What is B2B Sales Process?

The B2B or business-to-business, sales process simply refers to the series of events, phases, or steps that occur when one business sells (or attempts to sell) a product or service to another business. Optimizing your B2B sales process translates directly into more sales and more revenue. Think about it: the better you get at presenting your product and engaging potential clients, the more deals you close, increasing sales and your bottom line.

Some of the more popular B2B sales techniques and methodologies include:

• Solution Selling
• The Challenger Sales
• Account-Based Sales
• Value Selling
• The Sandler Selling system

Business to business, or B2B sales, is related to the selling of products and services from one business to another. B2B sales relationships are continually developing and typically have higher order values and longer sales cycles, as the processes involved in closing a sale are lengthier. B2B sales include a decision-making process that characteristically needs more than one individual signing off.

Business to consumer, or B2C sales, is related to the selling of products to one individual consumer. An example of B2C includes retail sales, as the items sold are directly targeted and consumed by one individual person. In general, the B2C sales cycle is shorter, as the consumer is encouraged to purchase the product on the spot. In addition, B2C selling does not usually include more than one individual in the decision-making process.

Important B2B Sales KPIs:

To determine whether a B2B sales technique or a specific sales sequence positively impacts business, sales organizations identify and measure key performance indicators (KPIs).

Common B2B sales KPIs include:

• Quota attainment rate
• Average deal size
• Sales velocity
• New leads generated per month
• Win rate