Selling B2B or B2C What’s The Diff? – News Flash There Really Isn’t One
If you are selling Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Consumers (B2C), many sales experts or gurus breed lots of revenue for their own businesses by pinpointing all the differences between the two. From my perspective, there is no difference because as Zig Ziglar said so movingly:
Sales is the transference of feelings.
What you will notice there is no qualifying phrase such as “for only B2B.” Whether you are selling B2B or B2C the transference of feelings is present so there is really no difference.
Maybe it is from this transference that many years ago the Madison Opportunity publicity types came up with this very small and effective marketing model, AIDA, to enhance that consciousness. The AIDA model contained four very specific marketing strategies.
- Attracting Attention
- Exciting Interest
- Developing Desire
- Action, Call to
Regardless if you are selling B2B or B2C, these four strategies must be present to start the sales process, which is also the commencement of the choice buying process.
All this hype about B2B being uncommon that B2C reminds me about this well worn out and completely inaccurate motto:
There is no I in team.
Bullfeathers! (Of if you are a fan of Dan Waldschmit he might have used another word.)
Teams are made of individuals who work collectively work together to greater results. Without the individual effort of each team member no results would happen. The difference between individuals working alone and individuals working together is a matter of efficient and effective leadership coordinating, reinforcing and supporting all the efforts of ALL individuals so that Together All Achieves More.
Human beings are still human beings. And this remains right for potential customers or prospects in either selling or buying arena. They have wants (desires) or needs. They have reasons why it is vital to achieve those wants and needs and also have reasons to avoid failure for not securing those same wants and needs.
What is also the same in the B2B or B2C market is the presence of challenges or obstacles. Until these obstacles or challenges are identified and then potentially resolved, the buying choice will not be made.
So marketing and selling to B2B or B2C is not really uncommon. What I have come to learn these past few years is there are three fundamental elements present in all buying (reckon sales) interactions regardless of the industry, market or products or solution.
The first element is the three vital buying rules. Now there maybe more, but these three are always present even if they are subconscious to either the buyer or the salesperson.
Buying Rule #1 – People buy from people they know and entrust. Even in the simplest buying choice such as purchasing from the local grocery store, people buy because they entrust the store to be clean, for the people to be cordial, etc. They may not like all who waits on them, but as long as they know they are not being cheated and they entrust the store’s products to be safe relatively speaking, they will continue to buy from that store. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Some might add the word like, but I believe from my own experiences and observations that people will buy from people they do not necessarily like and people confuse the word like with know. “Like” for me is defined as “would I invite that person over for dinner?”
Buying Rule #2 – People buy first on emotion then justify it with logic. Returning to the every day grocery shopping trip. People read the advertisements and buy on the emotion of saving money for their most favorite products especially if they can double coupons or buy on what color box speaks to them. Talk about an emotional tornado. In some cases they will use those emotions to justify going to 2 or more uncommon stores to secure the most savings even though their other resources of time, energy and dollars might have been drained.
Buying Rule #3 – People buy on value unique to them. Grocery stores are a fantastic example of showing unique value. Through branding, some people will only buy a certain soap brand or dairy product. Those folks believe the value of that item is well value the cost even it is exceeds the price of the same item sitting right next to it on the ridge. The ancient adage a penny saved is a penny earned comes to mind and is far more about value (earning) than the actual saved pennies. Sales Training Coaching Tip: This is probably the most misunderstood buying rule and the most hard one.
Now the second element is there are only five obstacles or sales objection categories or buckets. For it is the presence of these five sales objections that will derail any sale be it B2B or B2C.
Sales Objection #1 – You. If you are not bought as a someone who can be known or trusted, then earning that sale will be far more hard. The challenge is to house a lid over this pail so no reasons not to buy you enter this pail. Sales Training Coaching Tip: By the objection never entering any pail, it cannot grow and become even larger than when it was initially deposited.
Sales Objection #2 – Your company. Who you are is vital and the company you represent is part of who you are. This is why it is the second sales objection.
Have you ever been questioned either of these two questions?
- Do you buy from the company you work for?
- How many referrals have you made to the company you work for?
If you do not believe in your company whether it is to make a buy or to make a referral, what does that say about your company? Potential customers or prospects can pick up on your belief in your company.
The objection to your company may also travel down a second path of non-belief. Here is where having testimonials to any other documentation can be of fantastic help. With people buying from people they know and entrust, by others to build credibility about your company helps to overcome this second sales objection. Putting a lid on this pail may be just as simple as sharing the values of your organization in a “brag book” or similar related marketing material.
Sales Objection #3 – Your products or services. With the plethora of products and services in today’s global market, this can be a serious sales objection. But if you have followed all the buying rules and built the lids to cover the first two sales objection buckets, then this helps to reduce actual sales objections. Additionally, if you are experiencing this obstacle you may not have qualified your prospect or potential customer as well as you should have.
Sales Objection #4 – Your price. Maybe you noticed that this is the fourth sales objection and this placement is intentional. In many cases price surfaces as a reason not to buy and this is really a disguise because somewhere along the buying choice making process, you blew it. Here is where understanding return on investment (ROI) and really embracing Buying Rule #3 can only help you to be successful in achieving your goal to increase sales.
Sales Objection #5 – Your delivery. The reason is this is the last pail is because it ranks last in relevance to the other buckets, but this does not suggest it is not vital. Some vital sales have been lost to ignoring this sales objection. To house a lid on this may happen very ahead of schedule in your conversations when you listen to the urgency of the want or need.
The final element is the sales process being executed by the salesperson. This process may look uncommon for each salesperson. But the key here is alignment to the other two elements.
Imagine for a moment an inverse three-sided pyramid or a three-legged stool. The sides or the legs are the elements. At the base of the pyramid or in seat of the stool is where the potential customer sits and can quickly fall off when the sides or legs shift in their alignment. Your goal no matter if the prospect is B2B or B2C is to keep them sitting.
Now if you wish you can continue to believe all that hype about selling B2B is uncommon than selling B2C. Or, you can consider varying your paradigm and grasp that people buy from people and it is the buying choice that makes these two sales experiences the same.