No! you can still do it!

However, to keep closing deals, you need to understand the current dynamics of B2B sales and modify your techniques accordingly. You need to learn all the sales strategies that will help you achieve your sales quota.

And this is what we are going to share with you today. In this article we will discuss how you can change your business model to support the new B2B customers and the strategies you will implement to overcome modern day sales challenges.

If you are a new company, you may not have this problem but if you are a seasoned & experienced company, you may be sitting on technology platform that needs some love & care.

In todays information age, where market forces are changing faster than ever, it is necessary for your technology platform & systems to be connected and respond faster to the changing world. Its time to Upgrade .. its time to make sure your stock reflecting in your system is real time, and connected with your warehouse.

Upgrading legacy systems is going to be a challenge for many disturbers. However, if you are looking to deliver a more B2C like experience then you need to make sure that you have the right system in place.

Unfortunately, many businesses are in the practice of upgrading their systems on as per need basis. Which in long term can make it more difficult for you to integrate the new technology in to your systems putting you back to square one where you started.

Therefore, make sure that you develop a digital transformation strategy that is driven by your overall business goals and the end vision and not incorporate just the technology that you need.

If you’re planning your digital transformation, a good place to start would be your B2B ecommerce platform. It can serve as the centre of your business ecosystem.

Even though today’s buyers prefer to conduct their own research, it doesn’t mean that they can’t interact during the process. Its quite the opposite in fact.

You will see B2B buyers relying on the content to guide them through out their process of buying. They do this to gain the knowledge and make an informed decision. And while information is readily available it might not always be correct.

This is where you can take advantage of the opportunity.

You can create a content library with answers to the most popular questions asked by your audience, at different stages of their shopping journey. Once this is done you can share them with the possible customers. But what kind of content should you share here. According to research customers are much more responsive towards sales reps when their outbound strategy includes sales collaterals, white papers, case studies and industry articles.

Personalizing shopping experience for your customers is a must. Research shows that 50% of the buyers consider improved personalization as a key feature to build a lasting brand-customer relationship. customers also tend to spend more when they get a personalized experience.

Many digital agencies use headless solutions to implement personalized experiences. Which is why many B2B businesses are choosing headless commerce to make delivering personalized shopping experiences much easier.

In addition to headless commerce, there are other methods you could deploy for personalization. With the ever increasing advancements in the AI you can leverage machine learning to build customer segments and enable marketers to take instant action. This can be done through recommendations, automatic optimization, tiggered emails and real-time messaging.

Research suggests that sales and marketing misalignment can cost companies 10% or more revenue per year. While at the same time for those companies who have both their teams aligned not only met their revenue goals but exceed them by 19%.

Other benefits of aligning both your marketing and sales teams, is a significant increase in brand awareness, annual company revenue and average deal size.

But how are you going to align both teams?

The secret behind is content!

You can get your marketing team to create content around a specific challenge or pain-point. This content can then be shared with your sales team. Both the teams can share the created content through social media platforms or your website. Your sales team can also use this content and present it in webinars and other platforms they are approaching to bring leads to your business.

By now, you customer would have come across the content you presented, understood your product and consider it as a good purchase. This will result in better quality and more qualified leads for your sales team.

If you consider the most challenging aspect for B2B buyers – it is finding products online. Even if they find the product they are interested in they would not find up-to-date information.

There are several ways this issue can be solved. The first way to do so is through a product information management software. These software are designed to help you collect, manage and distribute your product information across all channels. This covers everything, from your ecommerce front stores to social platforms and marketplaces.

Another option for B2Bs to keep their product information up to date is using back office technology. This can help you automate the manual process. Currently, many B2B businesses use spreadsheets to manage their data and inventory. By integrating the right back office system you can help your business manage inventory efficiently. You can use ERP to house all your catalogue information which will then be connected to your store front. With this your website can show product changes and updates in real time.

Introducing a chatbot on your website is also another viable option. Your customers can use the chatbot to have a conversation with your sales team and inquire about products that they have not purchase before.

If you have been a traditional phone sales company, its time to evaluate and introduce new channels in your sales process.

If you are an eCommerce seller, you must pay some serious consideration to an inside sales team that makes out bound calls & engage customers.

Marketplaces are essential for B2B customers. Many B2B customers start their search for certain products in marketplaces.

The best part about third-party marketplaces is their ability to attract new customers. Not only does this mean that you get to have more sales, but you extend your target market to all over the world. You get the opportunity to reach the global market and test out new products.

If you are not talking with your customer, chances are someone else is talking with them and you are just a phone call away from being replaced.

While social shops and social media ecommerce is mostly dominated by B2C businesses, B2B businesses are also looking to enter the social media game. 52% of B2B businesses have used social commerce to set up their online store. The reason is because most of their buyers are already using social media channels. And what’s the best way to sell than to reach your audience where they are at.

Research shows that 46% of B2B customers use social media platforms to learn about the available products. While 40% use it to compare products and businesses and another 35% of the customers use social platforms to get the complete information of the products they are about to buy.

As a B2B business if selling and completing purchase through social media sounds too daunting you can always start small. Start out with experimenting with marketing your B2B business through social media. Create content and share with your audience. Conduct AB testing and see what work with your audience and what doesn’t.

As more and more B2B businesses enter the digital world, the need for a faster more efficient way of conducting business has become urgent. With the implementation of the latest technology in the world of eCommerce, the customers expectations are growing. And this is yet another way how a B2B can attract their customer base.

As a B2B you can streamline the checkout process, manage orders across different sales platforms, centralize information and reduce supply chain complexity to give your customers a faster and more efficient purchase experience.

B2B sales have changed – B2B is growing and business have to grow with it. Its no longer as simple as waiting for your customers to reach you. Instead, as a business you have to be proactive and look out for channels where you have your target audience and share relevant content with them that gives exposure to your product.

You also have to work in close collaboration with your marketing and sales team to create a strategy that will help you move prospects further down the sales funnel. By implementing this you will start to build a stronger customer and business relationship. More importantly, by facilitating your customers you will gain their trust and succeed in modern B2B sales.