Be a successful B2B sales professional

Keep monitoring customers in key Industrial segments and industries that contribute more on Volume as your production targets will be met, your key partners in progress like transporters and other critical vendors will be kept busy, your inventory rotation will be healthy.

 Try to increase your orders and sales during events and festivals: when you are driving sales related to fmcg and white goods Products. Sometimes demand can be derived on season based especially in Agri based products. Your efforts should be to derive best share of customer demand during their season.

Location based: Focusing on next door customers will have its own advantages as these customers will add value and volume.

Better Pay masters: You will always have a good value addition when your sales Cycle rotation is quick. "Quote-Receive PO- Receive Payment-Supply"... that's it your sales cycle is realized.

 Always respect and be thankful to your regular customers who give regular monthly orders as these customers are critical to maintain parity in Production during on season and off season. These customers volume may be low but their volume keeps your business sustain.

Avoid hopping customers as they spoil your rate. These customers are very opportunistic as they negotiate every order, they enquire with every supplier. If required sell at your rate to maintain your terms. 

Always share Market insights of your products. Share price trends of your raw materials to make Customers feel that your pricing is in sink with market direction. Try to share best practices in using your products and services to cement your relationship.

Types of Customers in Sales and Marketing

 Any Manufacturing or services company will broadly have three main types of customers/accounts: Key Accounts, Medium Range Accounts and New/Low Volume customers

40% focus should on Key Accounts as their volumes decide your direction of sales targets. Key Accounts or big volumes driving customers demand more attention and focus by virtue, so our daily sales routine should start with monitoring the current sales status and organise all the modalities. Please note if your major customer sneeze your management will get fever so be careful with the top 5 or 10 Key customers. In tough market conditions like what we are in now these big customers/companies in your list cannot afford to completely shut down so their continuity will ensure your continuity.

 

30% focus on Medium Accounts whose sales volume is neither low nor high compared to your top 5 or 10 volume contributors. These customers are slowly getting used to your product/services. If you feel your share is nominal your further efforts should be to increase your volumes. Keep an eye for any cross selling opportunities also to derive more value from this customers and ascend them to key customer in your region. Business from these customers will be volatile for a while as you will be competing for customer’s share so the more you assert for your share the better you can fetch.

 

30% focus on New and low volume customers as these are in nurturing stage and need special attention to bring them up the ladder. We need to regularly tap them to show your eagerness to associate with new prospect. We have to ensure that continuity is established, once continuity is established customer will slowly develop comfort and trust in your product/services and on your company. Be judicious on quantity of time you spare on low volume customers as your time is valuable you can afford same amount of time to every customer.

 

Any other points to add, please comment.

Best ways to generate free sales leads

Sales leads Generation tips

Want to become a successful sales & marketing professionals by creating good sales pipeline, deep prospecting, high customer conversions investing only your time and resources, please go through the below tips:

Your old customers from your sales pipeline who left you due to different factors like price, quality issues etc.

Your loyal customers who refer you and guide you to similar customers in their Industry or segment.

Database you create while traveling to customer plant or location where you have high chances to identify similar customers near by.

Your internal contacts in different locations, different divisions who are in allied industry can share an enquiry. Example: You're into manufacturing packaging and you have other division that uses your packaging Product, these people will know their competition and can help you with that market data.

LinkedIn connections where you join a group or a connect to a segment influencer or a veteran who worked in the segment.

Browsing Industrial associations like chemexcil, India Paint Manufacturing association, governing bodies like CII, Nasscom, ficci etc will give you access to senior management of key target companies.

Your membership subscription in organizations like AIMA and participating in their events to connect to decision makers.

Job portals and job search groups will show you new companies which you might not have heard before.

Industrial areas, SEZs scanning by traveling lane to lane.

Government Industrial bodies like state Industries promotion Corporation for every state can give you valuable data on existing companies and new companies coming up in their respective state. These organizations will have Directory which you can buy and start working

Following business pages like The Hindu Businessline, Business-standard, Bloomberg Quint, Wall Street Journal, news websites will make you understand new acquisitions, expansions, new establishments coming up in your region.

Your competitors websites might have their valuable clients list to explore and invade.