B2B selling is harder than ever. Now what?
Outbound B2B sales are becoming more difficult and less effective. Consider these facts:
A recent survey found connecting with a prospect now takes 18 or more phone calls
Callback rates are below 1%
Only 24% of outbound sales emails are ever opened
84% of buyers start the buying journey with a referral
90% of B2B buying decisions are influenced by peer recommendations
According to Forrester, buyers are avoiding sales people because sales reps prioritize a sales agenda over solving the customer’s problem.
How can marketing and sales leaders meet this challenge?
Content marketing + social selling
One answer is to couple content marketing with social selling. With social selling, sales reps network by sharing educational content and answering questions. As a result, they’re able to build relationships until prospects are ready to buy.
Social selling makes sense. According to LinkedIn, 75% of B2B buyers rely on social media to engage with peers about buying decisions. Additionally, 82% of B2B buyers said the winning vendor’s social content had a significant impact on their buying decision.
But the type of content provided by vendors makes all the difference. A LinkedIn survey found that B2B buyers are five times more likely to engage with a sales rep who provides new insights about their business or industry rather than traditional thought leadership.
"The real limitation of traditional thought leadership is that it doesn't necessarily drive action. Readers learn but they don't necessarily do." Brent Adamson, The Challenger Customer
Three keys to a successful social marketing and selling program
1. Offer innovative insights
B2B buyers are interested in working with sales reps who are knowledgeable about their industry and understand their pain points. As CEB points out in their groundbreaking work Challenger Marketing, most content fails to generate leads because it’s based on thought leadership, not insight.
Thought leadership teaches customers something about what they could be doing in their business, focusing on the benefits of an alternate action. Insight, however, unteaches customers something they are currently doing in their business, focusing on the costs of current behavior.
2. Build trust with buyers
People buy from those they trust. A great way for sales reps to earn that trust is to focus on helping prospects rather than selling to them. By becoming industry experts, sales reps can pivot away from a sales pitch and, instead, focus on solving their problems. And even though there is a lot of information available to buyers, that doesn’t mean they fully understand how to apply it to their own business situation.
3. Help buyers make an informed decision
B2B sales are often complex and numerous decision makers are involved. Sales and marketing can work together to help their internal champion build an internal business case and sell it to decision makers.
This can be done by proactively offering content that address their apprehensions, demonstrates value and the ability to solve a problem, and that shows how ROI can be attained.
Marketing + Sales FTW
B2B buyers have access to unprecedented amounts of information and can easily engage their peers via social media, making them more demanding than ever. With an effective social marketing and selling program, companies can harness these trends to provide insights and solve prospects’ problems, winning both their business and their loyalty.
