The B2B sales process is tough and closing deals are even tougher. So far, I have yet to see a product or a service that has a 100% sales conversion rate and one that has zero competition.
 
In the reality we live in, closing business is always challenging but there are a number of things you can do to up your closing percentage and sometimes even a small 5 to 10% change in that ratio across an individual, let alone across a company makes a difference.
 
Here are a few thoughts & tips to consider to improve your B2B sales process:

 

Give yourself enough time to sell and close

Don’t run out of cash, time or patience before you can close a deal. If you are a startup, pay particular attention to this. We have seen many startups wait too long to start selling, thinking 6 months is more than enough to generate a sustainable funnel. That thinking, for the most part, is wrong. Be prepared to give yourself at least 12 to 18 months to close businesses and build a sustainable sales funnel.
 

Focus on activities

Calls, emails, Inmails, meetings, social selling etc., will get you to your goals. It is a numbers game. For every “no”, you are one step closer to that “yes.”
 

Include quantitative results and true stories in your messaging

Stories sell. Why? Because people take comfort in knowing that others have made a similar decision to the one they are making and that their decision was the right one.
 

Persistence

Statistics suggest it will take you 8 to 13 touches to close that deal.
 

Understand the customers buying process and cycle (budget, influencers, etc.)

Be aware of your customers’ situation when it comes to making a purchase. Is yours an opex spend they can make within their personal budget guidelines or is this a larger capex decision and it will require substantial sign off and vetting. Know who the influencers are and find ways to continuously sell them as well.
 

Get wider and deeper within your prospect

We all know having one contact is risky particularly as now more than ever as people are highly mobile and companies are quick to make employee changes due to economic circumstance. To provide more assurance your deal will close, understanding and having some interaction with other stakeholders makes good business sense – you ideally want to know who signs the cheques, who influences, who will be the main users and so forth.
 

Use a sales CRM

When doing B2B sales at a professional level, I believe having a sales CRM is key to keeping your team on track as it allows for activity tracking and monitoring and provides real-time sales funnel analysis.
 
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