B2B Sales — The Purple Approach

While most of you venture into the B2B sales world, there are certain demarcations that distinguish a B2B sales scenario from a B2C sales scenario. So how do you understand what is the best strategy that works for you?

I faced tremendous problems when I joined the sales hoard. Low conversion rates, unresponsive prospects, and a lot of ‘Not Interested’ hang-ups. So I decided to rehash my strategies and I went online to look for a couple of tested strategies. Believe me, there are a plethora of articles on the internet that say the exact same thing but in different voices and with different jargon. Not that any of them are wrong but they fail to give you a real-life example of how things may turn when you are on the table negotiating deals with your prospects.

So, based on real-life experiences, I decided to curate the perfect B2B sales approach. It is important to understand that not every B2B sales opportunity will lead to a conversion. This approach will not only help you in getting effective results but will also help you in creating a pipeline that will reap fruits for you in the future.

I call it the “PURPLE” approach to B2B sales-

P-Pitch

U-Understand

R-Re-iterate

P-Project

L-Lucrative Picturing

E-Evolve into a next step

Pitch:

Most people you approach for selling your product or idea are professionals, generally higher in the hierarchy than you. To request an audience from them, it is important that you state your agenda clearly before initiating the conversation. This agenda can be discussing possible synergies, or maybe re-initiating past discussions and conversations or just networking. The pitch should be designed in a manner that clearly states the agenda of the conversation and also does not scream “SALES”. This should be something that catches the listener’s attention and would make him spare some time off his busy schedule to listen to what you have to say. The perfect pitch involves a fair bit of research about the person you are approaching, a little knowledge about her organization, and how your product has a need in the organization. Always acknowledge the fact that they are busy people and you appreciate them giving out time from their busy schedules.

Understand:

Now that you have caught the attention of the prospect, do not just jump onto your product and start blabbering about the features and functionalities that your product offers. This turns their interest down immediately. Understand their environment first. This gives you a fair idea of what would be the best way to portray your product to them and also give them a comfort zone that you are willing to listen to their cries. The more comfortable the prospect is, the better the chances of evolving into the next step. Catch hooks and pain points from your prospects and get them to talk. The more they talk, the more you generate interest in them. This stage is very crucial in the sales approach.

Re-Iterate:

Now that you have gathered sufficient information about the prospect, the products they are currently using, and the challenges they are currently facing, it’s time to build a story!

This is the time when you pick up a case study and start empathizing with the prospect. “You know interestingly, a similar thing happened at XYZ Corp. as well. They were using similar products that you are using currently and we were able to turn things around for them.” While still building your story, you start subtly placing fears, uncertainties, and doubts in the minds of the prospects and show them what could happen if they continued down the same path. Make sure you are not bashing your customers. This is obviously a big NO-NO! You want to play it fair and wise. Just like you, even they are in the market to run their business. Also, ensure that you do not talk ill about your competition if the prospect you are speaking with was responsible for getting the product into the organization. Their loyalty levels are higher and are difficult to penetrate. This is the space where you may want to look at other prospects in the organization.

Project:

This stage works closely with re-iterating. Often backed by each other, the project stage is where you show the client the bigger picture. This is the stage where you show the prospect what they can achieve by adapting to your product or service. You bank on your strongest points. You show the prospect the world of possibilities that you have created keeping in mind the pain points they have mentioned earlier. You also talk about what additional benefits you have to offer to the prospect over their incumbent environment. Back your projections with facts and figures. Talk about rough percentages and tell them how you can help them achieve the best in class performance as per industry standards. Always talk about post-purchase services that you provide. This builds trust in the minds of the prospect.

Note: Only project what your product/service can do for them. Do not make false promises. They may get fooled once but they will definitely spread a bad word for your organization later. We do not want that. Play fair, even if the deal does not come your way. At least, you did not spoil your company’s reputation in the market.

Lucrative Picturing:

Now it’s time to talk about monetary benefits and WIIFY.

Your product may be priced competitively, at par with industry standards, or even higher than your competitors, there is always a way of justifying the price of the product. Some of the easier approaches to each of these scenarios could be:

Competitive pricing: Bank on the importance of the deal and how getting the prospect on board as a client would add stars on your company’s back. This makes them feel important and that you have cut down the prices just for them.

Average pricing: Approach with — how your services tagged with the product differentiate you from your competitors. This gives you an edge over your competitors. It is mainly about your differentiators and how you are giving them more value for the money they are paying for.

Surged Pricing: Bank solely on the benefits of adopting your product. What is that one USP that would make the prospect drool over your offer? Remember you are not selling a burner phone. You are selling an iPhone of the smartphone industry. Why would people pay more for your product when there are other alternatives in the market available at a lower price and can do the same things as you can? The answer lies in a deep understanding of your product.

Once, you have justified the price of the product, it’s time to move onto WIIFY (What’s In It For You). This gives the prospect an added nudge to be an advocate of your product/service in their organization. If the decision-making is not solely reliant on him, he would act as your spokesperson in the panel of decision-makers.

Evolve into a next step:

You have projected your product to the prospect, made your intentions clear that he should choose your product over the incumbent and also made him believe that your prices are justified for the offerings you have. So what is the next step that you want to evolve this conversation in? Do you want him to take a demo? Do you want him to research more about you? Do you want him to have internal discussions? Sense the urgency of the requirement and design your next steps accordingly.

If after all your efforts the prospect still tries to push you away, thank him for his time and ask him for a better time to circle back. Also, until the right time to re-initiate the conversation arrives, will he be open to getting some reading material from you to keep him updated about your company’s advancements and newer offerings? This is the stage where you put your prospect on the nurturing list and keep him engaged with your organization. Keep very light and minimal communications flowing until the fruit is ripe enough to be plucked.

Hope this approach helps you the next time you try to make a sale.

Always understand that losing a deal is not the end of the world. Most salespersons fail when they lose motivation. Believe in your product and believe in yourself. You have been hired by your organization because they believed in you. You are the face of the organization. You interact with the future business of the company on a daily basis. You have the Power to Make or Break the company you are working with. They know that you have the potential to turn things around for them. There are always ups and downs in a salesperson’s life. Learn from your mistakes. Try to understand what is it that puts the ‘Best’ in the Best-Performer. Learn from others. Good or bad, try improving yourself every day.

Remember, knowledge is the sword of a salesperson. Always keep it sharpened.

Happy selling!