3 Smart Growth Hacks to Shorten Your B2B Sales Cycle
If your sales are taking forever to close, you’re not alone. B2B market is becoming increasingly challenging and crowded. Winning customers’ trust and establishing the b2b brand as a credible brand are some of the ways to stay alive and thrive in the competitive b2b landscape. However, adopting a more strategic approach to shorten the sales cycle can go a long way in accelerating business growth today.
This blog discusses three growth hacks that can help shorten the B2B sales cycle and help you drive more revenue and business growth.
Evolving B2B Market and Increasing Customer Awareness
Unlike B2C and other consumer businesses where advertisements and direct marketing play a crucial role, B2B is based on long-term relationships. Sales teams take charge and are responsible for developing and strengthening relationships with B2B decision-makers.
However, things have changed.
It could either be the impact of the pandemic or a sudden digital transformation, but B2B decision-makers are becoming increasingly aware. They’re conducting independent research and making their own decisions even before they start to communicate with the sales teams.
The B2B sales cycle has changed, and providers need to adapt.
Sales Cycle in B2B
Expanding digital presence is now the priority for B2B enterprises. They’re switching from traditional enterprise buying habits and adopting a fast-paced purchase behavior to meet the demands of their customers.
Here’s how the modern-day B2B buying process looks like:
- Recognizing a problem
- Searching for available resources and information
- Assessing, evaluating, and comparing options
- Purchasing the product or service
- Examining the product or service post-purchase
As you can see, the new B2B buying process looks similar to the B2B purchase process. Hence, B2B providers need to tweak their sales process and think more like B2C companies.
3 Growth Hacks to Shorten the Sales Cycle
A typical B2B sales cycle is long, and it’s only getting longer. With decision-makers becoming smarter and more aware, B2B sellers need to spend more time and effort on engaging and converting them.
By using these growth hacks, you can speed up the selling process and make the sales cycle significantly shorter.
Being transparent- Don’t Hide the Price of Your Service
Being transparent and up front about the price has its own advantages. Customers want to work with b2b vendors whom they can trust. Being transparent right from the beginning can help develop long term relationships. It may take time to get those leads to finally convert; however you will win some loyal customers too.
Communication is key- Prioritize Interactions
Chatbots are on the rise. In fact, 58% of all B2B companies use chatbots on their website. Chatbots are beneficial in many ways; they save time and automate customer support. They can answer some basic questions and can be used to give a quick response to your customers.
Also prioritise email communication. Email is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your customers. With hyper personalization and messaging that is crafted to directly address the needs of the customer, emails can help you reach the target audience, decision makers and also engage them effectively to shorten the sales cycle.
Showcase expertise- Use Social Proof the Right Way
Putting up dozens of testimonials on your website homepage won’t convince your customers. Highlight selective testimonials that speak of solutions that you provided which ultimately helped them enhance their business.
Include case studies on your website to show them how you solved the problems of the customers and how it helped them with business growth.
Conclusion-
The B2B sales process can be long and exhausting. But by implementing the right strategies, you can speed up the sales process and close more sales in less time. It’s essential to understand the B2B buying process and align your sales process with it.