Mastering B2B sales from zero (a detailed personal journal and a guide)

[Matt Lee]

Hey guys, haven't posted here in a while. I've been thinking of ways to create some value on the forum. So I might as well write about my current process in learning B2B sales.

Preface: I've been working on a YouTube business for the past 10 months now. But the thing is it hasn't picked up traction as I hope it has. When a video goes "semi" viral like last month and I think I just landed on a winning formula, my next few video flops. So it's been an up-and-down ride with little to no control on my end. It is what it is though so I can't really complain since I chose to pursue a YouTube business. I'm not planning to quit it either since it has a massive scale factor. It's a long game on my mind. But the bottom line is it won't be getting profitable fast or easy.

---

That brings me to the reason for this thread.

I need skills that can earn me cash. I've been burning through my savings for the last 10 months and I'm almost at the limits. I have the technical skills for selling video editing but I don't have the sales skills to pitch and handle deals. I could auction myself on Fiverr/Upwork, but it'd be a bidding war with whoever can do the service for the lowest price. Not my cup of tea.

So I decided to go into B2B sales to learn the process(and get paid for learning essentially with however much I can make on commission). More so about the skills than the money. My vision is with the skillset from B2B sales, I will either 1) build a B2B editing business or 2) start a physical service business to fund my Youtube Business.

---

Here's what's done so far. Just last week, I decided to get uncomfortable and pick up a side job in B2B energy sales to learn the process of

1) Dealing with the business owner/people that will pay you
2) Sales process(looking for leads, getting in contact with the lead, getting by gatekeepers, talking with DM, pitch, close, etc...)
3) Getting used to rejections/objections/being indifferent(It's an attitude and a mindset)
4) Seeing things in terms of volume and reps(want a sale? Get in front of more businesses and pitch...)

The day-to-day is straightforward. You find a list of businesses on Google Maps in an area and cold walk in asking them if the manager/DM(whoever handles the billings) is there. Then you give them the pitch and handle objections. Then you lower their energy bills and get them to sign a contract that guarantees the rate. In between is where scripting/people management/sales experiences come into play.

Mind you, I don't have much experience in any of these things at all going in. I get too excited when things go well and my tonality goes high as a kite. Then if businesses seem busy, I get passive and sound like I'm asking a girl out for the first time.

I'm fine talking with people, but to pitch them a product and profit off it is not in my comfort zone. It's stupid I know. I realized this as I wrote it out and pitched to businesses for the past 5 days. But hey, this is my starting point.

Lastly, for some reason, I have a horrible limiting belief towards sales. I think mostly it comes from my family ingraining me with the idea that if you make a lot of money you're by default cheating someone else. I'm pretty value-oriented ever since I read MJ's books. If something is genuinely horseshit I can't get myself to endorse the product no matter what I try. It's something I am working on and will conquer.

Some things I've been ingraining in my head is "this offer solves this and this problem for the business and saves them money". "You're doing a favor for talking to these businesses". "These businesses can save lots of money if you stop being a little bitch and take the lead". "You know more than the businesses in this department, it's your job to educate why they need this offer".

All of these things are true by the way. The product that I'm selling at the job is 100% saving people money. It's just me getting over my nerve and stop listening to my weakness

Anyways. This is where I'm starting to master B2B sales.

PS. If you are/have been in B2B sales for a long time and have immense experience, feel free to give me feedback. I'll make sure to read and take notes.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Matt Lee]

First small win

10 days in with B2B sales. I've been pitching 20-40 businesses daily for the past 10 days.

Today I got my first $500 sales in under 30 minutes.

I know it's nothing big, and yet it makes me feel excited... I'm only 10 days in and I'm starting to see changes in the way I talk and the way I think. I remember the first day walking out and talking to business owners feeling like an imposter as I pitched them the service I was offering. Now that feeling is slowly evaporating in real time.

In my opinion, getting into sales is probably one of the best forms of self-improvement any guy can go through besides building a business or getting good at talking to girls. It really pushes you to adapt, grow, and master your emotions. You develop the mentality of "you eat what you kill".

As you can read from my previous post it hasn't been easy though.

I have a horrible limiting belief towards sales. I think mostly it comes from my family ingraining me with the idea that if you make a lot of money you're by default cheating someone else.

I remember my heart beat fast and my palms sweated during those first few days. But this is how it should be if I'm to learn something new. It's excitement. It's the fear of the unknown. It's the fear of being rejected. It's the discomfort that is ALWAYS present before real growth appears.

Self-doubt, limiting belief, and the feeling of inadequacy... These are the things you learn about yourself AND you have to overcome when you get into sales as you would with girls, entrepreneurship, or making any deep-level changes.

So the up and down is just part of the game I want to play. That's what I've been telling myself every day. This is just a part of the game. Master this stage and move on to bigger stages. Master my emotions and callus my mind and I can conquer my next obstacle.

So anyway. Here are the things I've ingrained into myself since the last update.

1) You need to have 100% conviction in whatever the hell you sell. There cannot be even a fraction of uncertainty or else you'll make the other person doubt your offer. When doubt comes up, you'll have to deal with objections... It's fine. But sometimes doubt can lead to a person not wanting to make any decision especially when you lose their trust multiple times.

The way I developed the conviction was by knowing what I offered was legit and understanding that it has a 100% positive impact on the other person.

2) People want to follow and be led by someone who knows what EXACTLY he is doing. This goes back to conviction, but it leans more on the way you carry yourself. Personally, once I studied more about the offer and saw how the offer provided value to clients, I knew exactly what points to talk about in my pitch. I walk into every business assuming I can solve their problems and it translates in the way I present myself and my speech. It makes a big difference when you know what you are doing vs. fumbling and mumbling your way praying the other person doesn't see through your bullshit.

At least to the audience I'm targeting now, business owners, I need to be a leader in the sense of knowing what I'm offering. When they give me some bullshit excuse like "I'm not interested" or "I have something in place already" before I even say anything, I now have the urge to say "DUDE! I'm here to help you and I know 100% I can do it. So let me show you how"... but I don't say it aloud. That's my new mental dialogue. .."I'm here to help you and this is how"

I actually say something like "Yeah I understand. And the reason we're here is because you guys are paying more than you should for... we're to take care of you guys by..." etc.

Acknowledge objection+come back to their pain points+your solution

3) Do enough to find people who actually need your service

Again. REP+VOLUME!

Pretty much out of 40 businesses I pitch to daily, I get rejected or can't find the person in charge of the place 95% of the time. That's having to deal with people either not interested or can't take the offer 38 times before finding the 2 people that I can actually help.

So for me, it's been about striving to do the right things LONG enough to find the right people... Speak with conviction, plow through objection, make sure the other person know their points and understand I can solve them... etc. OVER AND OVER despite not seeing results.

Doing the right things for a short amount of time doesn't mean jack, because most people(in general) are not a part of YOUR hungry crowd. They're scattered all over the place.

Before then, they're just waiting for you to come and knock on their door with your service. So that's what you gotta do... go find them