The key to success in B2B sales is being able to convert leads into sales as efficiently as possible. And, in many ways, that’s the same type of thinking that you need to survive in the dating world: How are you going to sift through all the potential leads out there (i.e. potential romantic partners) and find the ones that are most likely to convert into a sale?
In fact, there are at least 3 ways that B2B sales is similar to dating:
#1: You need to find a way to capture high-quality leads
In the best of all worlds, the prospects would come to you. Using the analogy of dating, you’d wake up each morning with all kinds of text messages and emails from boys or girls just dying to go out with you. But unless you happen to be a celebrity, a model or a young millionaire, that’s probably not going to be the case. You have to go out there and work to find the right leads. Maybe it’s hanging out at the gym, or going to a nightclub on the weekend, or signing up for a volunteer group around a specific interest of yours. Sooner or later, you’ll discover the places where you seem to do the best.
It’s the same way in B2B sales – you have to cast a wide net and, over a period of time, you’ll steadily learn where the best prospects come from. You may have a lot of luck collecting business cards at a trade show or exhibition, but what if nobody ever calls you back? Time is a limited resource, so you want to make sure that you’re primarily tracking down high-quality leads – the types of prospects who are likely to become a sale later.
#2: You need to educate (and entertain) the prospect
You must create context when approaching a potential client for the first time — you can’t ask the client to “get married” straight away, you need to let them discover you instead of telling them how awesome you are, how many awards you have, or why you are exactly the right choice for them.
In the world of B2B sales, there are various ways to educate the customer – everything from whitepapers to webinars. But it’s not just about throwing a lot of facts and figures out there and hoping the client will figure it all out. You also have to provide a little entertainment value. That’s why areas like social media marketing are so exciting – they enable you to inject more of your story and narrative in a way that’s appealing and engaging. You must always over-deliver to continue to surprise them and keep the relationship going.
#3: You need to proactively turn leads into deals
At some point while you’re dating, you have to be able to close the deal. That may mean different things to different people. For some people, this may mean asking the other person out for a date after days and weeks of flirting. For other people, it may be getting a commitment of exclusivity after a long period of dating. And for others, it may mean a marriage proposal.
The point is – at some point, you have to get out there and ask. The other person is never going to know what’s inside your head if you don’t ask. You’ve already hooked them and you’ve educated and entertained them, now it’s time to close the deal. It may be a sales script, or a killer call-to-action that you’re sending out via email or on social media, or it may be a telephone call, but you eventually have to take the risk in order to convert the lead into a sale.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.