When you’re in B2B climate tech, your sales philosophy can’t be “Always be closing.” Here’s why . . .
The B2B buying cycle is long: 6 months, 12 months, or even 18 months is what I hear from my clients.
And, unfortunately, it’s not getting any shorter.
In fact, 27% of B2B tech buyers say that the amount of time their company takes to make technology purchases has increased in 2023, based on TrustRadius research.
(That’s in part, no doubt, to the fact that the number of decision-makers and collaboration required to make those decisions has also increased.)
In a tight economy, every penny counts. And companies want to make sure any purchases are made with painstaking care.
They want to be certain spends will pay off by saving time and money down the road.
So if your B2B climate tech sales approach falls under the category of pushy and motivated only by quick sales, then your sales and marketing teams are bound to feel frustrated all the time.
Most likely, you’ll also scare away your prospects.
This is the long game.
A better philosophy would be, “Always be nurturing.”
Use every touchpoint — whether that’s social posts, web content, emails, demos, or whatever — to answer questions, build trust, educate.
Take notes during your calls with leads, prospects, and customers. Review your notes. Follow up with informative resources that answer any lingering questions.
If you can’t find great resources, then create them yourself.
Once you see patterns emerge during the different lifecycle stages, then you can start automating nurture campaigns that deliver these resources like clockwork.
This is what’s possible when sales and marketing work hand in hand.
The goal is to arm your leads with all the info they need to feel confident that this tech purchase really will benefit the company in the long run.
To set them at ease.
To make this headache of a process less of a headache.
To empower them to make the planet better — while also making their business better.