What makes B2B Sales so Challenging and How Can You Overcome those Challenges

B2B sales can get challenging, in fact, there could be many obstacles that can majorly increase or prolong the sales cycle and hamper revenue. But there are solutions and though b2b sales have unique challenges they can be overcome by analysing and understanding the deepest issues and having a strategy to overcome them.

This blog discusses some important challenges and what can one do to overcome these challenges.

Unique problem with a unique solution:

Whether it is b2b or b2c the decision maker in the buying process is always the customer. But the buyer in b2b has a slightly unique problem; one that demands an increase in revenue as against a b2c customer who will either be happy or sad with a product or service. This unique problem faced by b2b buyers becomes a unique challenge for the b2b sales professionals. Naturally the solution has to be designed and built in a customized manner for different customers so that the solution suits each one of them and is aligned with his or her business goals. Sales teams need to analyse and have a strategy in place or develop one for that matter, to resolve the issues faced by their individual customers.

Promising revenue and profits to your customers is a challenging thing to do and unless you have a perfect solution that can assure and achieve results, the challenge cannot be overcome.

Finding a solution to this unique challenge can be made easier if you have a comprehensive strategy that maps the entire customer journey, their digital and social behavioural patterns and why they are having the problems that they are having. Being in your customers’ shoes to come up with personalized and unique solutions is the thing to do.

Pricing and valuable services:

Pricing is also another big hurdle or obstacle when it comes to b2b sales. Agreeing or disagreeing on a price that the product or service can or cannot justify becomes a challenge and in the middle of this tussle, sales team at times can lose out on potential customers. The solution to this predicament is that the pricing be realistic and the services be aligned to the business goals of the customers. Also, how you communicate to the customer, through which channel, how personalized is your communication and how often do you do it becomes important in determining success of any deal. How well you can convince the customer about the value of your service or product also plays a huge role in convincing your customers why they should choose you over others.

Mix of decision makers:

Even if you target the right audience within an organizational set-up there could be multiple decision makers; something that you could have no control over. Even with a smart sales pitch to the topmost decision makers, it is possible that internally they could have a team of other decision makers who could have a say in the final decision. It is difficult to gauge the involvement of the different tiers of decision makers within an organization especially if various different functions are involved in a project. These could be the critical influencers when it comes to the buying decision.

The best way to get a solution around this challenge is segmentation on a micro level too. It’s best to know who all are involved in the process and who all you need to develop a rapport with so that you don’t miss out on influencers those who actually appear insignificant in their present roles but are actively involved in bigger decisions for various different reasons. Strong data acquisition becomes crucial in this aspect so that you know the roles of each one of them on the contact list and otherwise too.

This also makes it even more important to be active on social media to keep a track of the behavioural patterns of different individuals from the same organization. It can come handy while building a communication strategy to make it all-inclusive so that you leave no stone unturned and maximise your chances of selling.

Conclusion:

Other than the above factors, there could many other challenges too, but if you address these influential factors first, other things can ease up a little bit. In order to soften the rough edges and have a smooth sales process and shorten the sales cycle, one needs proper planning, strategic brand positioning and outstanding execution to close b2b sales deals.