B2B isn't "just sales" it's a whole world with its own challenges. What kinds of challenges have you faced in B2B sales? Let's have a look at what our expert say about the ups and downs of sales.
B2B sales is its own animal, with its own unique approach, strategies, and tactics. Which is why it's not surprising that B2B sales platforms are expected to grow in the next years. B2B is big business, but it's not as simple as baking a cake.
As the supply of companies that do the same thing you do grows, sales teams face increasing pressure to meet their targets in this flooded market. In this ultra-pressurized sales environment, the ability to get over daily obstacles and time-wasting tasks becomes a mountain.
That's where artificial intelligence (AI) comes into play, offering help for sales reps with the tasks that stand in the way of successful prospecting and selling.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the top five challenges in B2B sales and how AI can help your team can get past them in order to prospect and sell without drowning in the blah blah blah of admin tasks.
One of the biggest challenges in B2B sales is identifying which leads are actually qualified and worth going after. It’s easy to get lost in lead qualification, wasting time and resources on prospects that are unlikely to convert.
AI-driven lead scoring models analyze all the data points you can throw at it, from firmographics to online behavior, referencing prospects against them to determine which leads have a propensity to convert. By prioritizing the leads that closely fit your ICP, AI enables sales teams to focus their efforts improving efficiency and conversion rates.
Personalizing your outreach to prospects is the best way to get them to respond, but doing it at scale is a a risk with many rewards. Properly personalizing your messages for each prospect, if done right, will take up a ton of time. Now try doing this while your prospect list grows.
AI automates the personalization process by analyzing a prospect's past interactions, industry, online behavior, and even tech stack. With this information and the right prompts, AI generates personalized emails, social media messages, and even phone call scripts that speak directly to the issues each prospect is dealing with. This allows sales teams to maintain a personal touch without actually having to do the research and write the emails, while reaching more prospects in less time. After someone has shown interest, THEN you can get into the research of that person to makes your sales calls and pitch that much more personal.
B2B sales cycles can be notoriously long, often involving multiple stakeholders and decision-makers, each with their own opinions, requirements, and thoughts on what they think the company needs. Keeping the momentum going throughout a protracted sales process leads to stalled deals and lost opportunities, sometimes giving other companies the chance to swoop in and take your sale. The long decsion-making process is a challenge that you can't overcome because it just is the way it is. That said, you can shorten it as much as possible within the restraints you're given.
AI shortens sales cycles by identifying and addressing bottlenecks early on. Predictive analytics can forecast potential delays and suggest strategies to keep the process moving forward. Additionally, AI-powered tools automate routine follow-ups and reminders, ensuring that your prospect remains engaged with you at the front of their mind, so no deal falls through the cracks.
With what seems like infinite ways to collect data as we “progress”, sales teams are overwhelmed with information about prospects. While data about your prospects helps big time for making informed decisions, managing and making sense of so much data feels like it’s raining post-it notes.
One of the things AI is made for is processing and analyzing large datasets quickly and accurately. By going through customer data, sales interactions, and market trends, AI provides insights that help sales teams make smarter decisions. Whether it’s identifying patterns in buyer behavior or predicting future sales trends, AI turns “too much” data into a strategic advantage. Let's call it an umbrella for your post-it note storm, if you will.
Consistent follow-up is an inseparable part of closing deals, but it’s easy to lose track of prospects, especially when managing a large pipeline. It might be annoying, but think about it, B2B is selling big ticket items and not impulse buys. To meet the challenges of the B2B market, you need to provide case studies, demos, and follow up by asking what they thought, if they have questions, what else can you tell them, etc…Missed follow-ups lead to lost opportunities and less revenue. Following up shouldn't be as painful as it is.
AI automates and optimizes the follow-up process by sending meeting reminders and follow-up emails based on previous emails and messages. AI sales tools also prioritize follow-ups based on a prospect’s engagement level, so your team always stays top-of-mind with the most promising leads.
The issues that get in the way of B2B sales are not insurmountable, they're special challenges in the B2B world, but with the right tools in your arsenal. By using AI in your prospecting and sales process, your team will identify and prioritize high-quality leads, personalize outreach at scale, streamline sales cycles, manage data effectively, and ensure consistent follow-ups.
At Prospectory, we’re committed to helping you harness the power of AI to take your sales process to the next level. Our mission is to simplify prospecting with intelligent automation, so you can focus on what truly matters - closing deals and growing your business. Ready to tackle these challenges head-on? Let’s talk about how AI can work for you.
We picked out the things that are different with B2B sales and tend to hold back closing.
Break them into smaller steps, provide value at each stage, and use automation to stay consistent. Use Prospectory to send timely cadences and stay on time of time passing.
Map out who’s involved, understand each person’s priorities, and tailor your message to address their concerns. Keep track of your communications with each of them.
Focus on solving real problems, highlight clear ROI, and build trust instead of just pushing features. Make your copy stand out with authenticity and a human touch.
Share useful insights, personalize your outreach, and use regular check-ins to stay top of mind. Using Prospectory can help you stay on top of your communications and check-ins with prospects.
