With many economies now trying to move forward, as a service-based SME owner, you now need to address the challenging task of generating B2B sales leads and revenues to re-ignite your business.
Over the past few months, you likely have been trying to “stay top of mind” by providing useful, helpful content without being pushy or salesy.
Now, like many of us, you are feeling as though you no longer can remain “in limbo” and you are trying to determine what is the best way to generate sales to keep your business moving forward.
However, at the same time, you are also asking yourself…
“Is now really a good time to start selling?”
Well, the answer is that yes, there are business buyers that will indeed spend money.
However, it is important to recognise that business buyers will be looking to spend money if specific criteria are met.
Fulfill these 3 criteria to start improving your B2B sales
Business buyers will be looking to spend money during these volatile and uncertain times if the following criteria are met:
1. You are strategically relevant
Your SME’s service offering must be support of 1 or more of your client’s key strategic priorities or initiatives.
2. You are tactically urgent
The change the customer is seeking to achieve must occur relatively quickly.
3. You offer rapid time to value
Given the current business environment and the increased aversion to risk, business buyers will be looking for smaller investments that generate short-term paybacks and benefits.
Listen in…
I discussed these topics and more in this recent interview with Eric Dye of the Enterprise Podcast Network:
Win. Deliver. Expand.
Therefore, consider adopting a “Win-Deliver-Expand” Sales strategy whereby you provide your client with smaller, “bite size” solution over a 3-month or 6-month period where your firm can deliver some agreed, tangible results.
At the end of that initial period, you can then review the results and outcomes and then look to “upsell” a solution with a larger investment over a longer period.
Your success in generating sales will be contingent on you:
- having an in-depth understanding of where the business buyers are today
- developing an implementation support plan
Take Action Now
To kickstart your sales, undertake the following steps:
- Identify current clients or prospects that you wish to pursue that could potentially meet the above 3 criteria
- Identify/ confirm the relevant stakeholders for your service offering
- Conduct buyer discovery discussions
- Use these discussions to understand where these stakeholders and these companies are at today. Some key areas of inquiry include:
- What are their priorities, challenges, and objectives?
- Who are the buying group committee members?
- How does the purchase decision process work?
- Your aim: to identify buyers and issues where the buyers are HYPER-INVESTED
- Re-group with internal stakeholders (eg Marketing, Sales, Client Delivery) to identify potential modified offerings you could provide
Need Help Restarting Your B2B Sales in the New Norm?
Feeling stuck and need some help how to acquire business customers and move your business forward?
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