B2B Technology Sales Without a Sales Force

John Marcus runs a software company with a sales force of just himself–but he doesn’t touch 90% of the deals. In his work with Hubspot he studied the science behind sales conversions to build Bedrock Data, and here is how you can sell to businesses without a sales force.

MECHANISM OF ACTION

Starting with your product, look at your product will help sales reps FROM OTHER COMPANIES  to:

• Shorten their sales cycle
• Close bigger deals
• Increase their sales close rate

HOST RANGE

Find the other companies that can use your product to overcome objections from their prospects. In Bedrock Data's case, they integrate business databases so they went about finding business data companies.

VECTORING

Next you will infect organizations that can benefit from your product with your DNA. There are two vectors but only one that works:

• Corporate Exposure Vector: Emails about new features and partnerships are typically deleted.
• Direct Exposure: Find inside sales reps of your target companies that are crushing it on LinkedIn. Look for young, smiling, and socially connected sales reps. Send them information about your product and tell them how you can help them shorten their sales cycle, close bigger deals, and increase their close rate. Then you're going to offer to get on sales calls with them to assist. After you do a few calls, they're typically able to sell on your own so you can piggy back on someone else's sales force.

CONTAGIOUS

Start doing co-marketing and joint white papers. If other organizations see deals being closed because you were involved, they will pull you in to intro you. Make your materials easy and natural to share.

FROM THE SALES HACKER CONFERENCE

Notes are from the New York Sales Hacker Conference today in New York City. A few hundred sales managers gathered in a dark basement of a ping pong club with a crackly A/V system to listen to a mix of B2B sales content. Here's hoping they take the ~$300 per person for a better venue next year.