Everyone loves to buy.
And everyone hates being sold.
In the B2B world, businesses must buy products and services that are essential.
Things like tax advice, legal advice, HR services, insurance, enterprise software, computers, security systems, and more.
All these are expensive and complex services.
They require a significant investment of time and business resources to make a buying decision.
They’re typically not fun for a business to buy.
No one CPA, Attorney, Consultant, or Advisor is 100 percent smarter than another.
Everyone has access to the latest technology, distribution, and labor resources.
So what separates the average from the top 1% of super achievers?
The top achievers have a simple strategic edge.
They are masters at removing “The Suck” from the B2B buying experience.
They have better approaches, better processes to eliminate any source of friction in their marketing, sales, and client service.
Let’s take a look at you can remove the friction from your processes…
And join the ranks of the top 1% of super achievers.
Understand How the Sales Game Has Changed
It’s not 2015 anymore.
Today business decision makers are no longer tethered to their office or business phone.
It’s harder to reach business decision makers on their business landline or catch them with a a drop-in physical visit.
Where are they?
They’re connected to their business with their Smart Phones.
✅ Scrolling Social Media feeds.
✅ Checking and sending text messages.
✅ Doing research.
✅ Checking and sending emails.
✅ Tracking project progress with apps.
✅ Listening to podcasts.
✅ Watching videos.
Yes, cold calling and drop-in visits do still work.
But if that’s all you’re doing to reach and grab attention of potential clients, you haven’t evolved.
B2B buyers now are comfortable and prefer to do most of their buying research WITHOUT talking with a salesperson.
And lots of this research is conducted in the Dark Social.
If you’re not creating content in Social Media- text posts, videos, documents, adding comments, getting recommendations, reviews, and testimonials- building relationships and adding value to your online network…
You’re not building any marketing leverage.
You stay stuck in the “Commodity Zone”.
When you do land a meeting with a prospect via a cold call, you’re positioned as every other salesperson.
As a result, the only way to make a buying decision is price.
Good news.
You can position yourself as The Hunted, Not The Hunter.
With less focus on cold calling and more time invested in creating content and building relationships online, you can be seen as THE Trusted Authority Advisor.
First, it will take a bit of a mindset shift.
Adopt a New Mindset
How do you approach everyone differently and more effectively?
It’s embracing Jay Abraham’s Strategy of Preeminence.
In Jay’s book linked above, he outlines the massive difference between “customer” vs. “client”.
Customer- One who purchases a commodity or service.
Client- One who is under the protection of another.
A “customer” is a transaction.
While a “client” is a relationship.
If someone is under your protection and care, you would never add pressure to force a sale.
You would do everything to treat them as a “dear, valued friend”.
You would never recommend or sell them anything they didn’t need.
Likewise, your professional obligation is to make it painless to buy what they truly do need to protect and grow their business.
How do you make buying from you painless and free of friction?
Examine Every Marketing and Sales Process
Josh Braun often talks about lowering the Zone of Resistance.
The Zone of Resistance is the natural reaction buyers have to any kind of sales pressure.
It’s essential to lower the ZOR and eliminate any friction in your marketing and sales messages and processes.
Often what you say, how you say it, and when you respond are unconscious responses.
And sometimes sales destroying habits.
Take a look at every single part of your marketing and sales process.
It starts with your first approach to a potential client.
All the way through how you cross-sell and retain long-term, profitable relationships with your clients.
Look at everything:
✳️ Your cold call, email, drop-in prospecting messaging, tone, timing
✳️ Your Social Media content, engagement, and positioning
✳️ Your website
✳️ How you answer the phone
✳️ How you respond to emails
✳️ How you qualify prospects
✳️ How quickly you follow up
✳️ How easy you make it to gather information
✳️ How you present your solutions
✳️ How you handle and respond to objections to your recommendations
✳️ How you onboard new clients
✳️ How you ask for testimonials, reviews, and recommendations
✳️ How you ask to prompt referrals
✳️ How you treat your best clients and retain long-term relationships
While you can do this internally with your staff, it’s best to have an ongoing feedback process to gather insights from your clients.
This isn’t a once and done thing.
Commit to capturing any signs of friction or unnecessary sales pressure in all parts of your marketing and sales process.
Work on making consistent improvements and realize it’s something you’ll never master.
But it’s a crucial thing you can always improve.