An Overview Of Business To Business Sales

Business to business sales is one of the most rewarding careers but also one of the most misunderstood, as knowledge of professional selling is often based on personal experience of business to consumer selling; dreaded cold callers and tiresome door to door salespeople ñ when in fact business sales professionals are seen as a vital element of every company. Whatís more, the financial rewards available to professional sales people are unlike any other vocation, with income being directly related to effort and with a large majority of Managing Directors starting off as sales people, the path for career progression is clear.

Simply defined, business to business (b2b) selling is the practice of one business contacting another in order to sell products and/or services. While some companies operate solely on the basis of telephone selling, the ìcold callî is usually the first stage in establishing a long term relationship with a potential customer.

The practice is so common that most companies expect to be contacted in this way. Of course it is just one of the many tools available to the professional salesperson; but represents the beginning of the business relationship, not the end.

Ultimately, the goal for every b2b sales person is to establish a long term relationship with their customers, as it is only through repeat business that a company survives. Inevitably, it is through face to face contact that such a relationship is secured, which is why a b2b sales person must be natural communicator over the phone and face to face.

The ongoing process of b2b selling means that the sales person is often responsible for a specific customer base or territory. This means that each sales person has the ability to develop his or her own patch, assuming responsibility for the given area. While developing new business is crucial, it is important to maintain existing client relationship, as many sales people claim most of their new leads come from client referrals and networking.

So while the role of a b2b sales person may be challenging, the rewards are second to none, which is why more and more graduates pursue a career in sales. On average, a professional sales person starting out earns a basic salary between 18-20k, but has the ability to dramatically increase their salary through On Target Earnings (O.T.E). Some graduates take home 30-40k in their first year.

With the importance of the business to business sales person to a company it is often the case that a track record in sales is required, making it difficult for people with no experience to break into sales.
Fortunately, meta-morphose International helps graduate calibre candidates with little or no experience break into sales, helping them secure a career with one the UKís top companies as well as offering industry leading training and support.