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About the book

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About the book
Real many years of B2B sales experience summarized in a capacious illustrated book.

This book is an easy-to-follow, illustrated guide to B2B sales based on the author's twenty years of experience. From the book you will learn:

how sales and customers differ in B2C and B2B markets;
what is the situational approach to sales and how to apply it successfully;
what models of situations exist;
how to look at the situation through the eyes of the client;
how to work with the buyer and the purchasing committee.
Practical homework assignments at the end of each chapter will help you learn the material and apply it in practice.

From the author
I write those books that I myself lacked when I started working in business. At one time, I had to drastically change my life and start selling. I have been in sales since 1993 to the present. It so happened that all my work was related to B2B sales. For many years I tried to find a book, a guide, a manual that would help me sell more, better, more efficiently ... However, I did not come across such books. Therefore, I decided to systematize my experience, the experience of my colleagues and clients and write a series of books devoted exclusively to the system analysis of B2B sales.

Before I started writing this book, I re-read my favorite sales books by well-known authors. I looked at these books with new eyes and realized that B2B sales are not described in their pure form anywhere. These sales are not singled out as an independent type of transactions that require a special approach and special skills of sellers. Meanwhile, B2B sales are fundamentally different from B2C sales.

I have devoted several years to organizing my B2B sales experience, culminating in a series of books. The first of these books is before you.

In this book:
for the first time, system analysis and recommendations for B2B sales are given;
for the first time, B2B sales are considered from the perspective of the client, his interests and his business situation;
the results of the author's long-term practice in B2B sales are given.
Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone in B2B sales who wants to do it better.

about the author
Mikhail Kazantsev is a business coach and consultant with 22 years of experience in sales, the owner of the New Technologies of Business Education company. The developer of a special training technology ("Technology-21") and the Visual Tools visualization system used in his book.

Michael has been for a long time executive director in transport company, then engaged in commerce in the jewelry industry, at the same time chairing the organizing committee of the first International Jewelers' Symposium in Russia.

Has two classical university educations (natural science and psychology). She has been teaching since the age of 18 and considers teaching her vocation.

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For whom and why was this book written?

This book is for those who want to sell more, better and more efficiently.

This book is for those who want to be in control of their sales and not be completely dependent on the client's decisions.

This book is for those who are tired of misunderstanding and uncertainty. Who wants to quickly get answers to the questions: “Why does the client act one way or another, why does he agree in one case, and not in the other case?” And having received the answer, just as quickly understand what to do in order to achieve success.

Also, this book is for those who can think! It does not set out a set of “chips”, but a system, having mastered which, you will get a huge advantage when conducting transactions.

Perhaps this book is the first systematic guide to managing the situation of the transaction.

Why was it written? This is a textbook. Using it, you can learn how to manage the deal situation in B2B sales. And get rid of many illusions that prevent you from selling successfully.

With the help of this book, you will be able to create your own models that most accurately describe the situations and features of decision-making by your clients.

What is a situation analysis, and why is it so important for a salesperson?

In order to work successfully in B2B sales, especially in complex and large ones, it is desirable that the manager has a systems mindset. Unfortunately, such managers are very rare.

Most salespeople either don't see patterns or see them very superficially. Almost every time at the training, someone utters the catchphrase: “Well, we have analyzed this method, it is, of course, good, but the clients are all different ...”.

I know how to react to it. I ask: “If all clients are different, why do they almost always respond the same way to your cold calls?” At this moment, the salesperson either falls into a severe stupor, or turns on the brain.

Ask yourself this question too. We really are all different. But in some cases we behave exactly the same. Think about it: you're calling potential customers. On the other end of the line are men and women, young and old, atheists and believers, drinkers and teetotalers, dog lovers and cat lovers, married and single people, and so on.

But they all answer your cold call in the SAME way. Why? Where does individuality go? Few people can clearly answer.

And I understand why. Sales professionals are not taught to think this way. I have an answer. It gives a situational approach to sales. Thanks to him, you can explain why all customers in certain situations behave exactly the same.

With this approach, the "situation" - key concept. Nothing but a situation can make completely different people under certain circumstances behave in the same way, saying the same words and making the same decisions.

Note: Analysis (ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις - decomposition, dismemberment) is a research method characterized by the isolation and study of individual parts of the objects of study.

