Most of us sell products and services to other business owners or directly to the consumer. If you are a B2B service provider and work primarily with business owners, there are a few simple things you can do to improve your sales results.
It sounds counterintuitive, but you need to stop selling and start helping. This is especially important early on in the relationship.
Think of the countless spam emails, Linkedin messages and phone calls you receive every day. Most of the them tell you how they can solve a problem, if you buy their product.
Rarely is anything of value offered unless you make a purchase. Even then, there are no guarantees and often times we are disappointed with the results after the purchase.
Every business owner is concerned with sales and profit. Find a way to help them generate business through an introduction, direct referral or by creating an opportunity. The effort will be appreciated and they will be more open to doing business with you. If you can find a way to add value before they do business with you, your conversion rates will be much higher.
Let’s look at a hypothetical example of Rita, who sells office furniture to business owners. One of her primary target markets is attorneys.
For years, Rita sent messages to attorneys that read “our office furniture is beautiful and functional. It will allow your employees to work in comfort, and they will get more work done everyday. Call for your complimentary needs analysis”.
Imagine Rita changed her message to something like “Give me a call when you have a chance. I would like to learn more about your business and how I might connect my clients to you. I am always looking for good attorneys to refer business to”.
Try finding ways to help potential clients first, build the relationship and the sales will follow naturally.
