B2B sales are strenuous; there is no denying this fact. Right from prospecting to the first interaction, from nurturing leads to closing consumers, B2B sales can leave you dry over the course of the complex sales cycle. This can be accredited to the conventional selling ideology in use – sell at any cost and to anyone.

But this is not how the modern system works. With the evolution of the buyer, there has been a shift in the center of the ideology; selling is more customer-centric now. This also means that simply transacting does not bring in revenue now; relations do. You must really rethink if you are providing value to your prospects; because only 65.2% of B2B buyers said that they found value in discussing their situations with salespeople.

Hence, sales techniques also aligned themselves in the interests of consumers. They now aim at engaging and nurturing leads, so that deals are easier to crack. Let’s look at 4 top-selling strategies that you should consider for 2021.

1. Strategic Selling

Strategic Selling was a concept put together by Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman for companies that deal with complex prospect companies with the aim of signing a hefty contract. The idea is to identify key points of contact among various groups and influence them into championing your product in their organization.

When you are working along with the idea of Strategic sales, you must be able to distinguish between the four types of buyers in your prospect company. The economic buyer is the one who has the last word to approve or reject the product (CEO or a Board), the user buyer who actually uses your product, the technical buyer who determines the extent to which your product will solve their problem, and the coach, who is your champion and will guide you into the company.

You first align your product with the needs of the user buyer, expose them to your content and marketing efforts, make them your coach and get the economic and technical buyers on board, all by providing value, because only 65.2% do.

Why is it guaranteed?

Like mentioned before, strategic selling is used for complex deals with a number of decision-makers. It helps sales reps break down the numerous challenges into small manageable components and identify the right decision-makers.

2. Solution Selling

The name makes it pretty evident – this approach to selling is more focused on the needs and challenges faced by the prospect than on anything else.

The first step is to identify the pain points and research everything out of the client’s history of dealing with it. Once you have understood what is troubling them, you make your questions – open-ended with a lot of scope to gather information from the prospect, because the more you know, the better you can help. Run the information alongside your solution and see if it actually helps them or not.

Solution selling heavily hinges on the building of a relationship with a prospect, which they are looking for an expert advisor to help them instead of selling to them. This means you have to tell them what will solve their problem, even if it is not your solution.

Once you have made them realize the problem and its consequences, bring your solution as the savior and educate them on how it will solve all their pains. Design a custom plan for them and bam, deal closed.

Why is it guaranteed?

What do buyers want from sales experts? 69% say, “Listen to my needs.” This is reason enough. If you have specific products that are customized according to the client’s needs, solution selling is the best way to go around it.

3. Account-based Selling

Account-based selling, as the name suggests, is selling by the account, which means that a company is treated as an ‘account’ or a market in itself. This approach focuses on the alignment of sales and marketing to develop a multi-channel program aimed at influencing the different levels and stakeholders in a prospect company/account.

It starts from qualifying your accounts; look for ones that match your ideal customer profile (ICP) in behavioral and firmographic features. Research your way into the organization’s hierarchical structure. Pick out the KDMs at each level and create a buyer persona for each of them. Target these accounts, through content and similar engagement methods on platforms they prefer and use the most.

Account-based selling requires your sales and marketing to work in perfect alignment with each other, else the efforts will go to the trash. Also, spanning your strategy across different engagement sites is very important, so that you maintain the kind of interaction needed and still ensure the comfort of the prospect.

Why is it guaranteed?

Account-based selling is a guaranteed way of increasing revenue- 91% of companies using ABM increase their average deal size and recorded a 208% increase in revenue because the accounts are high-valued. They usually have multiple stakeholders, so interacting with them at different levels usually leads to valuable discussion and good relationship-building.

4. Social Selling

Yes, all the selling you do through social media is social selling. It is a widely used method of selling, aimed at educating and captivating the buyer with what you have to offer.

Social selling is different from marketing in the way that it builds relationships with prospects across social media instead of just broadcasting messages and content. Most social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are used for engagement with potential clients, but the original gangster for social selling is LinkedIn. So, what you have to do is, get your company pages up on the platforms and start making an identity in your market.

Post relevant content, join groups and discussions, provide insights and keep an eye on your competitors. Check what your prospects are doing and try to engage them with topics they find pertinent. Establish your credibility across the platforms you use. Be observant of developing trends, use analytics and read the market.

Why is it guaranteed?

Social selling is a way of building relationships online before you get down to selling. With your accountability and insights, you establish yourself as a thought leader, allowing prospects to trust you and take interest in what you have to say. Also, 84% of C-level and VP-level buyers use social media for purchasing.

Final Words!

B2B sales have changed over the years. The sales rep does not have the power to keep the whole process under their control; 57% of buying decisions are made before engaging with a sales representative. B2B transactions are all boiling down to one factor – building a relationship with your prospect.

The four mentioned approaches to sales are all centered on helping your client and gaining their trust, but this does not mean that each of them can be applied to any business. Before you think about selecting a strategy, dig deep about your industry, market, company objectives, sales cycle, and the preferences of your prospects. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, the customer is the king.

However, if you still feel lost and are confused about the sales technique that you must employ for your industry, it’s best to seek advice from expert B2B sales and marketing consulting firms. They will not only guide you in the right direction but will also give you the hack to success.

Do you also want to explore new and effective sales techniques?  Contact us today and we will take it up from there!