September 2017

The Seven Deadly Myths of Today’s B2B Sell

Lisa Hager

Global Head, Salesforce Practice

B2B Sales and CRM Systems

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is a $26 billion industry

CRMs have a place in the data driven B2B sales space, but not all companies see its value

B2B sales teams struggle because they subscribe to seven principles that have now become myths

Myth #1: You Have a Long Time to Sell

Buyers approach vendors when they first decide they want to make a purchase, so sales teams have a long time to close the sale

New belief: Buyers approach vendors only when they’re close to a decision, and seek to close the sale quickly

Myth #2: Best Price Wins the Business

Buyers are mostly highly price sensitive and award business to the vendor with the lowest prices

New belief: B2B purchases involve many decision-makers; the price is not the challenge, getting them all to agree is

Myth #3: A Strong Brand Trumps All

B2B buyers are wowed by strong brands and sales teams don’t need to make much of an effort to win the deal

New belief: Sales teams only win when they actively qualify leads and pursue them to close on the deal, irrespective of the brand

Myth #4: Emotions Don’t Count

Purchase managers are logical and there is no place for emotions in large B2B deals

New belief: Sales teams know that selling is a people business, and they win when they focus on building rapport with customers

Myth #5: Customers are Patient

Customers are patient and want to deal with the same vendors because they’re comfortable with them and trust them

New belief: B2B sales teams only win when they understand that customers seek quick responses tailored to their requirement

Myth #6: B2B Sales are Sequential

B2B customers only consume information in a particular sequence and hence companies don’t need to prepare all platforms

New belief: Sales processes aren’t sequential anymore; to win, teams need to serve as consultants and build relationships

Myth #7: Buyers Don’t Seek Experiences

B2B buyers simply need access to all the information about the products and services to analyze and arrive at a decision

New belief: Companies that review the customer journey in the context of sales channels and interactions create a better selling experience

Winning at B2B Sales

Use holistic CRM to improve how your B2B sales teams approach and deal with customers

Evaluate your sales team and see if they believe in any of the seven myths; replace the myths with new beliefs to improve performance

Encourage customer-centric sales and marketing strategies

Predict needs, respond faster, and close more deals

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The Seven Deadly Myths of Today’s B2B Sell