Analysis of the situation allows us to reveal the mechanisms of the client's perception of the transaction, his attitude towards it and, most importantly, to model how the client makes decisions. And knowing all this, we can influence what decision he will make.
When we analyze a transaction situation, we learn to look at it through the eyes of the client. This is the most important skill. Having mastered it, we can understand the logic of his decisions and how they can be changed.

There are special technologies that help analyze complex situations and identify patterns that will help us manage them and make the right decisions. I teach situation analysis technologies in my trainings, for example on this one: //www.b-mode.ru/trainings/kak-prinimat-resheniya-v-biznese-.446.html

In order to understand the situation, it must be analyzed, that is, “decomposed into components”.

What is the client situation model and how can it help you?

In the book, I described 9 models that help to understand what is important for the client, how he makes decisions and how to behave with him. But what is a model? And why can she help you?

A model is a simplified and idealized description of reality. Cleared of small details and unnecessary details.
We meet models all the time. For example, below is a model of the solar system.

This model allows us to fly into space.

The model describes the most important thing that is in the phenomenon of interest to us. And, most importantly, the model allows you to predict. If I do “this”, then most likely I will get “that”.

A model is always much simpler than the phenomenon it imitates. But that is why it is useful. We can see the main thing. And not to be distracted by the unimportant. No technology is possible without models. Including sales technology.

If there are no models, then the salesperson communicates with the client “from scratch” every time. And each time, either “reinvents the wheel”, or simply communicates with the client “how it goes”, in the mode of a brainless woodpecker.

When you have an adequate set of situation models, you simply identify which one is right for you. And you apply it. This saves you a lot of energy, nerves and time.

Small example: I'm going to negotiate. In one case, these are negotiations with the HR director. In another, with commercial director. If I know what is important and how the client representative makes a decision, depending on his position, I can build interaction with him as efficiently as possible.

Models can be simple or complex. I prefer simple models because they allow you to quickly navigate the current situation and choose the most effective methods interaction with the client. The more complex the model, the better it describes reality. However, at the same time, it is more difficult. in application. And it takes more time to learn how to use it in real conditions.

One more thing. I repeat, I repeat and I will repeat: “Without practice, without training, this book and the models described in it are just sweet, funny fiction. Read and forget. If you do not train, you will never be able to apply anything in interaction. real client. Don't get your hopes up."

How did the first model of the client situation come about and how did this book come about?

My first model of the client's situation arose quite naturally. From the failed negotiations for the training of the leaders of one company.

I came to a meeting with a client, absolutely confident in myself and my offer. I had a lot of experience on my side, I had uniqueness and killer arguments.

Ten minutes after the negotiations started, I felt that everything was going “wrong”. Contact was established with the client, but he did not accept my suggestions and arguments. Generally.

After another 15 minutes, I realized that this was a failure. And not simple, but epic. I lost, although my proposal was an order of magnitude of competitors' proposals.

I left the negotiations, as it should, from the bottom of my heart, cursed and began to analyze. It was important for me to understand what prevented the client from appreciating the advantages of my proposal. Was I not persuasive enough? Did I make a mistake in communication? I did not understand the needs of the client?

I restored the course of the conversation. Everything at first glance, as usual. The client spoke very sensibly about the training needs, the specifics of the work and the difficulties that arise for middle managers ... You can't dig. The client is interested and competent.

And then I remembered one phrase, which I didn’t pay attention to at the time: “Every year at this time we conduct training for leaders ...” A few minutes after that, I had a little insight.

For me, staff training meant helping to solve the client's business problems. And for him it was just a formality! An empty tradition, repeated year after year, without any sense and business result.

And why did he so well and convincingly “flood” me about needs? Yes, because he worked for a long time in a company with a tough corporate culture, where it was customary to say a lot of beautiful and very correct words on every occasion.
I began to remember other clients, successful and not very successful negotiations ... I grabbed a pen, a notebook and quickly drew 5 pictures.

It was the finished model. She described all possible options for the client's attitude to staff training!

Here is this drawing:

I immediately tested the model in the next negotiation. And on some more ... She worked! And it didn't depend on the personality of the person.

The interest was not born in a vacuum. A few years before this incident, I defended a dissertation at the Faculty of Psychology of St. Petersburg State University on the perception of situations by a person. The second model appeared rather quickly. Then the third...

