As salespeople settle into the new year, analyze their territories and their new comp plans, their focus will begin to shift to individual accounts and how they can achieve their 2014 sales goals.
The first key to sales success is crafting a good sales strategy. The second is executing it. Too often salespeople craft a winning sales strategy, but then drop the ball executing it. Successful salespeople, however, don’t drop the execution ball. Nor do top salespeople just do more of the same things they’ve always done. They recognize it isn’t about just being a bit faster or a bit better. Rather, top salespeople realize selling differently is an ongoing effort – not a once in a lifetime upgrade.
Successful B2B salespeople implement these 10 sales tips when executing their sales strategy:
1. Dealing with passive competition – When the buying process stalls, as it often does, modify the sales strategy to overcome the no-decision momentum.
2. Documenting good news – Bad news documents itself; good new doesn’t – so make sure everyone knows the good news story.
3. Making the business case – Major accounts don’t close on product features – successful salespeople make a strong business case for investing in the solution.
4. Understanding the buying process – Get the right information, to the right people, at the right time.
5. Selling to the C-Suite – The probability of capturing major account business is minimal if salespeople do not successful sell to senior executives.
6. Selling value – Adding value is a key differentiator since it’s difficult to distinguish one product from the next by features alone.
7. Leveraging institutional resources – B2B sales is becoming a team sport, the day of the lone wolf is over.
8. Developing and rehearsing internal champions – Internal champions tell your story when you’re not there – and in major B2B accounts, you’re not there most of the time.
9. Defining competition more broadly – In major B2B sales, competitors are those companies who do what you do plus every other company competing for the same funds.
10. Being proactive – Nothing derails a sales strategy more than complacency.
To dive deeper into how these 10 sales ways are used by successful, B2B major account salespeople you can download the free white paper – Getting Sales Strategy Right in Major Accounts – in a pdf file.
