Top 5 B2B Sales Mistakes To Avoid

Selling is tough. There are various hidden traps and mistakes sales reps continuously repeat. B2B sales mistakes can cost you revenue and a hard-earned reputation.

It is crucial to identify these sales mistakes, fix your approach and crush your competition. Once you avoid the common sales mistakes, establish your authority and showcase yourself as the top player in your domain. As a result, you could see a better performance and the graph going upwards in the right direction.

Here are five frequent business-to-business sales mistakes that you and your sales team must stop making if you plan to close more deals in the coming months.

1.Neglect connection building in favor of selling

B2B businesses often neglect the importance of building relationships with their buyers. They are hard-selling their products or services without realizing that fulfilling clients’ needs has to be the PRIORITY. 

To build trust with potential prospects, first, invest time into detailed research. Research is essential before reaching out to leads, make sure you have done proper research into their pain points, goals, and preferences in advance. 

Secondly, ask questions about what the lead is currently struggling with, what kind of solutions they are looking for, whether they have a budget, the number of people involved in the decision-making process. The B2B sales tend to have higher commercial and transactional values than B2C sales. One of the best ways to incorporate an efficient sales strategy is to let the prospects feel they are assisted instead of sold. 

2. Highlighting only the features of your product

Giving your buyers a complete list of  your products or services can create a direct path to the dreaded “So what?” If your buyers cannot see a clear picture on how those features can benefit them, then you have not done your job right. 

Businesses nowadays CARE LESS about the features of products. They mainly focus on how a specific product can solve their main problems and challenges. Besides, you may also need to keep your presentation short and simple. Prospects should be able to understand immediately what you can do for them and why they should do business with you.

3. Deliver on your promises

One of the biggest B2B sales mistakes salespeople often make is overpromising to get a deal. This method will force your buyers to leave negative reviews and ratings about your business, thus hindering your chances of getting referrals and more clients. Therefore, you have to keep your promise to retain the trust and grow your business. 

It takes a lot of time to build credibility. When buyers are unsatisfied with your business, it would ultimately lead to depleted credibility, negative reviews, unhappy customers, bad PR, and false expectations, and you will eventually lose the business. If your buyers stop doing business with you, it will lead to low new sales, and destroy the reputation of your business. So, this is why you should never over-promise in your sales pitch and always try to meet your prospects' expectations. 

4. Rushing your buyers

If you find yourself struggling to close a deal, then rushing your buyers too frequent might be one of the reasons! 

Many sales reps tend to rush prospects to close a deal, resulting in the potential buyers moving away from a deal. While it is always a good idea to ask your prospects for a next step and follow up after each meeting, you also need to give people enough time to consider your proposal. A pushy salesperson is always a turn-off.

Given that, respectful persistence works the best. Write great follow-up emails or messages but do not send them such emails more than 3 times a week. Instead, try to find why a prospect hesitates to commit, and if the prospect is checking out competitors, then find out what the areas are to put you ahead of the competition. Once you have the answers, provide more value with each follow-up email to convince them. It can be a new market report, a success case study from a similar industry, or simply a free solution!

5. You don’t prioritize in follow ups

Hot leads can turn cold quickly if you do not follow up on them in time. Buyers might be researching for several sellers at a time to get quotation. Therefore,  the sooner you respond to your buyers, the better the chances you could close a deal. By being  first to respond to your buyers, you will find yourself ahead of the queue and win Brownie points for your re-activeness. To your buyers, such an approach helps to create a good impression that you value their business and treat their business as a priority.

Following up does not have to be by phone, but it can also be done by personal email & livechat response. There is at least a system somewhere to ensure an automated email is sent on your behalf, letting your buyers know that you will be reaching out shortly. It is important not to limit your communication to only one channel.

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PanPages Trinity is an award-winning global trade solutions provider. We bring you solutions that help your business export beyond local regions. If you are interested to know more about how to deal with overseas buyers, contact us now! Our experienced global trade consultants will reach out to you with moving solutions that can excel your business further!