Starting a business-to-business (B2B) company is one thing — managing to stay afloat long enough to grow is another question entirely. Here’s some tried and tested advice from real B2B companies on how to get past the 7 biggest and most critical challenges a growing B2B company can face.

1. 7 CRITICAL B2B CHALLENGES
AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM

2. Starting a business-to-business (B2B)
company is easy.

3. Staying afloat and growing
is another thing entirely.

4. Here are tried and tested tips
from real B2B companies on
how to survive and thrive.

5. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #1
ACQUIRING
FUNDING

6. Many small business owners spend
time and resources preparing
application packets and meeting
with bankers, only to be rejected.
Crystal L. Kendrick
President, The Voice of Your Customer

7. Look for needed resources and funding
using non-traditional options like local
government agencies & non-profit
organizations.
Crystal L. Kendrick
President, The Voice of Your Customer

8. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #2
FINDING
THE RIGHT
SUPPLIER

9. Vendors like to see deals of a certain size
and value. Often they won’t be willing
to deal with you on preferential terms
unless they see business on a scale that
matches their standards.
Marc Prosser
Publisher, Fit Small Business

10. Give vendors a picture of what you
expect to produce in the future and
how you expect to get there.
Marc Prosser
Publisher, Fit Small Business

11. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #3
FINDING
THE RIGHT
PEOPLE

12. Recruiting can be very tough, especially
in software development, and a single
bad hire can have detrimental effects
on your budget and planning.
Trevor Ewen
Partner, Neosavvy Labs

13. Keep up a strong personal network of
people. If pssible, work with them as
contractors on smaller projects before
risking larger relationships.
Trevor Ewen
Partner, Neosavvy Labs

14. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #4
GETTING
NOTICED

15. Without a large budget and team, it can
be hard to reach potential customers
from a small marketing perch.
Todd Horton
Founder and CEO, KangoGift

16. Partnering with a larger company can
increase potential customer reach, plus
you can learn best practices from the
more established partner company.
Todd Horton
Founder and CEO, KangoGift

17. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #5
ESTABLISHING
CREDIBILITY

18. Potential customers may love your
sales pitch, but if your company
is only 6 months old they may
hold back on committing.
Ryan Hulland
President, Netfloor USA Access Flooring

19. Convince them there is more to
B2B than how long a company has
existed. There is no ‘secret sauce’.
You have to try harder than anyone
else and never give up.
Ryan Hulland
President, Netfloor USA Access Flooring

20. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #6
LEARNING TO
DELEGATE

21. While growing Merchant Maverick, I
knew there was no way I could do
everything on my own. However,
I was very intimidated by the thought
of bringing anyone on board.
Amad Ebrahimi
Founder and Editor, Merchant Maverick

22. I soon realized that my fears were
irrational. I focused on hiring part-time
contractors so I could test the waters
without making a full commitment.
Amad Ebrahimi
Founder and Editor, Merchant Maverick

23. Companies experiencing growth
at a rapid clip have to be willing to
experiment and take risks not only
with new technologies and strategies,
but with how they manage their
workforce.
Robert Bellenfant
Founder and CEO, Technology Advice

24. Our team leaders play a role in creating
and tracking goals, but we allow their
team members freedom in how they
accomplish them.
Robert Bellenfant
Founder and CEO, Technology Advice

25. CRITICAL CHALLENGE #7
CONVERTING
TRIALS TO
PAID ACCOUNTS

26. We understand that a lot of our potential
customers will be busy, so it can be hard
for them to find time to learn how our
software can benefit them.
Richard Protheroe
Content Marketing Executive, Veeqo

27. We had to be much more proactive. We
set up a twice-weekly webinar so people
can ask questions. We call people who
are actively using the software during
the free trial to see if they need any
more assistance.
Richard Protheroe
Content Marketing Executive, Veeqo

28. WORKetc. It’s more than a CRM.
www.worketc.com
For more smart and practical business advice,
check out the WORKetc blog.