While 35% of B2B marketers can calculate ROI, 47% are honest and say they don’t know how to do it, and 18% are still unsure.
The goal of data-driven B2B sales optimization is to improve sales processes, systems, and strategies through testing, learning, and modification. Better sales operations, customer insights, and growth may be achieved by B2B firms with the use of data and analytics.
Companies deploying data-driven B2B sales-growth engines claim 15% EBITDA growth above market. Companies can use a proven 6-step methodology to optimize strategy, productivity, forecasting, and more to start data-driven B2B sales.
The phases include investing in a sophisticated CRM system, identifying essential metrics and KPIs, using user-generated data, empowering the seller, developing a commercial analytics center of excellence, and promoting adaptability in a changing business environment.
Sales increase by 37% for B2B enterprises using Salesforce’s CRM.
This article will discuss data-driven B2B Sales optimization and the approaches.
Tips for Sales Optimization
Your business-to-business sales strategy is probably working, but it might be even better. Boost your business-to-business (B2B) conversion rate with these tried-and-true methods.
Tip 1- Do Your Homework on Your Ideal Customers
An essential component of any business-to-business sales approach is research. Having them is only helpful if you plan to learn more about your qualified leads.
Spend some time on their websites and social media accounts, either you or your sales staff. Investigate the kind of online conversations they’re starting and the level of customer interaction with their brand. Assuming you can address an apparent issue to their business community, you will likely have already achieved a significant portion of your goal.
According to HubSpot, LinkedIn found that 75% of B2B buyers use social media to shop. 11. 42% of U.S. and Canadian purchasers check vendors’ LinkedIn profiles.
After digging, you should be able to identify and document the prospect’s difficulties, aspirations, and possible problems. A ballpark budget estimate could be attainable if you research their brand and company well.
The research phase is of utmost importance for your B2B sales strategy to be sustainable.
Tip 2- Product and Industry Expertise
Astonishing levels of expertise should characterize every member of your sales staff. It takes more than just product and business knowledge to succeed.
In addition to knowing where your company is concerning its industry, they need to be aware of forthcoming trends and what’s happening in the market that isn’t irrelevant.
Your sales team will go from rock star to zero if they are well-versed in the industry and your goods inside and out. A salesperson who can provide satisfactory answers to seemingly random inquiries is, without a doubt, remarkable. Your business-to-business sales strategy should revolve around training your sales force.
Tip 3- Put the Customer First
One way to be customer-centric is to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Your client wants to be treated like something other than a statistic.
Your sales staff and company want them to feel valued, appreciated and heard. When gathering information on potential clients and current customers, your sales and marketing staff should be willing to put the customer first. Before scheduling an initial encounter, your B2B marketing and sales teams can better understand prospects and qualifying leads.
Your salespeople must have an outstanding work ethic, be empathetic listeners, and provide clients with helpful insight. Nothing but success will befall you if customer-centricity permeates your B2B sales approach from the very top down to the individual on the street.
Tip 4- Master Your Funnel
The B2B sales funnel covers the buying process, from prospect to client. Buyers, sellers, and marketers interact across the B2B sales funnel. A sales pipeline refers to the sales team’s actions during this process. The sales pipeline typically includes prospecting, opportunity qualification, initial meetings, need definition, bids and negotiation, and closure. Finally, the conversion rate is an essential sales pipeline measure.
Zipdo claims a 16% increase in deal win rate is possible with a clearly defined sales funnel. The significance of a well-optimized sales funnel in capturing leads is highlighted by the fact that 95% of customers click on the top four search results.
The B2B sales funnel is a valuable tool for tracking the various stages of the sales process. The chart follows a lead from their first visit through their transformation into a qualified lead, customer, and repeat client. There are many moving parts in lead nurturing. Therefore, your business-to-business sales funnel should be a top concern.
If your sales and marketing team knows where a prospect is in the sales funnel, they can customize their techniques, language, and content to that stage. Lead nurturing strategies should be level-specific, just as indicators should be. This is especially true for business-to-business sales funnels.
Also, you can build a digital marketing strategy based on what you learn in your business-to-business sales funnel. You must ensure the sales funnel is well-managed; it should form the basis of your business-to-business sales strategy and motivate your customer interaction strategies.
Tip 5- The Power of Conversion Rates
The topic of conversion rates can be considered sensitive at times. When evaluating your conversion rate, more than comparing it to the industry standard is required. With the necessary context, your marketing and sales team can interpret the data accurately and make the relevant calls for change when measuring conversion rates.
The percentage of companies happy with their conversion rates is relatively low, at around 22%.
Your B2B sales plan should prioritize conversion rate optimization from the outset to carry this focus into your final reporting.
You should base your conversion rate measurements on industry standards. Both the question of what you’re measuring and who you’re measuring it against go unanswered by them. A blog subscriber, for instance, is not the same quality lead as a prospective buyer who requested pricing information for a particular product. Another metric would be the amount of money made from a lead. A successful conversion would generate more money than an essential product sale with no chance of repeat business. You should treasure the significant data that supports your conversion rate.
Tip 6- Achieving Success in B2B Sales
You will have a successful plan if you incorporate all these elements into your B2B sales strategy.
Optimizing your plan for ultimate lead conversion requires more than just implementing one fine-tuning suggestion. The secret to enhancing your company’s effectiveness in every area is ensuring that your B2B sales strategy has components from everywhere.
A comprehensive B2B sales plan must include multiple parts to succeed. Avoid these B2B sales strategy mistakes: not targeting the proper people, focusing too much on the product and not its benefits, disregarding existing customers, failing to assess the buyer’s journey, and not giving enough value to prospects and customers.
However, sales enablement, knowing your target, connecting sales and marketing teams, establishing ideal buyer personas, solution selling, strategic selling, and account-based selling are efficient B2B sales methods. Improved targeting, lead scoring, and operational efficiency are further methods.
Monitor the sales plan, measure its performance, and make improvements as appropriate. Businesses may improve B2B sales and develop sustainably by avoiding common mistakes and using successful techniques.
Bottom Line
Data-driven B2B sales optimization is now essential. This article’s 6-step process may give your sales staff actionable insights, personalize customer experiences, and boost growth. Use the correct tools, track the metrics, and promote continual improvement. B2B sales’ data-driven future is bright, and you can join it with the right approach.