And a whole book was born.

How to create or modify situation models yourself?

In principle, there is nothing difficult in creating or modifying your own model of the client's situation.

There are several steps you can take:

Collect a description of the maximum number of situations that you want to simulate.
Group situations, for example, according to the degree of their outcome for you.
Try to write down all those factors and patterns that can affect the outcome
situations.
Remove unnecessary, that is, try to simplify the model as much as possible. To do this, it is highly desirable to leave no more than two, maximum three, factors that determine the outcome of the situation within your model.
Check the model for consistency. You take those situations that have already happened and apply your model to them. It should correctly describe the outcome of situations in the vast majority of cases.

Voila! You have done everything and you have your own, working model of your business situations.

Please accept my sincere congratulations!

But if this simple and understandable description did not help ...

Then it is highly desirable for you to study the tools of situation analysis.

Learn to apply what you learn to your business, clients, and situations.

Or practice, get advice, get coaching. Me or my colleagues. This usually drastically speeds up the process.
The choice is yours.

By the way, you can use simple forms that make it easier to learn and apply the models described in my book.

Here you can download:
A summary form for analyzing the client's situation according to 9 models from the book in pdf format;
Materials for the preparation and analysis of negotiations, independent analysis of their proposals against the background of competitors and drawing up a "situational map" of the client's representative;

A small frivolous example about analysis

Here is a picture. We are faced with the task of finding any patterns in it.

Some solid mess of multi-colored figures ...

When you explore a set of real situations, it is always "noisy". Lots of redundant data. A mixture of important and minor. Drifts of the subjective.

And how to look for patterns here? We must simplify. And try different options for grouping facts.

Let's start with the fact that there are three types of geometric shapes in the picture: triangles, circles and squares. And multicolored.

You can work with the number of shapes. Is there a pattern in it?

We counted: circles - 25, squares - 10, triangles - 117 (if you count everything) and 110 (if you count "uncircumcised").
Strange... Patterns are not obvious.

Let's divide the image into 3 "layers". Let's leave only triangles on one, only circles on the other, and only squares on the third.

More interesting...

Let's see if there are any patterns with color? Not visible at first or second glance.
Then we simplify all the pictures even more. Let's remove the color from them.

That's all and became visible. In full view.

This, of course, is not a serious example. But very revealing.

When conducting a qualitative analysis of a business situation, it is always desirable to strive to obtain clear and illustrative models. And try different approaches. Sometimes this gives very strong results.

Good analyzes and accurate models, dear readers!

Book Reviews

Dan Roam

Your book looks great!

I have just started looking through and I am truly impressed. The concepts are deep, the drawings wonderful, and your writing is so clear that even I can make sense of 50% of it. (Which is remarkable when you consider that I haven't read Russian in 15 years.)

Thanks again - this is awesome work!

Hi Michael,

Your book looks great!

I just started browsing it and I'm really impressed. The concepts are deep, the drawings are wonderful, and the writing is so clear that even I can understand 50% of the content. (Which is remarkable considering that I haven't read Russian for 15 years).

Thanks again - this is amazing work!

Dan Romem - Degree in Science visual arts and biology, author of four world bestsellers “Visual Thinking. How to “sell” your ideas with the help of visual images”, “Practice of visual thinking. An original method for solving complex problems”, “Blah blah blah. What to do when words do not work”, “Speak and show”.

Alexander Davtyan

I read the book with great interest.

I will not hide that at first I had certain doubts and even distrust, but as I read it, it literally captured me, like a good detective story or an action-packed adventure novel.

Earlier, I already thought about what I do wrong in my work, and not only, but in life in general. These thoughts arose for me quite a long time ago and I tried to find answers to them, but all the time I came across the same type of ready-made template schemes, such as “Do as we write, speak and you will be the coolest!” In short, this is complete nonsense! Perhaps it also works on some very simple sales of typical items, but in my area it definitely does not!

This book made me think and reconsider all my baggage, and I have considerable experience in technology, about 20 years, and in sales for almost 10 years, and I became the head of the department 4 years ago.

