Is your B2B business booming? Congratulations! However, in order to keep up the pace and continue increasing sales, there are several easy steps you can take.
Always Go the Extra Mile
Don’t get complacent. Go a step beyond what your competition is doing. Perform your due diligence to discover how other companies are closing sales. If everyone else in your industry is emailing potential clients, get their phone numbers and make a call. If everyone is calling, schedule in-person meetings. Ideally, you want to get face-to-face with your clients whenever possible, especially if you’re selling a high-end product or service. That’s the best way to close the sale.
Focus on the Results
Many salesmen get too hung up on describing all the features of their product or service, but they’re missing something important. Nobody, whether it’s a business or a customer, buys features. They buy results. Decision makers want to know what your product or service can do for them. Connect the features of your product or service with the results they provide.
Understand Your Client’s Business
How do you know the results your potential clients expect? By understanding their business. Before you meet with a client, do your research. Figure out what goals they’re trying to accomplish, and how you can help them succeed. When you understand your client’s business, it shows them that they’re not simply another lead. It demonstrates that you respect their business, and you want to help them move forward.
Price High and Stick to It
Good clients understand you have to spend money to make money. Successful businesses, and businesses on the path towards success, recognize value and expect to pay accordingly. When you charge a premium price, businesses will see that you’re selling something valuable and taking what you do seriously. You’ll close bigger deals and secure better clients. If you lower your prices just to make more sales, you’ll end up with lower-paying clients who might not convert into a long-lasting customer.
Talk to the Decision Makers
Decision makers are people at the company who can actually pull the trigger on a large purchase. Don’t make the mistake of spending your valuable time talking to front-line buyers or purchasing managers who are going to need to clear everything with a higher-up. You may feel comfortable and get along great with those people, but it doesn’t do you any good if they don’t have the authority to buy what you’re selling. When you research a company, figure out who the decision makers are and approach them directly. You want to meet with them; close the sale, and then focus on order fulfillment instead of waiting for a contact to talk it over with their boss.
Provide Multiple Options
Let’s say you have a great meeting, and you present a business with one product or service option. What often happens is they decide to shop around and compare other options. Here’s a better way to go: include multiple product or service options at different price points. Now, they can choose the one they need, instead of feeling like they need to look around first. Many times, they’ll end up choosing the most expensive option to get the best value.
No matter how many sales you’ve made in the past, it’s important that you keep an ambitious mindset. Keep working hard for every sale so you see continued growth and success.
Look Into Financing
When used strategically, low-cost funds take thriving B2B businesses to the next level. An infusion of cash can help you increase inventory and add to your product line, attracting new customers and clients. Another business boosting way to use proceeds from a small business loan is to increase targeted marketing or hire a new sales professional. Buying in bulk and getting products for a lower price is another way you can increase your bottom line.
If you’ve been in business for 2 years or more with a strong credit score and cash flow to support monthly payments, you might qualify for an SBA loan. Known as the “gold standard” for small business financing, the 10-year terms and low interest rate lead to very low payments that won’t crunch your cash flow.
If you’re ready to seek funding, give SmartBiz Loans a try. We strive daily to live up to our motto, “SmartBiz Makes SBA Loans Easy”. Create an account on our website and you’ll know in about 5 minutes if you’re qualified for a low-cost SBA loan with 10 year terms. We conduct a “soft pull” of credit so your scores won’t be impacted.
About the Author
Thank you to guest writer Finn Pierson for this contribution to the SmartBiz blog. Finn is drawn to the technological world because of its quickly paced and constantly changing environment. He believes embracing technology is essential to capturing success in any business and strives to inspire and encourage top technological practices in business leaders across the globe.
