There are so many misconceptions about B2B marketing and sales. The worst part?
If you believe any of them, it means they’ve been holding your business back.
Instead, you want to move forward and grow it, right?
So, let’s look at these B2B sales myths and debunk them one by one.
I’ll also show you how you can replace them with more effective beliefs and strategies.
B2B sales myth one: Once you have that sale, you don’t need to market to those customers
You had been nurturing a prospect for a while, and they finally bought from you. So, that’s the end goal, isn’t it?
Not quite.
Why it’s wrong:
You shouldn’t forget about your customers once they’ve purchased one product or service!
Leaving money on the table
Retaining a customer is 5 times cheaper than getting a new one from scratch.
Makes sense, since they’re already familiar with your brand and happy with their first purchase, right?
Spoiling your relationship
Imagine if someone had spent MONTHS talking to you, appearing in your inbox and giving you personalised recommendations. Then, as soon as you give them your money, they disappear. Poof!
When you do this to your customers, you’re basically telling them: “I only cared about you to make that sale.”
Instead, when you continue to nurture them, you stay top of mind and show them you value your relationship.
What you should do instead:
Keep nurturing your customers with relevant content and marketing.
The most important thing? Tailoring your communications.
You shouldn’t send them the same emails or promotions that go out to leads who’ve NEVER bought from you. You could end up recommending the very product or service they’ve already purchased… and they’ll unsubscribe.
Instead, segment your leads and customers strategically. How? With a B2B quiz!
For example, you can ask questions like “Have you already tried any of these products?” and create different drip sequences based on their quiz results.
And if someone has already bought a specific solution? Recommend complementary products or upgrades.
B2B sales myth two: More leads = more sales
In the B2B world, everyone seems to be talking about lead generation.
Of course, that’s vital. But just focusing on “more leads” would backfire.
Why it’s wrong:
More leads = needing to invest more time and resources when nurturing and selling to them.
And if you do that with just about EVERYONE, including wrong-fit prospects?
Wasting time, energy and money
- If you run these sales calls – Your time is limited. Can you really afford to offer a call to anyone who gets your lead magnet, speak to them… and then find out they’re not interested or haven’t got the budget?
- If you have a sales team – Calls with wrong-fit leads are costing you money. If you pay a salesperson £20/hour and they spend 10 a week talking to those prospects (without closing the sale)? That’s £10,400 a year!
And either way: you also have less time to dedicate to the right leads. So, once again, you’re missing out on sales and money.
More problems later down the line
Selling to someone who isn’t a good fit might feel great at first. After all, you did get that ka-ching.
But what happens when they realise your product isn’t right for them? Or when they turn out to be nightmare clients but you’ve already onboarded them?
You’d end up dealing with complaints, refunds or clients who make your life miserable.
What you should do instead:
Focus on getting more relevant leads: prospects who’d be the right fit for your offers and can actually afford them.
A B2B quiz will pre-qualify your leads automatically before they’ve even spoken to you or your sales team!
So, include pre-qualifying quiz questions to understand their problems and goals, what their budget is, whether they’re ready to take action and so on.
Then, you can:
- Only offer sales calls to the right prospects – Not only will you have much higher chances of closing that sale. It’ll also be easier to get more people on those calls in the first place. Why? Because you can reference their current situation and quiz results! And a personalised approach is much more effective than a generic “Would you like to get on a quick call?”
- Nurture everyone else accordingly – Just because someone isn’t ready to buy from you right now, it doesn’t mean they never will be. So, segment them and nurture them. Maybe there’s something they should put in place before working with you? Send them a drip sequence with content that explains that. Perhaps they have some misconceptions about your industry? Debunk them with the right blog posts
B2B sales myth three: B2B is boring
What’s the point in creating content, showing up on social media and nurturing your audience via email? After all, your industry is too boring for it!
Is that what you’ve been made to think?
Relax: it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Why it’s wrong:
If someone’s interested in buying your product, then they’re interested in seeing content around it.
As long as it’s relevant, B2B content is useful
You’re not competing against your audience’s favourite TV show or film.
You must create content that answers their questions about your industry, helps them overcome a problem and positions you as the next step.
Once you reframe it like that, B2B marketing and sales become much easier!
It also doesn’t have to be boring
Were you planning on sharing company news? Then yes: B2B is boring (sorry).