The main value of the book is that it makes you think. It seems to me that the author has succeeded in the main thing: on the basis of the richest life experience, to generalize and systematize, and most importantly, to structure the correct systematic approach to sales. It costs a lot! And in general. This book teaches not only sales, but life in general.

Alexander Davtyan - Head of Sales Department.

Andrey Zhulay

Welcome to Mikhail Kazantsev's B2B Sales School. That's what his book is called. the main task which is to provide the reader with ready-made tools for analyzing the client's situation and teach them how to apply them in practice.

main reason The one that prompted me to study this book is a situation on my team with a person who came into B2B sales from B2C. In the B2C sales sector, he was one of the top sellers chain of household appliances stores, but was blown away in B2B sales... Why is that...?! Two months of "marking time" and the result is at the average level. “Reconfiguring” the mindset from B2C sales to B2B brought a very generous reward of 50% increase in sales in the first month and another 17% in the second.

The methodology of Mikhail Kazantsev, outlined in the book "School of B2B Sales" has become an excellent navigation for the fact that we did everything right.

Let's go back to the book "School of B2B Sales" and see what makes it unique. This is the first systematic and consistent guide to B2B sales. You have a great opportunity while most companies are trying to "glue" what may not "stick" to revolutionize sales.

Firstly, it is “injected” in small portions, and secondly, looking at the picture, the mental process is launched at full capacity. Text + picture = consolidation of the material covered. The author shared ready-made working tools that will help to study and understand the client's situation. This is necessary to implement the correct algorithm for solving the client's problem.

I really liked the methodology of Mikhail Kazantsev, dedicated to decision makers (decision makers) and their classification. This is a real destruction of old stereotypes that have long lost their power of influence (pay special attention to this issue).

This is the first book in a series, so get ready to "dive into B2B selling." A new look at situational selling.

I first learned about them while studying SPIN sales. Mikhail Kazantsev's methodology is really fresh and unique, but there is one small "BUT" for those who are used to "collecting" knowledge: "Without practice, this information is useless."

In the near future, the book "School of B2B Sales" will become a reference book for successful B2B sales for me and my team. Of course, I RECOMMEND it for study to everyone who has devoted his life to B2B sales!!! It will help to make a breakthrough from understanding the client's situation to successful transactions!!!

Andrey Zhulay is a business coach and consultant.

Dmitry Kolmychek

Michael, hello!

I have read your book and I want to thank you for it! Indeed, I have not seen situation modeling in the aspect that you described in other sales literature.

Something remotely similar - Neil Rackham, but still not the same.

I think that your set of models is more than a material to help the seller. In fact, this is a guide for building sales in a particular business. Came - evaluated - built a model - chose a strategy - calibrated - got the result.

Thanks again for the book!

Dmitry Kolmychek is a sales specialist.

Danila Demin

When I bought a new book by Mikhail Kazantsev "School of B2B sales", I was driven by two motives. Firstly, I personally know Mikhail, I like his manner of expressing thoughts on paper and in general, his view of many things in this world is close. Secondly, although in the last 5-7 years I have rarely conducted trainings for sales representatives, I myself work in the B2B field and regularly sell my own services in this market. I was interested to read something that could help in my work. So I ordered the book as soon as it came out and immersed myself in the material.

Below I outlined my impressions and conclusions to which I came.

The author's language adds facets to this crystal. Mikhail perfectly expresses his thoughts, accompanying theoretical calculations with examples from the practice of sales on various markets. For me, as a business coach who has conducted dozens of sales trainings, it was interesting to get acquainted with the author's approach to training sales representatives. Comparing what I did with what I read from Mikhail, I can say that this approach impresses me with its client-centeredness. This is really one of the options for building training for salespeople, and, first of all, for experienced salespeople.

I must say that during the sales training, participants always remember some of their situations that arose in the course of interaction with customers, share types of customers, etc. It seems to me that if the trainer builds his course according to the Michael method, this allows him to systematize the experience of the participants, showing them the reason for this or that behavior of their clients. And sales skills can be worked out in parallel by superimposing them on several typologies proposed by Mikhail.

The book "School of B2B Sales" consists of several parts. Below I will briefly outline each of them.

Chapter 1. Selling B2B and B2C: different universes. I will say right away that this chapter caused me many objections. Yes, I agree that corporate sales and sales to a private person are different processes. But in my opinion, these are more “different glades” than “different universes”.

