What will be the most important B2B marketing strategies for small entrepreneurs in 2018?

In 2017, companies have been talking about ABM (account-based marketing) and SMarketing (Sales and Marketing Integration) when it comes to B2Bstrategies strategies.

So, what will 2018 be?

Here are some B2B marketing strategies that will continue to be keys to success for small entrepreneurs selling to big companies.

Strategy #1: Niche-Driven Strategy

If you don’t have a clear niche, you won’t be able to sell to big clients.

So, if any of your sales messages sound like the following…

“We are xxx and we offer quality service at a competitive rate.”
“Our service can help you increase sales and reduce costs.”

You are NOT going to get more sales.

The moment you sound like everyone else, your prospects will delete your emails and forget about you.

As the market becomes increasingly competitive, having a clear niche strategy is a must when it comes to selling to big clients.

So, if you are struggling to find a clear niche, here are some niche ideas to help you:

Location-Driven Niche Strategy

Many of my clients focus on servicing local businesses and talk about local challenges their ideal clients face. This helps them stand out and get in front of the important decision makers easier.

Ask yourself,

  • can I focus on local business and talk about unique challenges my local clients face? 
  • Are there enough local clients to make this niche attractive? 
  • Can my local clients pay for my service? 

Industry + Speciality Niche Strategy

What do I mean by this?

Most people know that they need to focus on one particular industry. But, that might not be enough.

Instead, you can further segment that industry so your niche becomes even smaller.

For example,

a client of mine has a staffing agency in the healthcare industry. After reviewing her professional background, we noticed that she had extensive experience in IT projects. So, she decided to specialize in IT positions within the healthcare industry. Her specialty helps her stand out from other “generic” staffing companies and she becomes the go-to person for healthcare IT staffing.

Ask yourself,

  • What is my specialty? How can I combine my specialty within my target industry?

 

Special-Service Niche Strategy

Another client of mine is a PR agency. She has close relationships with online influencers and started to position herself as the PR agency that can provide fast turn-around for digital PR initiatives. She is able to use this special service as her foot in the door to important clients.

If you look at the examples above and apply them to your business, your niche will allow you to get the attention of potential clients and convey a clear message of what makes your different.

Strategy #2: Sales and Marketing Integration 

Don’t be intimidated by those fancy B2B Marketing Strategies, such as SMarketing. SMarketing is simply about integrating your sales and marketing activities.

While many big companies are spending big money trying to integrate their sales and marketing efforts, it can be easy to implement for small entrepreneurs just like you!

As a small entrepreneur, you know both your sales and marketing activities intimately and can easily integrate both activities as part of your B2B marketing strategies.

When planning your sales process, keep in mind that you will interact with your prospects in two directions, inbound and outbound.

Inbound means that your prospects come to you to know more about your service. This is where your marketing efforts become important.

Outbound means that you reach out to your prospects to let them know about your service. This is where many sales activities entail.

Both strategies are equally good. But, if you are able to combine both, you are able to see the results.

If you want to know how to design an integrated sales and marketing process, keep reading. I will be sharing with you how I design an integrated sales funnel using the sales engagement roadmap.

Strategy #3: Sales Funnel Focused Strategy

 

If you want 2018 to be your best year ever,

If you want to have a business that will give you the freedom you’ve always wanted,

If you want to feel independent and empowered in your business,

you need a well-defined sales process as one of your B2B marketing strategies.

Because a successful and working sales process (or sales machine) will be able to …

  • give you the confidence you need to find repeatable lead sources.
  • save you time by not performing activities that will not bring results.
  • keep you focused on activities that will produce the most impact.

So, start building a sales process for 2018.

Start by mapping our your initial sales process.

Check out my sales engagement roadmap to help you map out the process.

Strategy #4: Data-driven Marketing

How do you create a sales process that works?

Look at your data. 

As you build your sales funnel, what are the success metrics that will ensure your sales funnel will be a success?

Use those success metrics to help you optimize your sales funnel.

Check out my sales engagement roadmap where I share the different success metrics to use to build a winning sales funnel.

Strategy #5: Sell Faster with Sales Automation

When I speak with entrepreneurs who struggle with sales, I find that lack of time is one of their major business challenges.

Do you feel the same way?

As an entrepreneur, especially a female entrepreneur, we wear different hats in our business.

While we recognize that sales is important for our business, there are many time-consuming activities that we simply do not have enough time to accomplish.

That’s why sales automation becomes so important.

Sales automation can save you time from those tedious, yet most important tasks.
Sales automation can also take emotions out of your sales journey.

Have you ever felt nervous and anxious right before sending the email to an important prospect?

While we can’t eliminate your sales anxiety completely, sales automation can help you eliminate some of those anxieties.

So, if you want 2018 your best year ever, start to automate your sales process to save you time and take emotions out of your important sales activities.

Want to know the best technologies to create your sales automation or are you considering creating a team of sales assistants to help you sell better? Let’s talk.

Let me show you how my team can take over some of the most tedious yet essential sales tasks so that you can focus on the most important tasks for your business. Click here to book a discovery call with me