B2B 

Sales
Lecture 9 and 10
Prof. Priyanka SHARMA
IIM Lucknow 
Lecture 9 – Guest: Vishwas Anand
Take Away 01
Importance of Presentations/ Social media
Growing need for podcasts

3A model for content marketing

02 Authenticity, Agility, and Accuracy

Look for the impact

03

Keep measuring
04 Fish for the right metrics
Lecture 10 – Personal Selling
Organizing the C
A
Personal Selling Effort
Geographic
B
D

Advantages Disadvantages
1. Most common form 1. Each salesperson must perform all selling tasks for all firm’s
2. Reduces travel distance and time between products and for all customers in territory.
customers 2. Salesperson may not know about all products or only emphasize
3. Usually minimizes costs certain (high commission) products.
Product Oriented Sales
1. Salespersons specialize in relatively narrow components
of total product line. Appropriate with huge product
offerings (e.g., General Electric).

2. Prime benefit: Enables sales force to develop deeper

product knowledge level--enhances value of firm’s total
offering to customers.

3. Disadvantage: Expensive and sometimes confusing for

customers.
Market Centered Sales

Consultative selling not

pushing products for long
term relationships
 Sales Process

Preapproach Presentation Closing

. Prospecting/ Approach Overcoming Follow up

qualifying Objections
 WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO
BEGIN WITH
1. FIRMOGRPAHIC
2. FIT DATA
3. F.I.R.E
1. FIT
2. INTENT
3. RELATIONSHIPS
4. ENGAGEMENT
 NEW CUSTOMERS
How to find potential new customers 
• Alliances – co‐marketing – potential partners. 
• Organise database / buy a database list. 
• Memberships, get on the governing board. 
• Contact people we have not dealt with. 
• Make use of all our contacts (people we know). 
• Direct mail / mail‐out. 
• Networking – going to events. 
• More golf (networking). 
• Trade missions – overseas markets. 
• Telemarketing. 
• Check the newspaper, trade press, etc. for announcements 
The company’s own website.
• A Google search for other online references to the company (it may be useful to set up a 
Google alert on the company name). 
• Your company’s own sales database. 
• Colleagues, friends and contacts. 
• The prospect’s annual report and company accounts, if relevant. 
• Trade and professional associations. 

What information will be useful to you in preparing for, as well as during, your sales call? 
Here is a checklist:
• What size are they? How long are they in business?  How do I research a 
• What products / services do they offer? What is their core technology?  potential customer? 
• What are their markets and who are their customers? 
• Do they compete on price? Quality? Service? Delivery? 
• What are the key opportunities and challenges facing the company and its industry? 
• How are they performing at the moment? What is their financial situation? 
• What is their organisational structure and who are the key people in the company? 
• Who is likely to be involved in the purchase decision and what are they like? 
• What recent events (product launches, recent appointments, etc.) have taken place in the 
company? 
• Who do they presently buy from? What are their procedures with respect to suppliers? 
What are they like to deal with? Do they pay on time? 
• What past work has your company done that is specifically relevant to this company? 
When the customer is exploring alternatives: 
• Why should we choose your company? 
• What are the advantages of your solution over other methods / approaches / products / 
services? 
• Why is it better than your competitors’? 
• Why should we do it now, as opposed to next year? Why shouldn’t we do it in‐house? 

When the customer is looking for confidence: 
• Has the product / service been bought by others in our industry? 
• Do you have an office in our market / territory / region? 
• How strong is / what financial backing has your company?  The top 15 customer questions 
• Has the product / service been tested, verified or certified by any independent organisation? 
• Can this solution be tested / piloted? Is there the possibility of a pilot / proof of concept? 

When the customer is looking for a cost‐benefit equation: 
• Our business is different … how can this solution work in our business? 
• I question your figures … can they really be achieved? 
• Can the benefits be substantiated? 
• What is the return on investment? 
• What is the cost? 
• Why is it so expensive? What is the total cost of ownership (including installation, maintenance, 
training, etc.)? What is the payback on the investment? 
What questions should we ask in an early‐stage meeting with a 
buyer? 
Logically relate to that insight shared, to those challenges, 
benefits and trends discussed. For example: 
1. • Do you think this (insight) is relevant? Have you seen this 
trend yourself? 
2. • Who does it affect in your business? How does it affect 
them? 
3. • Is this something that you would be interested in exploring 
a little more? What aspects of it in particular? 
4. • How important do you think this could be? Do you think it 
could be a priority? For when? 
5. • Other companies have faced challenges in implementing 
(budget, time, other priorities, etc.). Do you think these 
would apply here? 
6. • Has this issue been examined before? If ‘Yes’, what was the 
outcome? If ‘No’, is there a reason why this issue has not 
been addressed before? 
7. • What would you like to do next? Is there anybody else in 
your organisation that would be interested? 
TEAM Framework
ACQUISITION PROGRAM
ACCELERATION PROGRAM
EXPANSION PROGRAM
 Objections/ Questions

Situation questions Implication questions

Problem questions Need-payoff questions

Workload Approach to Determining Sales Force Size
• Customers are grouped into size classes
• Desirable call frequencies are established
• Number of accounts in each size class multiplied by call
frequency
• Average number of calls possible per year established
• Number of reps equal to total annual calls required
divided by number possible
 Breakdown approach

