QUICK WIN B2B SALES Answers to your top 100 B2B sales questions Ray Collis & John O’Gorman Published by OAK TREE PRESS, 19 Rutland Street, Cork, Ireland www.oaktreepress.com © 2010 Ray Collis & John O’Gorman A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 9781904887485 (Paperback) ISBN 9781781190081 (ePub) ISBN 9781781190098 (Kindle) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without written permission of the publisher. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. Requests for permission should be directed to Oak Tree Press, 19 Rutland Street, Cork, Ireland. INTRODUCTION QUICK WIN B2B SALES is aimed at sales professionals who are interested in new ways of boosting their sales success. It contains the answers to the questions most commonly asked by sales people selling business-to-business solutions – questions that relate to the principal sales opportunities and challenges faced everyday. You can read QUICK WIN B2B SALES cover-to-cover, or you can dip in and out of it to find the answer a specific question. Either way, you will find the questions and answers: • Are practical and to the point. • Provide tips and techniques that can be put immediately into effect. • Can be applied in respect of sales valued at €1,000 or €100,000. • Focus not just on winning a once-off sale, but on building profitable customer relationships. • Adopt a scientific approach to selling, emphasising the importance of continuous improvement and ongoing learning. QUICK WIN B2B SALES groups the key sales questions according to the stage of the sales process to which they apply, recognising that there are many dimensions to the B2B sales role, and many steps through which the sale must progress. Thus, there are seven sections to the book: • Sales Essentials sets the scene and answers some of the most common questions about selling. • Sales Leads deals with how to generate more, and better, leads and enquires. • Sales Meetings deals with how to make meetings with prospects more effective, especially the first tentative encounter. • Sales Cycles addresses how buyer and seller can engage more successfully in matching needs to solutions. • Sales Orders focuses on increasing win rates through more effective sales proposals, closing and negotiation. • Repeat Sales focuses on how to generate more revenue from existing customers through more effective account management, project / delivery management and referrals. • Sales Management focuses on issues of concern to sales managers, such as sales systems, the sales team and the sales plan. In addition, using the grid in the Contents, you can search for questions and answers across a range of topics, including: • Message & Materials. • Skills. • Strategy. • Systems & Structures. And, where appropriate, answers cross-reference to other questions for a fuller explanation or more information. Enjoy the book – we wish you lots of quick wins and success in your B2B sales! Ray Collis & John O’Gorman Dublin September 2010 SALES ESSENTIALS Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures   Q1 How is B2B selling different?  Q2 Why is it important to take a long-term view in sales?  Q3 How can we align sales and marketing?   Q4 How can we drive our sales and marketing?   Q5 What do we need to know before we launch a new product / service?    Q6 How do we start selling in international markets?    Q7 Is there a better way to forecast sales than relying on market research? SALES LEADS Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures  Q8 What trends are changing the way sales messages are heard?  Q9 Why is strategic focus so important?  Q10 How do we define the profile of our ideal target customer?   Q11 How do we generate demand?   Q12 What are the 10 key steps in generating demand?   Q13 What are the six challenges lead generation must overcome?  Q14 How can we use webinars to advance leads and prospects?   Q15 How can I make a prospect’s PA my sales ally?  Q16 How do we prepare for a telemarketing campaign?  Q17 How can we use LinkedIn for business development?  Q18 How can we generate more enquiries from our website?   Q19 How should we nurture contacts? SALES MEETINGS Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures  Q20 How do we make sure we only meet people who are prospects?   Q21 How do I research a potential customer? SALES MEETINGS Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures   Q22 What preparation do we need to do before a sales meeting?  Q23 What are the top 15 customer questions and how should I handle them?  Q24 Should we be honest with the customer – always?  Q25 What’s the difference between ‘leads’ and ‘contacts’?   Q26 Why should we ‘stop selling’?  Q27 What is it buyers want to hear?   Q28 What can I do to make sales meetings more effective?   Q29 How do we position ourselves as experts?  Q30 What questions can we ask to help identify buyers’ needs?  Q31 What questions should we ask in an early-stage meeting with a buyer?   Q32 What should we do to make sure of a great sales presentation?  Q33 What follow-up should we do after a sales meeting? SALES CYCLES Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures  Q34 What is the sales cycle?   Q35 How do I know whether a prospect represents a genuine sales opportunity?   Q36 How can we get the prospect to do our pre-qualification for us? Q37 What are the implications of the client’s cost of the buying process to me as a   seller?  Q38 What questions should we be asking buyers at different stages in the sales cycle?    Q39 ‘To speed up the sale, you must slow down’. What does this mean?   Q40 What must we do to win the sale?   Q41 How can we help the buyer to buy?   Q42 What mistakes will buyers not forgive?  Q43 How does a seller’s view of a solution differ from the buyer’s view?  Q44 How can we shorten the sales cycle and accelerate the sale?  Q45 How can we use problem identification to sell? SALES CYCLES Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures   Q46 How do we find out what buyers really want?  Q47 How do we establish the customer’s buying criteria?   Q48 What if the buying criteria set are not favourable to our company? Q49 How do we get a good understanding of what motivates the buying organisation   and its key people?  Q50 How can we change our language / approach to meet buyers’ needs better?  Q51 How can we win over buyers in a downturn?  Q52 Does one-to-one selling work?  Q53 What is relationship selling?  