If you sell your product to enterprise accounts or are looking to expand into the b2b sales sphere, then you need to develop a specific b2b sales strategy. Selling to enterprise accounts requires a different set of techniques than selling to individual customers or small teams. You need to know how to differentiate your sales strategy for enterprise sales.
In this article, we will help you develop a better enterprise sales strategy. First, we will briefly discuss the terms “enterprise” and “b2b sales” so you fully understand their meaning. Then, we will go over the top 10 tips for selling to enterprise accounts. You can use these tips to develop the best b2b sales strategy for your business.
What Qualifies as an Enterprise?
First, let’s briefly consider the meaning of enterprise in business. An enterprise is typically defined as a for-profit business that operates at multiple levels, i.e. it has various departments, roles, and divisions working under the same company. Most enterprises are private enterprises owned by individuals or corporations instead of the state.
In terms of b2b sales, enterprise accounts are usually the highest-level offering of a product. These accounts include the top-level management and security systems enterprises need to function. Selling an enterprise account usually involves working with the client to create a package that includes all of the features the enterprise needs and prices the product accordingly.
What is B2B sales?
B2B sales is the sale of any product or service from one business to another business and includes, but is not limited to, enterprise sales. A b2b company focuses on creating products or services that can be used by businesses to help them run more efficiently. For example, Salesforce is a b2b company because it sells a platform to businesses that helps them communicate more effectively with their customers and prospects.
When working in b2b sales, you have to keep in mind that the sales process takes longer than when selling directly to individual customers. Oftentimes several stakeholders are involved in the sales process and multiple people need to be on board before purchasing your product. This is especially true for larger enterprises. You need to refine your b2b sales techniques to sell to these large accounts.
10 B2B Sales Techniques for Selling to Enterprise Accounts
1. Identify your top industries
Identify which industries your product is best for and craft personas for each industry. These personas should include use cases for your product, what issues it solves, and potential pain points. You can use these personas to identify enterprises that are the most likely to be interested in your product.
2. Work with your marketing team
When developing your business’ sales strategy, you need to work with your marketing team to develop the right content. You can get leads from marketing efforts such as social media posts, high-level blog content, and videos. Coordinate with your marketing team to aim your efforts on the highest-quality prospects. Additionally, ensure that all marketing efforts include a CTA or link with which prospects can directly contact your sales team.
3. Personal selling
Personal selling is a sales strategy that focuses on building a personal relationship with your prospect. At its foundaition, using personal selling means you should be addressing your prospect by name and using the company name at every point of contact. You should also use the information developed in your persona to identify what the customer’s specific use case and needs may be. Customers are much more likely to respond when you include personalized information in your sales efforts, and this rings true for enterprise sales just as much as b2c.
4. Share case studies
Create case studies for each of your industry personas ASAP. These case studies can be written content, videos, or multi-media. They should be easy to share on social media or via email. Case studies should feature direct quotes from happy customers in the industries that you’re targeting and demonstrate how your product fulfilled a specific use case. You can share these case studies on all of your platforms or send them directly to prospects.
One problem with selling to enterprises is it can be difficult to find the right person to contact. You may not know who is the main decision maker for a sale. Before you contact a given enterprise, research the company thoroughly so you contact the person most likely to have the authority to make the purchase. However, even if you do your research, you may still contact the wrong person. Therefore, always ask in your initial outreach if they are a decision maker or if there is another person at the company that they can direct you to instead.
6. Get to know each decision maker
For many enterprises, there are several decision makers that go into a purchase. You need each decision maker on board to make the sale. As such, you should get to know each decision maker, even if you’re only in frequent contact with one or two. Keep track of who is who and what position they have in the company. Learn about each individual’s use case and respond to any concerns. Make it clear that even though you’re selling to an entire enterprise, you also understand their needs as individuals.
7. Use video
A great way to stand out in a prospect’s inbox is to use video. You can send a personalized video message to catch the attention of your prospect and introduce yourself in a more personable manner. Video emails are more likely to be opened, remembered, and responded to than plain-text ones. Consider using a video recorder solution like Droplr or a video email platform like Covideo to capture and send sales videos to your prospects.
8. Follow-up
An enterprise customer isn’t going to purchase at first contact. With how busy their inbox is, your prospect might not even see your initial message right away. At every step of the sales process, you need to follow-up with your prospect. If you haven’t heard from them in a few days, send a follow-up where you reiterate next steps or update them on progress from your end. Even if you haven’t heard from a prospect in months, you can follow-up and check if they’re still interested in your product. The enterprise’s needs may have changed, and you might be exactly what they need now!
9. Be prepared to negotiate
Enterprise sales are less straightforward than selling to individuals or small businesses. Your enterprise prospect may request new features for your product or negotiate for a lower price. Be prepared to negotiate and include your dev and customer service teams in the process. The biggest deals are worth improving your product for, even if it takes a long time.
10. Send a thank you note
Once the sale is complete, be sure to send a personalized thank you note to your contact. Remember, just because you’ve made a sale doesn’t mean the relationship is over. You want to keep your customer happy and invested in your partnership. Happy customers are more likely to renew, write a good review, or refer their network to you. An easy way to keep customers happy is to show your appreciation with a personalized thank you message. You can make these messages even more impactful by adding a thank you video where you can properly convey your gratitude.
More Resources for Enterprises
Running an enterprise is just as difficult as selling to one. If you’re an enterprise or business owner in need of more tools to help your company run smoothly, then you’re in luck. Check out our blog articles on the best software for enterprises, top content management apps, enterprise risk management, and how to implement enterprise architecture.