Do not forget that in the B2B sector, the decision is also made by a PERSON who, in addition to corporate influencĕ is subject to the same influences experienced by a typical buyer in the B2C market. And I must say, Michael talks about it. And the closer to the end of the book, the more often. However, the book separates B2B and B2C sales in several ways.

The main one - the main motive of the client in the B2C market - to have fun; main feature customer in the B2B market - the impact on him of the situation in which he is currently located, in the context of his business.

And one more feature noted by the author, with which I would also argue. Clients in the B2B sector are more responsible in their decisions, because are under external control. I am ready not just to argue, but to give a lot of examples when in large corporations responsibility was greatly eroded. I also know cases where millions of dollars worth of decisions were made by customers in the B2B market for the same reasons as in the B2C market: for fun; to demonstrate their toughness; to be no worse than others. Therefore, I emphasize once again, I am in favor of diluting sales in the B2B and B2C markets. But I would not do it so categorically. In my opinion, understanding that a large corporate client, through its representative, can make a decision for the same reasons as a private client, adds flexibility to a sales representative working in the B2B market.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3. How the client perceives the transaction depending on the situation.

The author introduces the reader to a situational approach to sales. I think this is the key part of the book. It is here that we get acquainted with the author's idea about the influence of the client's situation on his sales behavior, and with the sales representative's ability to take this situation into account and influence it.

It seems to me that this is a very good idea, allowing the seller to look at the sales situation through the eyes of the client and choose those methods of influence that can give the best result. In general, it seems to me that this approach is in good agreement with the SPIN technique. I would suggest, after analyzing the situation, to use SPIN questions.

Chapter 4. Models of situations determined by business processes and regulations of client companies.

Chapter 5. Models of situations determined by the status and competencies of decision makers.

Chapter 6. Work with the purchaser and the purchasing committee.

These three chapters are the practical part of the book, containing several author's models, based on which a sales representative can analyze his client and select the best sales strategies. I will not retell these models, I will only say that they are all very logical and understandable.

Each option is accompanied by practical examples. For each option selected recommendations to the seller.

Of course, it is a pity that it is impossible to combine them all into one. It would be nice to put all possible options in one model. But, and I agree with the author, the peculiarities of our perception require a flat, two-dimensional model. And, as a result, there are several such models. I am sure that the practice of applying these models in practice will allow any sales representative to increase their effectiveness. That is, not just sell more, but spend less effort on unproductive actions, focusing on a targeted impact on your client. And, frankly, it seems to me that an interested B2C seller will be able to adapt these models to their customers. Or, at least, a sales director could do it to help his employees better understand customers and use a differentiated approach to them.

I really liked the book. I liked the author's style, both presentation and design. The material is definitely helpful. Practice oriented. Helps the seller to look at their activities from a new perspective. The sales coach will find solid material in the book to build a training course that focuses on the types of customers and their situations.

It was a little disappointing that the author says the same phrase several times: "This is the topic of my future book." Of course, humanly, it is clear that one book cannot contain all the material. (Although, for example, Schnappauf's book contains about 450 pages.)

It's nice that we're still waiting for a single meeting with the books of Mikhail!
Danila Demin - entrepreneur, coach, business coach

On May 22 in St. Petersburg and on May 25 in Moscow interactive lectures by Mikhail Kazantsev “Why there are no universal recipes for happiness and how to live with it?” will take place.

We do not guarantee “the distribution of elephants and the materialization of spirits”, but perhaps the lecture will help many of you to part with illusions and empty hopes that interfere with you, and to do this easily and with humor.
The lecture will give a chance to take a fresh look at such simple and, at the same time, complex concepts as “self-development”, “happiness”, “success” and “the meaning of life”.

Free admission.

Each book needs to separate from the author and find its own publishing house. The book was almost finished last summer. And before me there was a painful question: "Who will be the publisher"? I was worried. But, like any hero of a fairy tale, I met a “magic helper”. He became a well-known bookworm and author of a popular blog Vadim Bugaev. Thanks to his recommendation, I met Anna Titova, executive director of the Piter publishing house, and the decision that the book would be published was made, literally, within 1 day.

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Mikhail Kazantsev

School of B2B sales. From understanding the client's situation to the deal

Legal support of the publishing house is provided by law firm Vegas Lex.

