This document outlines tips and strategies for B2B sales, presented by Mark Elliott of VA Partners. It discusses selecting target customers based on where benefits match up best, determining the optimal sales type (direct, channel, etc.), and generating inbound leads through blogs, whitepapers, and social media. The document also provides advice on sales processes, CRM tools, prospecting tactics like cold vs. warm calls, leveraging LinkedIn and Twitter, meeting planning, and additional sales resources. The overall message is to focus on quantifying value propositions, researching target organizations, and leveraging social media and other tools to drive sales success.

1. Entrepreneurship 101: B2B Sales
February 5, 2014
@markeelliott
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

2. Agenda
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3. Agenda
• Mark Elliott, Co-Founder
• VA Partners provides Part-time Sales and
Marketing
• Almost 20 Years of Sales and Marketing
• Created $2M annual annuity for a finance
company
• Booked 100 meetings using Social Media
• New clients for web based company increased
revenue by 50%
• Worked with 70+ clients over 7 years
@markeelliott
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

4. Value Proposition
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What benefits are you
selling?
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@markeelliott
Revenue increase
Cost reduction
Productivity improvement
Avoid something bad
Quantify the benefit
Multiple value
propositions
How are you different vs.
your competitors
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

5. Targets
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@markeelliott
Where do your benefits best
match-up?
Vertical focus
Horizontal focus
Leverage knowledge and
success to own a market
segment
Best contacts within a
company
Could be multiple
All organizations don’t work
the same way
Call high in the organization
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

6. What Type of Sales is Best?
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Types
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Direct
Channel
Outbound
Inside
Marketing
Decision
• Cost of Sale
• How do target customers buy?
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@markeelliott
May do unnatural things at the
start
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

7. Inbound Lead Generation
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Bring in qualified leads
Components
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Blogs
Whitepapers
Email marketing
Social Media
SEO
Website
• Easy to update
• Capabilities to add the
components needed
• Customer testimonials
@markeelliott
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

8. Sales Process Tools
Prospecting
Qualifying
Proposing
Closing
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Path to Sales Success
Activity targets
Handling objections
Email templates
Telephone scripts
Roll-out
@markeelliott
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

9. Sales CRMs
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@markeelliott
Accounts
Contacts
Activities
Opportunities
Notes
Leads
Share information
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

10. Cold Calls vs. Warm Calls
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Book time in you schedule
What is your goal?
Research
• Company
• Person you are contacting
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@markeelliott
Call the right person
Have the right message
Prepare for objections you
may face
Call at start and at the end
of the day
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

11. Leveraging Social Media
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LinkedIn –
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Twitter –
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@markeelliott
#Ent101
Complete Profile
Make it easy to connect
Connect after….
Ask for introductions
Send InMail
Research
Use tools, like Hootsuite
Schedule Tweets
Create lists
Engage
@MaRSDD

12. Other Sales Tactics
• Research
• Social Media
• Web
• Data.com
• Targeted Email
• Networking
@markeelliott
#Ent101
@MaRSDD

13. Meeting Plans
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Ask questions
Sample Agenda
• Introduction
• Overview prospect
• Overview your
organization
• Next steps
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@markeelliott
#Ent101
Who are you meeting?
What are they hoping to
get out of the meeting?
What are your goals?
What are your next
steps?
@MaRSDD

14. Great Sales Resources
Sales Peer2Peer
Sales Peer to Peer
Linkedin Group
http://yoursalesplaybook.com
@markeelliott
#Ent101
@MaRSDD