What Is Account-Based Selling?

Account-based selling has become an increasingly popular strategy used by B2B sales reps. According to a report by Gartner, it's now used by most B2B sales reps for tech companies. Even if your B2B company operates in a different sector, though, it can still benefit from account-based selling. What is account-based selling exactly, and how does it work?

The Basics of Account-Based Selling

Also known as hyper-augmented selling, account-based selling involves targeting a small and select group of highly qualified prospective buyers. It originated in the wake of account-based marketing (ABM), which uses a similar targeting process but for marketing activities. Account-based selling is a strategy in which a B2B sales rep identifies highly qualified prospective buyers and targets them with sales messages.

How Account-Based Selling Works

With account-based selling, you'll need to identify prospective buyers who are likely to make a purchase. After all, that's what defined account-based selling from other sales strategies. Other sales strategies use a broader approach in which you pitch products or services to a larger audience. Account-based selling, on the other hand, uses a narrower approach by specifically targeting qualified prospective buyers.

You can identify prospective buyers for account-based selling by creating customer profiles. A customer profile is a representation of your B2B company's ideal buyer. It may consist of senior executives in a particular sector, or it may simply consist of business owners. Regardless, you should create a customer profile for each of your B2B company's ideal buyers.

The Benefits of Account-Based Selling

Embracing account-based selling can pay off big. For starters, you'll likely generate more sales. The prospective buyers whom you target will affect your level of success. Account-based selling specifically involves targeting qualified prospective buyers. You'll treat them as individual accounts, and because they match your B2B company's customer profiles, you'll have an easier time convincing them to make a purchase.

Account-based selling can also result in happier and more satisfied buyers. Since they match your B2B company's customer profiles, they'll be more satisfied with their purchases than their, less-targeted buyers. Why does this matter? With a higher level of satisfaction, buyers are less likely to leave your B2B company for a competitor. They'll be loyal and long-term buyers who continue to stay with your B2B company for many years thereafter.

Your productivity will increase with account-based selling as well. You'll spend less time calling and contacting prospective buyers and more time closing sales.

In addition, you'll also be able to make better use of your project reports, supplied by SalesLeads. The project reports give you the description of what the project is all about. If it fits your profile, which chances are it will, then take the next step and contact them. You already know what they are looking for and by when. Now you'll be able to get a project report sales lead into your sales funnel further and deeper until close.

These are just a few benefits of account-based selling.