The B2B industry is one of the biggest markets available in the world today, but no matter how big the profits and the products are, there are still plenty of challenges that are always knocking on the door of B2B sales. We will examine what Singapore companies have to overcome in order to meet the challenges of the B2B world in Asia today.
The Length of the Transaction
Let’s admit it, the prices at which products and services are sold in B2B transactions are much higher than those in B2C ones, and this is one of the most significant factors that really drag the sales process longer than usual. There are a lot of people to talk to, there are a lot of technicalities, and there are customized options as well.
Although you only need a few sales to reach your goals with B2B compared with other businesses, the length of the transactions can make things complicated. There are a lot of instances where deals have gone down the drain because of the extended sales process.
The Gatekeepers
It might be funny to some but this is still a major issue. If it wasn’t for services such as LinkedIn it would still be absolutely difficult to locate the proper decision makers in a business. Some people have tried to make friends with gatekeepers in order to get through and some don’t even make it the first volley of employees. However, without the decision maker the sale is next to nothing.
There are a lot of ways to get around a gatekeeper and some companies have even decided to create unique ways of reaching out to them and bringing the sale home. Consider doing this if your pain point is the gatekeeper issue.
The Forecast
Forecasting is already difficult as it is with B2C industries but combining that with longer sales cycles and sometimes even custom requirements can really make B2B forecasting such an incredible headache. There are reports that companies are now even factoring the accuracy of the sales forecasts of their own salesmen when it comes to B2B sales.
It is often hard to play the soothsayer in determining which sales lead to fruition but is harder when you are at a scale where there are too many factors involved in the process.
The “Limited” Number of Potential Customers
The major difference between B2B and B2C is the number of available customers, there are more consumers than businesses and being that it is this way, your lead pool and the numbers of potential qualified leads that you have is limited.
The leads are defined by what you can offer and the specific needs of any particular company. Due to this, defining your own business’ specific value proposition has become integral into overcoming this particular hump in B2B sales.
However, it does not just end there, it is also matching your value proposition with the ideal customer profile that you are trying to target. It now becomes a much more technical game because the approach becomes bespoke and you really have to communicate your company’s intentions clearly.
A lot of B2B companies, often fail to take into account the shrinking number of potential customers that they have if they do not know how to communicate their intentions clearly. The shotgun approach rarely works in B2B sales settings.
The Background Check On You
We live in the communications age where everyone can do a quick background check on you and find out pertinent details on the way you and your business transact. However, this comes with the caveat that regardless if you do good business or not, you can still be put in a bad light if your exposure is not being managed well.
Let’s say you’ve been constantly focusing on research and development, but the issue is that you haven’t been able to provide pertinent updates on what you have been doing online. This becomes a negative point on your end if your potential clients don’t know about this.
A lot of B2B companies have been focusing on their exposure and how to properly show the world what they are capable of. In turn, some have used this as pivots in order to create multiple channels of acquisition in their business lead generation and capture model.
It really pays to pay attention to the way you show the world what your company is really doing.
A problem is only a problem if there isn’t any solution, and as you can see, there are still plenty of ways that you can pivot around the challenges of B2B sales. Simple examination and awareness of the challenges allow you to be able to start making moves in improving what you’re doing in your business today.
It always helps to keep your sales pipelines full by proper strategizing and right outlook moving forward.
