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Ask HN: B2B / enterprise sales

10 points by cylinder ↗ HN
All of my previous businesses were consumer-facing, meaning my marketing was basically AdWords, SEO, etc and customers came to me.

Now I'm selling a service directly to business. Most likely it would go through the HR department and/or Legal.

I cannot wait for "networking" or word of mouth to generate business, I need to proactively sell this product.

The problem is that I've never done b2b sales as an entrepreneur or employee. I have no idea how it works - does cold calling actually work? Cold emailing? I've sent people unsolicited emails and calls in the past looking for mentorship or jobs, but never to sell them something.

I don't have any contacts inside my target market, so that's not really an option.

Where do I begin? Any good books on this subject out there that aren't spammy ebooks written by hucksters?

5 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 22.6 ms ] thread
jeffmould
Yes cold calling does work and also cold emailing (although be careful not to come off spammy when cold emailing). Try to establish a connection before just emailing. Your best bet is to work your connections and their connections.

I know you said you do not have contacts in the target market, but maybe some of your friends, family, coworkers, etc.. do. How did you get interested in this market? Someone or something led you down the road this product so follow that road back to see who along the way can help you now.

Splurge on a premium LinkedIn account and hunt down contacts in the market. See where they are within your network and seek out introductions.

Once you land one or two clients use them to build out. HR and Legal are two very well connected groups of people and they tend to talk among themselves at various networking events and within their circles. Get references and use their connections.

Finally, you missed an opportunity here by not linking to your product/service. Even put it in your profile here. I know I would have looked at the site to see if (a) it was something that I could use, (b) if I knew someone that could help you, or (c) just to put on my radar if something popped up down the road.

Finally participate in forums, blogs, etc... to promote your product. Don't spam them, but become a resource in the market space. It may take some time to build a reputation but if people see you can be trusted as a resource they may just buy your product.

cylinder
I would definitely not be spammy. I receive some of these emails myself and I do not respond to anything spammy. I take a high empathy approach to things so I've got to be genuine. That's actually why I doubt whether cold contacting can work at all; another reason is that I imagine buyers are constantly being bombarded with offerings and they just tune everything out.

I didn't post my link here because it doesn't exist yet. I'm trying to commit to pursuing this, pretty much every aspect is vetted except for my doubt regarding selling.

Thank you for the advice.

jeffmould
I think you might be surprised at how well cold contacting works. There is no question it is a skill not everyone possesses and, especially with email, there is a fine art to being a good seller and sounding spammy. For me, if the email sounds like a product I may be interested in now or think I may be interested in the future I will tend to look at the site at least. If I like what I see I may file it away for later use or possibly forward to someone I know. If I really like what I see I may research the company some more, see if I personally know anyone using their products or if there are any reviews of the product/company. From there I may decide to respond to the email right away or file away for later use. I would say though that on average 8 out of 10 times I will make it to the website to see what the product is. Most good cold emails know you may at least have some relation or use for their product.

What does turn me off is a constant barrage of emails or calls trying to force sell me on the product. If I hear from you more than 2 or 3 times and I haven't responded you may get either a nasty response from me to stop calling/emailing or just get a rule created to auto delete your messages.

Another good avenue is to check Meetup.com for events in your area. Try to attend as many as you can where you think the audience may be in your target market or at least have contacts within your market. Signup for notifications of upcoming events in your area as well. I have had great success meeting people at random events that I hadn't even thought to attend. Even if you don't get a sale out of the event, making one new contact at each event can pay off huge down the road.

JSeymourATL
The ability to actually pick-up the phone and call prospects separates then men from the boys in this game. Yes, cold email can be useful to start a dialogue. But true business developers know they must use the phone.

Here's a solid read on the subject by Mike Weinberg, if you read nothing else-- Chapter 14 Planning & Executing the Attack is brilliant! > http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6482841.Mike_Weinberg

lafay
I think networking is essential here. Ask your friends (and friends of friends) to introduce you to HR / legal folks within their employers. Be politely persistent. It may take several asks, especially for the most important connections.

Well-crafted cold emails are remarkably effective. Subject lines are key, concise content, close with a specific ask ("can we speak / meet at this date and time?") Lots of good content and examples out there on this. If no reply, send a follow-up three days later politely asking for a response.