The B2B sales market is a distinct world of its own. It’s not like selling to consumers. If you cast a wide net, you’ll waste your time and money. If you go after one decision-maker in an organization, you probably won’t get very far. It’s complex. But this is simple: if you're a business that sells products or services to other businesses, you need to have a well-planned B2B sales strategy. You also need the marketing and sales enablement assets to give your strategy wings.
By the end of this blog you will:
- Understand the importance of a B2B sales strategy
- Review valuable sales enablement assets
- Get started with a B2B case study template
Why is a B2B sales strategy important?
According to Spotio, B2B buyers are usually 57–70% through their buying research before they actually contact sales. That means before even speaking with you for the first time, they already have a pretty good idea of what they want. You could be intimidated by this, but instead, lean into it and listen closely to your prospects. If they already know what they’re looking for, your next move is to prove their search is over.
That’s a unique insight of the B2B sales sphere, but it’s not the only one. Selling B2B is unquestionably different from its B2C counterpart — here’s how:
- The sales cycles are long
- Multiple decision-makers are involved
- The value is typically long term
- The price point is usually high
- The target market can be narrow
B2B sales are a hurry-up-and-wait kind of hustle. Because they typically involve premium costs of products or services that can impact several business functions, there tend to be multiple stakeholders involved across your prospect organizations. With anywhere between five to 10 decision-makers participating in the process, there are a lot of varying perspectives, priorities, pain points, and personalities to appeal to along the way.
This is where the importance of achieving sales and marketing alignment comes into play — not just on one campaign, or a few good presentations, but always.
Top 7 sales enablement assets to empower your B2B sales strategy
When marketing and sales teams work well together, business is won. Marketing has the strategic aptitude to create the sales enablement resources that answer the pressing questions and fulfill the individual needs of target prospects. Sales teams have the skills to effectively use those resources to engage in more fruitful conversations that close deals.
No matter your organization’s approach to new business, there are several sales enablement assets that are valuable to any B2B sales strategy.
- Introductory pitch deck
This is the pitch deck your sales team will use during initial meetings with prospects. Create one that crystallizes your narrative and keep it succinct yet comprehensive. Rather than focusing on the accomplishments of your business, emphasize the value you can bring to their organization and every decision-maker involved in the sale.
- Two-page leave-behind
It can be tough putting everything you want to share with your prospects on just a few pages, but keeping your value props short and crisp is more likely to draw them in than overloading them with info.
- Demo videos
Videos have always been one of the more captivating forms of communication. Give your prospects something brief to engage with that conveys your value and leaves a lasting impression.
- Sales battlecards
Battlecards are great internal training resources. They help ensure your sales reps are aligned on features, key differentiators, and value props of your products or services. They also give guidance on how to communicate with prospects based on their challenges and goals.
- Whitepapers
While the assets we’ve covered so far are typically brief, these are a little different. More long-form in nature, whitepapers are the perfect place to more comprehensively address your offering and value, and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
- Testimonials
You know the value you can bring to your prospects but it helps when they can hear it directly from current customers or clients. It’s easier for them to picture a relationship with you when they can see there are other businesses that trust you.
- Case studies
Much like the impact of testimonials, case studies that highlight customer success stories can resonate with your prospects when you show them the successes you’ve delivered for similar companies. You should include data points or other evidence to illustrate the proven ROI and ongoing value.
Case studies can be a bit more intensive to produce. You may have to review your archive for your best work, track down results, and find customers who are willing to put their stamp of approval on the final product. Building a standardized case study template will streamline the process as you add new ones to your portfolio. Let’s take a look at the essential elements of that template.
Must-have components of your B2B case study template
As you build out your library of case studies, creating a template you can easily populate with different client stories will enable you to bolster your B2B sales strategy while saving your team time. There are a few components you’ll want to include in your template.
Build your best B2B sales strategy and back it with bold assets
A great B2B sales strategy takes time, research, strategic planning, and ongoing attention. You may find that you need perspective and support outside of your own organization to make it happen. If this sounds like you, we’d love to help.
We’re B2B branding experts who bring boldness to brand storytelling, design, and content. We can help you implement processes for sales and marketing alignment and together build a B2B sales strategy that breaks through — connect with us to find out how.