* * *

Introduction

I write those books that I myself lacked when I started working in business. At one time, I had to drastically change my life and start selling. Anyway, I've been in sales since 1993 to the present. And not just sales, but B2B sales. For many years I tried to find some guide or manual that would help me sell more, better, more efficiently ... But there were no such books. Therefore, I decided to systematize my experience, the experience of my colleagues and clients and write a series of books on system analysis of B2B sales, and nothing else.

Before I started writing, I re-read my favorite sales books. I looked at them with new eyes and made sure: indeed, B2B sales are not described in their pure form anywhere. They are not singled out as an independent type of transactions that require a special approach and special skills.

Meanwhile, B2B sales are fundamentally different from B2C sales.

...

I will immediately introduce the concepts that I will use.

1. B2B sales - business-to-business sales.

2. B-client - corporate client, one of the parties in a B2B transaction.

3. B2C - sales to individuals.

4. C-client - an individual, a buyer in a B2C sale.

I have devoted several years to systematizing my experience in B2B sales. As a result, a series of books appeared, and the first of them is in front of you. It is addressed to those who work in the B2B market. It proposes tools and techniques for analyzing client decisions and influencing them by modeling and managing the situation.

The book was created in order to finally put things in order in the information chaos created around B2B sales by various, sometimes very famous, authors. I think that chaos is really hurting those who work in B2B sales. The main reason for its occurrence is simple - many people confuse B2B and B2C sales. Confusion seeps into printed work, reflects on the quality of training, and as a result, there is a mistrust of any sales method, any book and training. But practice has shown that many B2C methods cannot be used when selling to a B-client. Moreover, it can be harmful.

So in this book:

2) for the first time, B2B sales are considered from the perspective of the client, his interests and his business situation;

3) the results of the author's many years of experience in B2B sales are presented.

I will especially note the last.

I used when writing the book:

Experience in sales since 1993;

The experience of my clients and students, which I have been collecting and analyzing since 1997;

The experience of my friends and colleagues, sales managers and business owners who gave me interviews.

The book has practical value. The models and recommendations described in it are applicable in real life, which is proven by the experience of many of my students.

The book has many illustrations. These are drawings, diagrams, diagrams, cartoons. The abundance of pictures is not a tribute to fashion and not my whim. I can, love and consider it very important to make complex things simple and understandable. I know that my students and readers are practitioners and pragmatists. They work with clients in real companies, and they don't have time to read long texts and decipher complicated theories. The purpose of this book is not to show the philosophical depths of B2B sales, but to provide you, dear readers, with a new vision of the situation and simple tools for everyday work.

To make the complex understandable and pack a large amount of information into a small amount of text, I use Visual Tools. This is my own technique, which I have been developing and applying since 1996. Her the main objective- facilitate understanding of the subject and give the opportunity to see the familiar with a fresh look.

And the last. In my plans is not just this book, but a whole series. And, like any self-respecting author, I want the reader's attention. That is why the phrase periodically flashes in the text: about this, they say, not here, but in one of the following works. Of course, it is up to the readers to decide whether they are interested in further writings or not.

Attention, this book has its own website http://schoolsalesb2b.ru/. On it you can find Additional information, download special forms for using the materials of the book in your work and ask the author a question.

Book guide

Some books on sales can and should be read from anywhere. They contain "chips" - separate sales methods that are not interconnected. The book you are holding in your hands is completely different. Here is a new, holistic approach to sales. If you get into the middle of the book without reading it from the beginning, then most likely you will not understand much and certainly will not be able to put anything into practice. And I wouldn't want to. Therefore, to begin with, I will show the logic of the presentation, and then you decide for yourself whether my method suits you or not.

Chapter 1. Selling B2B and B2C: different universes

This chapter is very important for understanding the whole book. Moreover, for the understanding of many other books on sales, as, perhaps for the first time, it sets a new frame of reference and a new level of understanding of sales.

Rice. one

Many times I noticed that sales managers blindly believe that the sale is important in itself. Regardless of whether you are selling tomatoes in the market or selling a rolling mill. In fact, the difference is huge. And it's not even that in one case you sell to an individual, and in another - to organizations. And the fact that a person and a business have completely different values. And therefore, the algorithms according to which decisions are made whether to buy or not are significantly different. In this chapter, we will see how B2B differs from B2C. And we will answer main question: why do private individuals buy and why does a B-client make a purchase decision? In each case, the logic will be different. Only by understanding this, it is possible to build an adequate B2B sales system.

