How do we address the most pressing challenges in B2B Selling?

This question took center stage in my recent “Storytelling in B2B Selling” course at AESE Business School, Portugal, where we explored strategies to navigate the seismic shifts in B2B sales, as highlighted by leading consultative sales research firms like Gartner and Forrester and voted by participants of the course from Portuguese companies.

We’ve started the program with the understanding of B2B Buyers today.
Key characteristics of B2B buyers:

⏩️ They seek information from diverse sources, making the buying cycle more complex and less linear.
⏩️ They  devote the majority of their buying cycle to independent research and considerations, reducing direct interactions with salespeople.
⏩️ They expect increased interactions, education, consulting, and proof-of-concept (POC) engagements with solution providers (average interactions now exceeding 10).
⏩️ They initiate buying cycles and may pause, posing challenges for accurate sales forecasting.
⏩️ They face larger buying committees, leading to more influencers in the decision-making process.

Then we worked on the strategies for the sales professionals to thrive in this evolving landscape

Smart B2B salespeople / consultants strive to :
1️⃣ Gain a deeper understanding of the buyer’s context: map the buyer’s organization, grasp the relationships within the buying committee, and understand the pains, aspirations, and constraints of targeted buyer personas.
2️⃣ Cultivate trust in every conversation with each member of the buying committee.
3️⃣ Inspire, educate, and present different perspectives through valuable conversations, leveraging “customer hero stories.”
4️⃣ Listen without a predefined “sales” agenda to comprehend both the business and personal agendas, building empathy and emotional connections with buyers.
5️⃣ Develop compelling cases for change, emphasizing the urgency and significance of the proposed transformations.
6️⃣ Foster improved collaboration among sales, marketing, and product teams to enhance understanding of the value proposition and how potential customers can use the product / service to transform their businesses.
7️⃣ Infuse more humanity and vulnerability into both customer interactions and internal collaborations.

What is the most pressing sales challenge your sales team in facing today?

At Story Seekers we help salespeople and sales leaders facilitate buying decisions using the power of storytelling, connective listening and trust building
DM me for more information

My time at AESE business school was truly enriching, thanks to the presence of super-inspiring professors and faculty members. A special shoutout to professor Ramiro Martins,  who invied me to co-create the course on “Storytelling in B2B Sales” at AESE Business School in Lisbon, Portugal.