But if you create content around your target market’s problems, goals and interests? You’ll grab their attention, entertain them and turn more of them into customers.
What you should do instead:
Make your B2B marketing engaging and compelling.
- Tell stories – Include real-life examples and anecdotes (don’t just post facts)
- Share your unique takes and ideas – Your competitors might have tackled the same topics, but you can do so in a way that stands out
- Always create content for your specific audience – B2B marketing isn’t about entertaining everyone. So, set yourself up for success by focusing on the problems and preferences of your target customers
But how can you get all this data about them? Simple: with a quiz!
When you ask the right questions:
- Your leads will receive a useful report (super valuable for them!)
- You will get a tonne of insights – What is your audience struggling with? What are they hoping to achieve? What do they like and dislike about your industry? THAT’S what you need to create content on!
B2B sales myth four: You need to be an extrovert to be good at sales
Perhaps, in your mind, a salesperson is a pushy individual. Someone who’s so good at talking that nobody can say no to them.
So, if you’re an introvert, you can’t be a successful salesperson. And if a candidate appears that way? You shouldn’t hire them.
That’s not true at all!
Why it’s wrong:
Introverts aren’t necessarily shy or bad at talking to others. They’re simply more reflective, and they recharge their social batteries with their alone time.
That’s got NOTHING to do with their sales skills! In fact, lots of successful salespeople and entrepreneurs are introverts, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
Whether you personally like them or not, I’m sure we can agree on one thing: being introverts didn’t stop them from selling and promoting their ideas.
What you should do instead:
Harness the qualities that make introverts better at sales:
- Good listeners – Extroverted salespeople often let their ego and personality take over, and they make the conversation about themselves. Instead, introverts are better at taking a step back and actually listening to each prospect
- Deep thinkers – Introverts are skilled at analysing a situation and coming up with the right solution
- More controlled approach – They won’t make your customers think “Eek, this person is going to try and sell me a product,” but rather “Oh, this person is trying to come up with the right solution for my problem!”
So, make those sales conversations even more effective (for both introverts and extroverts): gather plenty of information BEFORE getting on calls.
Once again, a quiz will do that for you.
You’ll find out what someone is struggling with, what they’re hoping to achieve, what they’ve already tried and much more.
So, you’ll understand their unique situation and get to recommend the right option for them – without feeling like you’re pressuring a stranger into buying a random product.
B2B sales myth five: Following up too soon looks desperate
Someone expressed an interest in your products, you contacted them and… now, they’re nowhere to be found.
Surely, you can’t follow up with them so soon. You’d come across as desperate and lose that sale, right?
Wrong! It’s the opposite.
Why it’s wrong:
Some leads will keep on ghosting you: that’s just part of the B2B game. But the majority?
People are busy, especially in the B2B world
Maybe someone is still interested in your product but something’s come up at work, at home… or both.
If you don’t remind them about that offer, you can’t blame them for forgetting about it (and don’t worry: follow-ups don’t have to be pushy).
Most B2B buyers need multiple follow-ups
Do you know how many follow-ups are required for a successful sale? In 80% of cases, 5!
So, if you delay yours or give up after a single touchpoint, you’re kissing goodbye to most sales.
What you should do instead:
Be consistent with your follow-ups, and use a quiz to keep them personalised and helpful.
- Include questions to uncover a prospect’s doubts or concerns – You can then answer them in your drip campaigns and sales enablement content
- Reference their quiz results – When mentioning a call, make your request more personal and enticing. Maybe this prospect got a low score in a specific quiz category? Offer them a call to discuss it and share helpful advice. They’ll be much more likely to say yes!
- Get honest feedback – When someone just isn’t going to book that call, ask them what’s stopping them. Is it a problem with their timeline? Budget, perhaps? With a quiz, you won’t have to rely on guesswork, and you can then use those answers to inform future campaigns
Use a quiz to bust these common B2B sales myths
All those B2B sales myths are outdated and counterproductive.
Instead, you can move past them and outperform your competitors with a quiz that:
- Lets you nurture previous customers strategically
- Pre-qualifies your prospects
- Helps you get to know your audience and create better content for them
- Gives introverted salespeople more tools to succeed
- Makes your follow-ups easier and more effective
With a ScoreApp quiz, you can do all that (and more). Create your B2B quiz today and for free, and get ready to boost your sales!
