Buyers today have all of the information they need to make purchasing decisions at their fingertips. The internet has given rise to savvy modern buyers and changed how we make purchases and conduct business. To motivate and sell to these informed decision-makers requires a B2B sales process that leverages expertise across marketing and sales skill sets.
Today’s buyers hold all of the authority in the buyer/seller relationship—and they aren’t interested in being distracted, pitched, or sold.
Prospects want value-added sales interactions that provide insights and help with their buying decisions—on their terms. If a business doesn’t offer a desirable buying experience, buyers will pick up and move to another organization that does.
It’s time to ditch the legacy sales process and start selling the way modern prospects buy.
It’s time for a buyer-centric B2B sales process.
WHAT IS A SALES PROCESS?
A sales process is the series of predictable events and actions required to guide a prospective buyer to purchase a product or service. Sales efforts are grouped into clearly defined stages or phases that enable tactical planning, tracking, and forecasting deals.
WHAT IS A “LEGACY” SALES PROCESS?
“Legacy” refers to sales strategies that are business-centric and transactionally focused—relying on scalability, standardized sales pitches, and sheer volume to generate revenue. These processes promote gaming the system, carelessly slogging through repetitive interactions, and pressuring prospects to buy. “Legacy” operations produce environments where salespeople become transactional facilitators that do little to nurture prospects, advise decisions, or become trusted partners.
You might have a legacy sales process if you’re:
- More concerned with the quantity over quality of interactions
- Unable to identify and qualify good fit leads
- Only use email and phone calls to reach out to leads
- Not equipping sales with the resources to educate buyers beyond your offerings
- Not tracking acquisition costs or customer lifetime value
- Creating the same sales interactions for every prospect
- Competing on price
- Struggling to meet revenue targets without face-to-face interactions
CREATE A MODERN B2B SALES PROCESS
Every sales rep knows—and has probably reminded you several times—that the act of selling is an art form.
Meeting each individual prospect’s needs and overcoming objections is one of the few business processes that can’t be boiled down to a step-by-step procedure. An effective B2B sales process requires a framework that empowers salespeople with the freedom to improvise, tailor interactions, manage multiple stakeholders, and anticipate buyer needs.
Freedom to improvise doesn’t mean your sales process has to be the wild west. You will need rules, methods for measuring progress, and the ability to forecast. A sales process framework creates a sales environment that combines freedom with the right mix of predictability and measurement.
Last note. Each sales process is custom-built to fit the business, industry, and customers served. So there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Sorry. That said—we can provide you with a “recipe” for developing your own custom sales framework.