales.