7 B2B Sales Tips to Take Your Strategy to The Next Level

We’ve talked about what a sales strategy is, as well as the different types of sales strategies, but what now?

Once you’ve worked out which strategy best suits your company goals, product, and positioning, it’s time to put everything into practice… and ideally,  make it a success.

That’s why we’ve put together some key B2B sales tips and guiding principles to make sure the latter happens.

By following these seven tips for an effective sales strategy (and remembering them during day-to-day operations), you’ll boost the likelihood of executing that new sales strategy of yours in the best way possible.

So, here goes:

1) Focus on what your prospect needs

There’s a common thread between all the best sales strategy examples, and that is understanding what your prospect needs, as well as how you can position your company to be the answer or solution to that.

Heads up: to focus on what your prospect needs, you need to know who your prospect is. If you haven’t got that straight, you’ll find our ideal customer profile guide (and template) helpful.

Something that happens all too often is that reps focus only on competitive features, price points, or special promotions – not actually on providing value or help to the prospect. ‍♀️

Any time you communicate with a prospect, you should lead with what’s in it for them. That’s what will make this conversation worth their while, and invest in what you’re saying.

By highlighting a pain point or challenge they face, and then clearly articulating how you can help them solve it (complete with examples, naturally), you’ll prove the benefits of your products, and really hook them in.

2) Be truly trustworthy

We all know that people are skeptical of salespeople and that they are mostly motivated by their own agendas. You know, making sales, hitting their quota, getting their commission – all that stuff.

So, for times like when a prospect asks you a question during a sales call; if you don’t know the answer, don’t make it up.

You’ll come across as far more trustworthy if you say, “I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll find out and get back to you later today”. Then, of course, follow it up.

Another way you can prove your credibility is to be upfront about any limitations your product or service has. It might seem counterintuitive, but honesty is the best policy – and your prospect will see you as genuine, rather than feeling like ‘just another deal to close’.

3) Go further with a consultative selling approach

Another tip for success is to not just sell your product or service. Sell your product, but also sell your knowledge about the industry and competitors.

Why? By acting as an adviser (rather than ‘just another salesperson’), you help your prospect take their business to the next level – making yourself invaluable. You show that you care about your prospects and help them through their pain points, and your sales pitch becomes a lot more personal and authentic. Essentially, it makes it for them to say no.

There’s a reason why consultative selling is kind of our jam – and why it should be yours too.

4) Be specific in your outreach

When you perform sales prospecting and lead qualification, you have to keep your ideal customer profile (ICP) at the forefront of your mind – always.

Without having a clear, specific idea of exactly who makes a great customer for your business, and how they prefer their comms, you risk wasting time and energy on leads that go nowhere. And who wants that?

What you *actually* want: sales reps to focus their time and energy on pursuing viable leads in a way that leads want to engage and convert. Nice.

Take a look at our guide to build the most effective sales cadence with different modes of outreach.

5) Stay flexible and nimble

To make your sales strategy successful, you’re gonna have to get used to being quick on your feet. Prepare yourself for common sales objections, find creative solutions to overcome those obstacles, and be as accommodating as possible.

We already mentioned, that sometimes there are limitations to your product or service, and it might not be possible to accommodate certain requests. However, you should always strive to try – within reason.

6) Utilize the power of storytelling

Storytelling is part of our human DNA – we’re wired for it. We all love to tell stories, and we love to hear stories.

By weaving vivid success stories into your pitch, you humanize your selling and appeal more to your prospect’s emotional side. It helps to clearly illustrate the impact of your offering and makes your pitch more memorable.

Done well, and it’s a killer tactic that brings the personality and the visual and relatable outcomes that your prospects can’t get enough of.

7) Don’t forget to follow up

A prospect might not be very responsive at first, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be a great customer. Sometimes, people are just busy, or your email gets lost in their inbox. We’ve all been there ourselves.

But be persistent and continue to follow up.

You can also try creative ways to stand out. For example, if you’re talking to prospects around the holidays, you can send them a card or a gift card for a cup of coffee. If you know their birthday, send them some birthday wishes or cupcakes on the day.

Even if there’s no special occasion, you can still send a follow-up email to simply ask how they’re doing, and whether they’re up for a phone call or meeting in the not-so-distant future.

Any experienced sales rep will tell you persistence pays off. Here’s our guide on writing a sales follow-up email to help.

8) Track those results

Last, but certainly not least: track, track, track.

Make sure you monitor the performance and KPIs of your sales team, with whatever sales strategy you’ve gone for. This will give insight into what’s working, what’s not, and what you can do to improve your selling strategy to close   more deals.

Here are some of the main sales metrics you need to be tracking.

A good sales process calls for good tools

In addition to taking the right approach to sales strategy and processes, you’re going to want to make sure your team has all the right tools to bring out their full potential.

A good sales intelligence platform is a key part of your sales tech stack. Your choice should be a holistic sales solution that empowers teams to thrive – no matter what strategy they adopt.

Similarweb Sales Intelligence offers value to everyone in your team: whether SDR, AE, sales manager, or any other sales role.

By giving you visibility into – and insights on – 100 million potential companies across 200 countries on its database, your sales team can use Similarweb to easily generate more pipeline and gain new customers.

You can also be automatically alerted to risks and opportunities amongst your existing book of business, ensuring you can retain and grow your accounts–and position yourself as their trusted advisor.

Want to book a demo? Yeah, ya do.

FAQs

What makes a B2B salesperson successful?

To be a successful B2B salesperson, the main thing you need to do is focus on your prospect. That means making sure that the company is the right fit for your business, but also that yours is the right fit for their business needs. Making sure your sales process is catered to the prospect and solving their pain points is a guaranteed method for sales success.

What are some common sales mistakes that rep make too often?

Preparation is key to success in sales; without it, you’re not going to get very far when it comes to winning that deal. Among other things, not listening to your prospect and being too generic in your sales pitch will cost you.

by Leah Messenger

Senior Content Marketing Manager

Leah is a Senior Content Marketing Manager with a passion for turning complex topics into engaging, educational content.