You know, there’s a lot of bullshit out there… and we mean, a lot.

You know it, we know it and frankly we’re over it. So we’re here to tell you the truth: B2B selling - or any sales for that matter - is only as good as your network of trusted connections. Your sphere of influence and connections is where your actual power lies. 

The relationships you have that are authentic and where people trust you because you delivered on what you said you’d do. And, not only that, your solution actually solutioned their problem. 

We hear a significant amount of jargon out there and in the new content and AI landscape the proliferation of it is getting pretty dire. It’s like everyone’s yelling up some well, hoping what they say will be heard by someone on the other side. 

Here’s how we think you can actually grow your sales pipeline, authentically.

 1. Deeply understand what your product and solutions are offering

We get that when you work in tech organisations your products and services can be complex and varied. You might not know everything there is to know that could solve a variety of problems a potential customer has and that’s okay. But, ensuring you have vast and good knowledge about your products and services will give you an edge. Spend time listening to solutions consultants or other people in your organisation. Or, use some AI tools that will help summarise long form documentation into easy points for you to consume.  

2. Ensure that you refine and whittle down who needs this solution and why they need it

If your product or service is for everyone, it’s really for no one. When you’re selling you absolutely need to know who you’re solving for, in detail. You need to know your customer inside and out. You need to be able to walk in their shoes. You need to have empathy for their challenges and you need to humanise them. The organisations you’re selling to have people in them. Prospects are people. We so often forget this with all the new names we’ve given humans we sell to like, deals, MQLs, SQLs, leads, prospects and the list goes on. Your solution solves a person’s problem. So who are your people?

3. Look at your immediate network of connections

Consider people you’ve worked with, people who’ve been a client before, people you’ve met out at events… who within your network needs what you’ve got and why? The network of people you already know will help you get to a ‘no’ faster than anyone else you could possibly talk to. 

If you want to get jargony and talk about the sales funnel, you could say that people in your trusted network that probably need your product are technically sales qualified leads and guess what? You know them. So that’s the best place to start. 

You can also look at your businesses current client list, look at who’s given testimonials and then ask those people for referrals to other functions within their organisation or to friends in similar roles across the industry. If your company has done a great job, why wouldn’t someone want to refer you?

4. Consider who in your network might not need exactly what you’re offering but could refer you

There are plenty of humans in your network who won’t need your product but who might be able to pass you onto someone who does. If you’ve got a close enough relationship to someone and they trust you, why not reach out, take them for a coffee, share what you’re working on and then ask them to refer you to anyone that this could be really useful for. Of course, you can return the favour - who can you send their way? What do they need help with?

5. Being in-person is the best way to build connection

Post the big ‘ol C word, we’ve lost a lot of physical, in-real-life, connection. So get out there friend, take people for coffees, lunch, drinks, walks or any other fun activity. Sitting behind a screen on Zoom might be faster but you know what it’s not, it’s not going the extra mile. It’s not showing someone you really give a shit about them and their time. It’s just another call behind the safety of a screen. People need social connections, it’s a fundamental human need. So go make more connections face to face. This shouldn’t be considered old school, it should be considered always-school. 

Technology is great, it’s awesome, I mean we all use it every single day and it’s made our lives significantly easier but let’s not forget it’s role and our role. Technology and AI’s role is to empower and help people do their jobs better or faster in some way. Us humans, our job is to build relationships and find ways to solve people (our customers) challenges.