A challenging new B2B sales paradigm has emerged from today’s volatile economy and marketplace. The buying process is now longer and more complex, and is often conducted without direct vendor participation until very late in the game, making it harder to capture the attention of buyers and decision makers.
So how can you be heard and potentially dominate the buying process if you’re not included? Value-focused tools, technologies and messaging are key. This post discusses proven strategies for increasing sales and marketing success, and learning more about your customers in the process.
Who’s Really in Control?
Successful sales teams must strike a balance between their desire to pursue a sale and the buyer’s more self-directed process. Before engaging with a vendor, buyers often research solutions, download a variety of content, and read blog posts and product reviews. Yet even without direct contact, you can influence the sales process through the messaging on your website and in the assets you offer.
The same is true for accelerating the decision-making timeline. Whether you encounter lengthy RFPs, multiple product demos or more stringent corporate oversight, you’ll close more business with the right customers faster, by delivering value-based information at each milestone. Value selling speaks the language of decision makers and cultivates advocates for your product during internal debate.
Dominate the Buying Process
To distinguish your message from the competition, weave value into your story telling across all digital assets. Automated assessment tools and value calculators will quantify the rest of the story. Here’s how self-service tools and value selling work together to influence and dominate the buying process.
1. Capture Attention
Let’s assume your website is already optimized with relevant keywords, and is reasonably well ranked on search engines. Once a prospect finds you, how do you hook them into learning more about your expertise, capabilities and solutions? Simple: Demonstrate that you understand their hot buttons and can help solve their business problems.
Assets such as case studies, videos and blogs should focus on the value your solution provides. Emphasize how you can save them money and increase their revenue. Show how increased productivity and improved customer satisfaction can further business goals. Provide gated assets that are truly helpful and educational so prospects don’t hesitate to share their contact and company information.
Value calculators and assessment tools are yet another proven way to capture both information and attention. These tools speak directly to the bottom line, boost your website’s lead generation capabilities, and provide your sales and marketing teams with helpful insights.
2. Nurture Interest
Every lead needs regular activity to engage prospects and stimulate continued interest in your solutions. Marketing automation, which has become a necessity for B2B sales organizations, keeps productive conversations going long after a lead is captured, and tracks prospects’ sincerity in taking the next step towards a purchase decision.
You can significantly increase marketing automation’s productivity by linking your campaigns to value calculators on your website. The data captured in the calculators can help marketing understand prospect needs, concerns and behaviors, and be used to strengthen future outreach programs. Sales will gain insight into what’s driving purchase decisions and identify the specific solutions most likely to generate interest.
3. Sell Value
The best way to turn conversations into revenue is through value selling. ROI and value selling tools work hand-in-hand with value-based messaging to accelerate purchase decisions.
Flip your message when given the opportunity to demonstrate your solution. Emphasize the benefits and value it brings to the organization instead of the technicalities of how it works, regardless of how cutting edge they might be. Present decision makers with a detailed business case that extends value beyond the interests of the buying committee.
And don’t forget to include a comprehensive financial analysis that shows how your solution offers higher returns than other investments under consideration. This is key to quantifying the value of your solution and securing a positive purchase decision.
A smarter value-based strategy creates more compelling business propositions that help you influence and ultimately dominate the sales process. Decision makers will quickly realize how your solution benefits their entire organization when you quantify its ROI and other financial advantages. By combining value selling and assessment tools with benefit-based messaging, you’ll have an unbeatable combination for overcoming the challenges of today’s buying process.
