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Prospecting
Identify and contact companies that match the ICP. Goal: a booked first meeting.
What is B2B sales
Selling between businesses, not to consumers.
B2B sales (business-to-business) is the sale of products or services from one company to another. Unlike B2C, there are fewer customers, higher contract values and a buying journey that involves multiple people over several months.
The decision is rational, but the process is human. Who you talk to, how you document value, and how easy you make it to say yes, that's what decides whether the deal closes.
B2B vs B2C
Five differences that change everything.
01
Decision-makers
B2B: typically 6–10 people involved. B2C: one.
02
Sales cycle
B2B: 3–18 months. B2C: minutes to weeks.
03
Contract value
B2B: hundreds of thousands to millions. B2C: often under $100.
04
Decision driver
B2B: ROI, risk, references. B2C: need, identity, price.
05
Relationship
B2B: long-term partnership. B2C: often transactional.
The sales process
Six phases in a complex B2B sale.
Each phase has its own goals, signals and next steps. When phase transitions are defined, pipeline forecasts become reliable.
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Qualification
Need, budget, decision process, timeline. Goal: decide whether the deal is real.
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Proposal
Proposal, demo and business case matching what we've learned. Goal: win preference.
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Negotiation
Price, terms, legal and procurement. Goal: preserve value while reaching agreement.
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Win
Signed contract and clean handover to delivery. Goal: a strong start to the customer journey.
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Loss
Lost deals are handled deliberately: loss reason, learning and follow-up for a future revisit.
Methodology
A methodology the whole team uses, not just the top seller.
MEDDIC, Challenger, SPIN, what matters isn't which methodology you choose, but that the whole team uses the same one. We help you implement one shared methodology across CRM, sales material and daily routines.
- 01Shared language for qualification across sellers and leaders.
- 02Pipeline data that is actually comparable between deals.
- 03Onboarding of new sellers goes from months to weeks.
The tools
The Smarketing stack for B2B sales.
Platform
CONNECT Hub
Shared workspace between seller and buyer. Brings proposals, documents, video and signals into one place.
Pipeline
Deal Compass CRM
Pipeline and forecasting tool based on real customer engagement, not gut feeling.
Strategy
Brand platform
Shared messaging and positioning that guides every customer dialogue.
Model
Commercial infrastructure
Connecting sales, marketing and leadership into one commercial engine.
Why it matters
Complex sales lose to ignorance.
01
Long sales cycles, many decision-makers and scattered information cause deals to vanish in the inbox.
02
Marketing and sales talk past each other. Pipeline forecasts are built on guesswork rather than data.
03
We make B2B sales simple, transparent and less time-consuming, regardless of experience level.
Smarketing Secrets
Insights from the field.
Articles from our LinkedIn newsletter on what actually decides complex B2B sales.
Common questions about B2B sales.
What is B2B sales?
B2B sales (business-to-business) is the sale of products or services from one company to another. It's characterized by longer sales cycles, multiple decision-makers and higher contract values than B2C.
What's the difference between B2B and B2C sales?
B2B has fewer but larger customers, longer buying journeys and rational decisions based on ROI. B2C is volume-driven with shorter buying journeys and stronger emotional drivers.
How do you succeed in B2B sales?
With process structure, shared methodology across sales and marketing, tight pipeline follow-up and a platform that consolidates customer dialogue.
How long is a typical B2B sales process?
Complex B2B sales take 3–18 months from first contact to signed contract, depending on contract value, number of decision-makers and industry.
What is smarketing?
Smarketing is the merger of sales and marketing, one shared commercial engine where sales and marketing work toward the same goals, methodology and data.
Ready to make complex B2B sales predictable?