B2B Software Technology Sales 101: Improving Processes

In B2B software technology sales, traditional marketing means disrupting your target audience by pitching your service or product via emails and sales calls. This strategy is called “outbound sales.” Since modern decision makers are bombarded with marketing emails and sales pitches, buyers are trying to get more information on their own, before connecting with a sales rep. According to Adweek, 81% of customers perform online research before they buy. When buyers have the chance to find your site and get the information they need to learn more, they are one step closer to connecting with you. This is called inbound sales. Inbound sales involves using targeted content to capture the focus of your potential customers throughout the sales process. The innovative tech leader Hubspot has identified the phases of the sales process as: Prospect—Carrying out research online to determine brand-new potential customers Research—Finding out more about these possible consumers and their business Connect—Making calls with possible consumers Recommend—Making a customized presentation of your service Close—Negotiating, supplying a proposition or quote, and making a sale Here are some suggestions for boosting your B2B software technology sales procedures:

Recognize your optimal potential customers

In the B2B software technology sales process, it can be hard to make a sale if you don’t know who you are selling to. The first step in enhancing your process is getting more information about your leads and the companies they represent. The profiles of your ideal customers are called buyer personas. You can define these personas by asking questions in online studies or in-person meetings. Learn more about their challenges, responsibilities, likes, and dislikes. You should also learn if they are currently in the inbound sales cycle and where they are. According to research by CEB International, the average B2B buyer is 57% through the buying process before they contact a sales rep.

Create and send relevant content

Supplying great and useful content can make it easier for prospective customers to find you online. On top of that, it develops your B2B software company as an authority in the market and wins the trust of your leads. Through the early stages of the sales process, you can give foundational content like blogs or infographics. Make sure to use relevant keywords in your site URLs, blog titles, photo captions, and alt photo messages. This will help increase your search engine position and make you more noticeable online. In the last phases of the sales process, long-form content like whitepapers, ebooks, and webinars are great for converting leads into buyers.

Boost your landing pages

The landing page is where your site visitors come after clicking a call-to-action (CTA). It captures their contact information for more lead nurturing. In return for their information, your leads get a free offer, like a coupon, special access, webinar enrollment, or a free trial. Make sure your landing pages are as brief as possible. For the most part, asking for their name and email address is enough. Along with have great landing pages, the CTA that brings them there should also be easy and engaging. It should produce a feeling of urgency to get people to act. “Get started now!” or “Learn more today!” are great examples of effective CTAs.

Train and retrain

According to a study by Get App, 92% of salespeople agree that sales trainings have helped them improve their marketing capabilities. To enhance your sales process, you should train and retrain your sales group. Keep them updated on new solutions, trends, and products. The more your sales group is informed, the more leads and customers you will bring in. There are, however, clashing sales training programs out there. For B2B software technology sales, we suggest Hubspot’s free online training call Inbound Sales Training.

Update your information

The information given throughout your sales process can make or break a sale. You need to make sure your sales team has the most up-to-date data and info when pitching your service or product in the close phase of the sales cycle. This means current info on features, advantages, and pricing. Make sure to update this info as often as possible. Giving the best info at the right time will make your sales process go more smoothly and quickly.

Align your sales process to the Buyer’s Journey

The Buyer’s Journey has 3 phases: Awareness, Consideration, and the Decision phase. Aligning your sales process to the buyer’s journey will make your job a lot easier and lead to better sales. Watch for signs that a lead is ready to move to the next phase in the journey. For example, a lead that completes an online form on your landing page is ready for the consideration phase. If a person asks for a demo, they are likely in the decision phase.

Take advantage of the best technology

There are many tools, apps, and programs that can help make your sales process much easier and more effective. You can use a range of tools to get the job done, but it’s probably best to pick an all-in-one solution like Hubspot CRM to get the best software for marketing, sales, and customer success in one place.

The bottom line

Creating a reliable sales process is likely a specialty of great salespeople. Nevertheless, just as kids grow up to be adults, the B2B software sales world is constantly advancing to meet the needs of potential customers. For that reason, it’s important to match your actions with those of your leads when going through the sales process. We’ve worked with many sales pros like you to develop effective, customer-centered sales strategies using Inbound. Don’t hesitate to book your free strategy session to help examine your current methods and find ways to boost your sales process.