Why hasn’t the B2B sales playbook changed?

B2B buying has evolved almost overnight…so why is B2B selling still running the same plays?

Nate Nasralla (Fluint), Rachel Shi (Metadata), and Mark Kosoglow (Catalyst Software) share their theories on why the sales playbooks in 2024 are still lagging, and the ways they’re changing the game within their own organizations.

What’s working in B2B selling:

GOING BEYOND SALES TRAINING Kobe took tap dancing lessons to strengthen his ankles. Arnold Schwarzenegger took ballet lessons to learn how to pose onstage. Going outside of your discipline gives you a better perspective and helps break tired plays.

What’s not working in B2B selling TRADITIONAL DISCOVERY CALLS ”Hey, what are the 3 biggest problems you’re facing right now?” - ask that, and your prospect is already zoned out. It’s time to find new tactics that will engage and impress as a first impression.

Key Takeaways:

1. Tailor Your Training: Rachel Shi underscored the importance of moving away from a one-size-fits-all model of sales training to a more tailored approach that addresses the nuances of B2B SaaS. B2B marketers should assess the specific needs of their sales team and customize their training programs to improve effectiveness.
2. Speak Your Buyer's Language: Rachel, Nate Nasralla, and Mark Kosoglow emphasized the significance of understanding and using the buyer's language within business cases and sales conversations. Marketers should ensure that sales tools and materials resonate with their target audience by aligning them with the buyer's internal terminology and perspective.
3. The Power of Polarizing Questions: The guest panel discussed the strategic approach of using polarizing questions early in the sales process to identify qualified prospects and position solutions effectively. Marketers should consider developing materials that assist the sales team in deploying these questions to uncover key customer pain points and motivations.
4. Prioritizing Empathy and Relationships: Nate highlighted that empathic accuracy is imperative for building genuine sales relationships, but it's often lacking. Marketers must foster an empathetic understanding of their potential buyers to craft campaigns and messaging that resonate on a human level.
5. Embrace the Deeper Discovery: Nate and Mark discussed the importance of engaging buyers with deep, pattern-breaking questions. Marketers should go beyond surface-level insights and leverage storytelling and illustrative examples in their strategies to provoke thoughtful buyer engagement and uncover the true drivers of purchase decisions.

Resources:

• How to Know a Person by David Brooks
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Things to Listen for:

00:00 Sales reps trained poorly in industrialized model. 
05:11 Building relationships requires understanding and empathic accuracy. 
08:58 Reps need mindset shift for effective sales. 
11:50 Rachel, do you do commission pieces? Summary: Discussion about sales and diversity in selling. 
15:24 Evaluating mental effort and fatigue throughout the day. 
18:38 System two thinking in complex deal dynamics. 
21:01 Engage individually, personalize outreach and follow-ups. 
26:13 Building business cases requires deep discovery conversations. 
29:59 Emphasize positioning, change, and asking effective questions. 
33:47 Clarify objections, redo role play to assess. 
36:45 Applicants share unique opinions and personal projects. 
40:32 Using written content helps shave sales time. 
41:26 Creating message together, internalized value in writing. 
45:26 Diving deep into buyer's language for solutions. 
48:29 Remember seeing Rachel's old business case. 
51:34 "Thanks for having us, of course."