Salesforce size = 
Forecasted sales/Average sales per salesperson

Assume that a firm forecasts sales of 
$50 million for next year. If 
salespeople generate
an average of $2 million in annual 
sales, then the firm needs 25 
salespeople to
achieve the $50 million sales forecast:
Salesforce size = 
$50,000,000/$2,000,000 =  25 
salespeople
 Key Account Management

What How Delivery Strategic in nature

Purchases a significant volume Involves several organizational Expects carefully coordinated Helps to channelize seller’s
as a % of sales members in the purchasing response and specialized efforts towards higher value
decision services from suppliers such as: accounts
1. Logistical support
Buys for a geographically 2. Inventory management
dispersed organization 3. Price discounts
4. Customized applications
 KAM Selling
Sales volume/ nature Time

1. Large volume of purchases by the 1. Long-Term

customer often across multiple
business of the seller 2. Many individuals from multiple
functional areas on the selling side
2. Become preferred supplier; Lower interact with counterparts in the
customer firm’s total costs; customer organization
Enhance learning in the relationship

Product/Services For customers

Core product/service plus customized 1. Lower total costs; Broader set of
applications and value-added services strategic benefits
2. Extensive: Broader focus as firms
share strategic goals
 The Account Management Process

The Account Manager is responsible for:

1. Diagnosing customer needs.

2. Identifying matching set of internal experts.

3. Recruiting these experts onto an ad hoc team as customer or opportunities require.

 KAM
responsibilities

 Building internal relationships

 Aligning resources to client needs

 Forging relationships with the customer organization

 Managing the customer engagement process

 Knowing the customer

 Build strong relationships within the selling firm and

customer organization
 NEW CUSTOMERS
How to find potential new customers 
• Alliances – co‐marketing – potential partners. 
• Organise database / buy a database list. 
• Memberships, get on the governing board. 
• Contact people we have not dealt with. 
• Make use of all our contacts (people we know). 
• Direct mail / mail‐out. 
• Networking – going to events. 
• More golf (networking). 
• Trade missions – overseas markets. 
• Telemarketing. 
• Check the newspaper, trade press, etc. for announcements 
The company’s own website.
• A Google search for other online references to the company (it may be useful to set up a 
Google alert on the company name). 
• Your company’s own sales database. 
• Colleagues, friends and contacts. 
• The prospect’s annual report and company accounts, if relevant. 
• Trade and professional associations. 

What information will be useful to you in preparing for, as well as during, your sales call? 
Here is a checklist:
• What size are they? How long are they in business?  How do I research a 
• What products / services do they offer? What is their core technology?  potential customer? 
• What are their markets and who are their customers? 
• Do they compete on price? Quality? Service? Delivery? 
• What are the key opportunities and challenges facing the company and its industry? 
• How are they performing at the moment? What is their financial situation? 
• What is their organisational structure and who are the key people in the company? 
• Who is likely to be involved in the purchase decision and what are they like? 
• What recent events (product launches, recent appointments, etc.) have taken place in the 
company? 
• Who do they presently buy from? What are their procedures with respect to suppliers? 
What are they like to deal with? Do they pay on time? 
• What past work has your company done that is specifically relevant to this company? 
When the customer is exploring alternatives: 
• Why should we choose your company? 
• What are the advantages of your solution over other methods / approaches / products / 
services? 
• Why is it better than your competitors’? 
• Why should we do it now, as opposed to next year? Why shouldn’t we do it in‐house? 

When the customer is looking for confidence: 
• Has the product / service been bought by others in our industry? 
• Do you have an office in our market / territory / region? 
• How strong is / what financial backing has your company?  The top 15 customer questions 
• Has the product / service been tested, verified or certified by any independent organisation? 
• Can this solution be tested / piloted? Is there the possibility of a pilot / proof of concept? 

When the customer is looking for a cost‐benefit equation: 
• Our business is different … how can this solution work in our business? 
• I question your figures … can they really be achieved? 
• Can the benefits be substantiated? 
• What is the return on investment? 
• What is the cost? 
• Why is it so expensive? What is the total cost of ownership (including installation, maintenance, 
training, etc.)? What is the payback on the investment? 
What questions should we ask in an early‐stage meeting with a 
buyer? 
Logically relate to that insight shared, to those challenges, 
benefits and trends discussed. For example: 
1. • Do you think this (insight) is relevant? Have you seen this 
trend yourself? 
2. • Who does it affect in your business? How does it affect 
them? 
3. • Is this something that you would be interested in exploring 
a little more? What aspects of it in particular? 
4. • How important do you think this could be? Do you think it 
could be a priority? For when? 
5. • Other companies have faced challenges in implementing 
(budget, time, other priorities, etc.). Do you think these 
would apply here? 
6. • Has this issue been examined before? If ‘Yes’, what was the 
outcome? If ‘No’, is there a reason why this issue has not 
been addressed before? 
7. • What would you like to do next? Is there anybody else in 
your organisation that would be interested? 
THANK YOU
Insert the Subtitle of Your Presentation