B2B sales are becoming more consultative and less product-centric every day. This will require the sales team to adapt and support itself primarily from Marketing.
Look at the Content Strategy diagram for B2B and Industrial Sellers that I summarize in the graph below.
I will summarize the tools and formats that I believe in the most and those that I promote. They all adapt to each moment of the Customer Journey map.
Surely, after reading this Content Strategy for B2B and Industrial Sellers, it will become even clearer to you why content creation is a collaborative process where B2B Marketing and Sales teams must work 100% aligned.
The profitability and success of a B2B and Industrial customer experience requires the alignment of the entire company, but especially of the B2B Marketing and Sales processes, since both impact customer satisfaction.
Discovery Phase
The new potential B2B or Industrial client is self-employed and professional. He has a number of problems, but perhaps he does not yet understand that it may be time to look for solutions.
That is, he will first identify his need digitally and will not want, yet, the help of any B2B sales professional and probably not solve it yet either. He is doing research. He also does not want to leave a trace (dark funnel) and uses Linkedin, Youtube and Google a lot.
You might think that the only person responsible cayman Islands phone number library for this phase is the B2B Marketing team, creating Customer-Centric B2B content to capture leads and build a brand, but this is not the case and the sales professional will also have to look for leads. How?
For example, in this discovery phase, two very common sales positions in many B2B companies are SDRs and Hunter Salespeople . Both are great beneficiaries of discovery content since both must knock down the first door.
B2B Social Selling ; A B2B Sales professional and strategy must manage Linkedin and Youtube to prospect. This implies new habits, training, user guides, image bank, knowledge, coaching, parallel tools (hootsuite, HubSpot etc) and adapted TOFU (Top Of The Funnel) content.
Speaking of tools, for example, you are loan data probably familiar with Linkedin’s SSI Index , which helps measure the level of efficiency and evolution in the use of the tool. Sales professionals with a high SSI are 45% more likely to end up closing a sale.
Little by little, Artificial Intelligence will come in and help these teams to better adapt their prospecting content.
Consideration-Negotiation Phase
The potential client “hits the ground running.” He slovakia business directory has a clear vision of how to solve his problem and decides to tackle it by considering a concrete solution.
You are entering a purchasing phase and need to understand how the solution is applied specifically in your reality, as well as how to sell it to other members of the Buying Committee.
The Web and, above all, the B2B Sales professional, enter the scene.
We enter a consultative phase where the potential client already knows many aspects of our value proposition and is only looking for context, trust and focus.
the comparative reports and the way of presenting the samples with the evidence (success stories) will also determine the final result of a negotiation.
Improving the productivity of B2B salespeople at this stage requires preparing them well to contextualize and guide an already informed customer.
Client Phase
Is the B2B customer born with the first order? In my opinion, NO.
There is still a lot of commercial traction needed to get the maximum value out of the solution and for EVERYONE to appreciate it.
The second order may still be in danger.
The B2B sales professional has a great responsibility here;
if he is able to add value with his active presence,
he will be rewarded. What is the reward? Maintaining the client, identifying new needs, advancing in the renewal of the solution.
The problem will be how to help them generate that level of activity. Content to handle various situations (incidents, presentation of new solutions, etc.) and to know when to rely on colleagues.