What is B2B selling?
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Transcript of What is B2B selling?
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The terms B2B and B2C are short forms for Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C). Both describe the nature and selling process of goods and services. While B2B products and services are sold from one company to another, B2C products are sold from a company to the end user.While almost any B2C product or service could also be a B2B product, very few B2B products or services will be used by consumers. For example, toilet paper, a typical B2C product, can be seen as a B2B product if it is bought in larger quantities by a hotel for their restrooms and guestrooms. However, few people will buy an excavator for their private use.Most B2B products are purchased by companies to be used in their own manufacturing, producing goods and services to be sold on. The value added product can then be either sold to yet another company; or to the consumer.Any consumer product would have gone through numerous value-add processes before it is being purchased by the final user. Numerous suppliers from various industries would have contributed to the finished product. For instance, a can of soft drink will require different companies to provide the can, water, sugar, other ingredients, label-printing, packaging, transportation and paint for the printing. The can itself is made from aluminium that needs to be processed and extracted. Only the very last transaction in the sales/ purchase chain is a true B2C relationship.In terms of perceived risks, a b2b product is commonly viewed to possess higher perceived risks compared to b2c products due to the value of each transaction: e.g. buying a machinery can cost $2Million compared to a tube of toothpaste which would cost just $2. However in reality, risks levels in terms of duty-of-care, can be fairly similar depending on the nature of the product. A faulty machine similar to a contaminated tube of toothpaste can bring grave harm to its respective users. However, because of the quantum of purchase, buyers of b2b products tend to place more focus on the evaluation and selection process
What is B2B selling?
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Value Creation Through Relationship Selling
• The trend in professional selling today is toward relationship, problem-solving selling
• Customer Satisfaction: the ultimate goal of the relationship salesperson throughout the selling process
• Relationship Management:• Managing the account relationship• Ensuring that your clients receive the proper
service during and after the sale
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Relationship Builders
• Treat customers like life-long partners• Become a solutions provider• Deliver more service than you promise• Schedule regular service calls• Develop open and honest communication• Use the ‘we can’ approach• Take responsibility for mistakes made• Be an ally for the customers’ business
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• Simply wait for the problem to develop• Focus only on making the sale• Over-promise and under-deliver • Wait for your customers to call you • Lie or make exaggerated claims• Use the “us versus them” approach• Blame somebody else; Knock a competitor• Focus on your own personal gain
Relationship Breakers
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Relationship Selling Versus Traditional Selling
Phases
Approach
Identifying Needs
Making the Presentation
Resistance and Gaining Commitment
Relationship Model of Selling
Traditional Model of Selling
TellingBuilding Trust (Rapport)
Probe, Ask Questions, and Listen
Sell Benefits
Reassure and
Close
% time spent
Qualifying
Presenting Features
Closing Long and Hard
40%
30%
20%
10%
10%
20%
30%
40%
% time spent
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Sales Cycle Framework for Relationship Selling
Prospecting
The Approach
Making the Presentation
Need Discovery
Preapproach and
Telephone Techniques
Handling Objection
s
Service after the
Sale
Closing the Sale
8 STEP SALES CYCLE
The Personal Selling Process (PSP)
There are 7 interacting, overlapping steps in the professional personal selling cycle
A Typical Engagement’s Life-Cycle
Learn About Qualify Propose Close Project
Initiation Execute &
Control Close-Out
Pre-Sales Post-Sales
Bid/No-Bid Proposal QA
Contract Signature
EngagementReview(s)
Close-OutReview
Add-OnSale
PO/Project Setup
A Conveyor Belt Running Through the Organization• Adapted based on complexity/size of deal • Always Event driven with required milestone completion• Opportunity value ranges $xK - $xM
eCRM/NI ToolSubmission
Billing
Corporate Example
BPS Home Page – Select the Network Integration & Consulting Process Document
Selec
t Net
work
Inte
grat
ion &
Cons
ultin
g
http://bps.web.att.com/
Corporate Example
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The Sales Cycle Framework for Relationship Selling
Phase One• Identifying Qualified Prospects• Qualified prospects must have:
• Need• Money• Authority
• Planning Preapproach Activities• Telephone Activities
• There are three phases in the Sales Cycle, which are presented on the next three slides.
• The steps are presented in a logical sequence, but are NOT necessarily in chronological order!
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Approaching the ProspectDiscovering Needs
• Success of the process depends on this• Requires questioning and creative listening
skillsMaking the Presentation
• Takes planningHandling Objections and Gaining Commitment
• It is up to the seller to qualify the buyer• Resistance happens because an atmosphere
of mutual trust was never fully developed • There may be problems beyond your control• The closing stage is often the longest and most
tedious stage
Phase Two
Business Markets
• Business Markets• Individuals or groups that purchase a specific kind of
product for resale, direct use in producing other products, or use in daily operations
• Producer Markets• Individuals and business
organizations that purchase products to make profits by using them to produce other products or using them in operations
Business Markets (cont’d)
• Reseller Markets• Intermediaries who buy finished goods and resell them
for profit• Wholesalers purchase products for resale to retailers.• Retailers purchase products and resell them to final customers.
• Factors affecting resellers’ purchase decisions:• Level of demand• Profit potential (sales per square foot)• Supplier’s ability to provide goods on demand• Ease of ordering and producer support• Competing or complementary product characteristics
Business Markets (cont’d)
• Government Markets• Federal, state, county, and local governments
• Purchase a broad variety of goods and services• Public accountability results in complex buying procedures
requiring bids and negotiated contracts
• Institutional Markets• Organizations with charitable,
educational, community, or other non-business goals
• Churches, hospitals, fraternities and sororities, charities, and private colleges
Dimensions of Marketing to Business Customers
• Characteristics of Transactions with Business Customers • They use contracts; term is longer• Orders are much larger and higher dollar amounts • Purchases are made more frequently• Several people or a committee are involved in the purchase
decision• Reciprocity: a buyer and seller purchase from each other• Better informed and demand more detailed product
information
Business Buying Decisions• Business (Organizational) Buying Behavior
• The purchase behavior of producers, government units, institutions, and resellers
• Buying Center• The people within an organization who make business
purchase decisions• Users—actually use the products• Influencers—help develop the specifications and evaluate
alternative products• Buyers—select suppliers and negotiate terms of purchase• Deciders—actually choose the products; higher level
management that hold the $$$• Gatekeepers—control the flow of information to others in the
buying center
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Role Play
• Sell your favorite restaurant as the place for the next holiday party for a business