Q54 How can we fast-track our company’s credibility for sales purposes?  Q55 What rules apply to access to decision-makers in the buying process?  Q56 What should the business case look like?  Q57 How do we differentiate ourselves from other suppliers?    Q58 How do we manage the issue of risk for a buyer?    Q59 Why is selling to C-level executives different? SALES ORDERS Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures  Q60 How do we price our products / services?   Q61 Why should we give our pr ospects ‘homework’?   Q62 When should we walk away from a possible sale?  Q63 How can we make sure our sales proposal is focused on the buyer’s needs?  Q64 How do we manage a competitive bid?   Q65 How can we boost win rates?  Q66 How can we improve the hit rate of our proposals?  Q67 How should we rate sales opportunities?  Q68 How do we spot opportunities that may be in trouble?   Q69 ‘Buyers only buy from big vendors’. What hope have we of selling to them? SALES ORDERS Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures  Q70 How do we know if the sale is ready to close?   Q71 What are the most effective closing techniques?   Q72 How can we increase our closing success?  Q73 What should we do when we lose a sale?   Q74 What do we do when a client wants to re-negotiate on price? REPEAT SALES Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures  Q75 Why are pilots risky for sellers?  Q76 Why are customers lost?   Q77 How can we maximise customer referrals?   Q78 We have won the order. The selling is over, right?    Q79 What are the main barriers to repeat sales?  Q80 Does the salesperson need to be involved after the sale has been won?   Q81 How do we increase our importance to the customer?  Q82 How do we communicate our importance to the customer?  Q83 How do we ensure customer loyalty?   Q84 How do we become more pro-active in managing customer relationships?  Q85 What are the key elements of account management? Q86 What is the difference between account management and account   development?   Q87 How can we protect our customers from hungry competitors?  Q88 How should we measure customer satisfaction?  Q89 Why are referrals so important? SALES MANAGEMENT Message & Materials Skills Strategy Systems & Structures   Q90 Who do we need on our selling team?  Q91 What are the obstacles that prevent individual salespeople selling more?   Q92 How can we be better at sales forecasting?   Q93 Why do we need a sales system?  Q94 How do we know our sales system is working properly?  Q95 How do we make our sales system more effective?   Q96 How can we measure user skills on our sales system?   Q97 What can we do when sales staff won’t use our sales system?   Q98 How can we improve our recruitment of sales staff?  Q99 What should our sales plan look like?   Q100 How can we increase the effectiveness of our sales team? SALES ESSENTIALS Q1 How is B2B selling different? B2B selling is different. That sounds like a statement of the obvious, yet we meet salespeople everyday whose actions suggest it is not so. They act like the stereotypical salesperson selling double-glazing door-to-door –and then wonder at their lack of success. B2B selling is about: • Helping, not selling: Nobody wants to be sold to, but people always welcome help in solving their problems, or identifying how best to meet their needs. • Solving problems, or exploiting opportunities, not selling products, or services: The customer is not buying products or solutions, nor are they buying just because he / she likes the company or the salesperson. They are buying to solve a problem, or exploit an opportunity within his / her business. The more the salesperson can help him / her do this, the better. • Listening, not talking: Forgetting this is the most common mistake made by salespeople. They don’t shut up long enough for the customer to tell them how they can be helped and convinced to buy the salesperson’s product, or service. • Confidence on the part of the customer, not the salesperson: The super salesperson focuses on building the customer’s confidence that your company will best meet their needs. • Expertise, not salesmanship: That means the customer regards you as an expert, advisor, or specialist, not just a salesperson. It means you can expertly advise potential customers, from a position of knowledge regarding your products and services, as well as their business and industry. • Benefits, not features: Despite long lists of features, brochures, ads and sales presentations often lack a compelling sales proposition, that: • Appeals on a rational, emotional and political level. • Is tailored to decision-makers / influencers within the target segment. • Is distinct from competitors. • Is supported by evidence. • Presents a clear cost justification. • A process, not just a person: There is too much emphasis on the salesperson and not enough on the sales process to match the company’s solution to the buyer’s needs and buying processes. The process must be a clear, logical and repeatable set of steps that correspond to how customers buy; it involves many people in the sales organisation, not just the salesperson. • Preparation and planning:. Time in front of the customer is precious, so great sales people maximise its effectiveness through extensive pre-call research, planning and preparation. • Opportunities not objections: Great salespeople welcome purchase objections from buyers. They recognise them as opportunities to better understand customer requirements and demonstrate how their solutions can meet them. They deal with them up front and have prepared for and rehearsed how best to answer. • Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm is a rare, but priceless, quality among salespeople. It is infectious, but cannot be easily mimicked. A sales person has got to believe in the product / service and company he / she is selling. • Keeping in touch: The one-meeting sale is an illusion, indeed most people you call on may not yet realise they have a problem, or need your solution. By maintaining ongoing contact, you build trust and confidence. • Long sales cycles: Anything from three to six to 14 months and more. It involves complex buying processes and large buying groups (that is four to six people involved in one way or another in the buying decision). It requires building relationships, credibility and trust, not just demonstrating competitive advantage.