Chapter 2

In 2007, I worked on my dissertation. It was devoted to a promising direction - the psychology of situation perception. By that time I already had a solid experience in business. I immediately realized that the situational approach is not a naked theory. It is easy to apply in practice, and it provides tools for managing real situations. After defending my dissertation, I tried to test the method in practice.

And immediately earned about half a million.

I argue that sales is the influence, first of all, of the seller, on the decision that the client makes. However, unlike other authors who share this point of view, I understand by sale not only communication between the seller and the client.

Rice. 2

I will emphasize this idea. Almost every book I know of deals with selling as communication. Respected and well-known authors convince readers that by learning and applying communication techniques, salespeople will succeed. But that's not entirely true. Perhaps, it is precisely because of the inferiority of the approach itself that the methods proposed by these authors do not work in life as stated.

In fact, selling is much broader than communication. In this chapter, for the first time, I identify two other critical components of a sale.

Without a doubt, communication is very important in a sale. Communication is both a way to convey information and a tool to build relationships and influence. But nothing more than a tool. And in sales training, they usually teach some universal techniques that help to influence through communication. It is believed that having learned these techniques, the salesperson will be able to competently build communication and achieve his goal.

Yes, universal methods of influence do exist. However, targeted influence works much more effectively, in which you take into account the characteristics of the client as a person. This is the first of two innovations: to identify the characteristics of the client's personality and use them to influence his decision. To do this, you must be able to understand the client and know what are the specific ways to influence decisions that work with each personality type.

Rice. 3

But it is not enough to know what the client is like, and even to be able to influence him. You also need to understand what situation he is in. this moment. If we are talking about B2B sales, what business situations.

Rice. four

The most important thing in sales is situation analysis. The purpose of this book is to provide the tools for this analysis. The situational approach allows you to understand that the client you are dealing with is not only a person, but also a kind of cog in the system, large or small. And the rules of the game in this system, the values adopted in it and decision algorithms determine the success or failure of the transaction. By understanding the client’s business situation, you can influence his decision and the deal as a whole many times more effectively.

In this chapter, we will study the basic properties of a situation and how they affect trades. We will analyze strange-sounding for ordinary person terms: "Thompson's theorem", "channel factors" ... Do not be alarmed. Behind the words are real sales tools! For example, channel factors are ways to radically influence the situation using a minimum of resources and effort. Channel factors are successfully used in advertising, marketing and high-level sales.

The concepts of "strength" and "weakness" of the situation will also be introduced. These characteristics are key to business negotiations. The one who knows how to manage the strength and weakness of the situation controls the course of negotiations.

Here we will consider the main participant in sales - the seller, we will analyze the three main strategies for interaction between the seller and the client: reactive, proactive and ... um ... brainless.

...

Influencing the personality of the client will be the subject of my next book.

Chapter 3. How does the client perceive the transaction depending on the situation? (The situation and its impact on sales)

In this short chapter, the most important principles of the situational approach to sales are revealed. I explain why the client perceives the transaction in a completely different way than the salesperson, and how the specifics of the client's business and his position in the company determine his perception of the transaction.

Rice. 5

In fact, here I explain how a salesperson can, as they say, get into the head of a client and influence his decisions.

Chapters 4 and 5. Client Situation Models

Rice. 6

Here I give nine basic models of a sales situation from a customer's point of view. Exactly from the client's point of view. It may seem difficult to get inside another person's head. I did it for you and converted the knowledge into understandable diagrams and diagrams that can be used automatically. By applying these schemes, you will receive a transaction matrix through the eyes of the client. This information is invaluable and will allow you to work with a client on a new level.

Chapter 6

The so-called purchasing committee for most salespeople is a real black box, a system that works according to incomprehensible laws and issues incomprehensible decisions.

Rice. 7

In this chapter we will open the black box. Any purchasing committee consists of several people holding different positions and having dissimilar interests. Using examples, we will look at how you can understand the logic of the actions of the purchasing committee and influence its decisions.

Selling B2B and B2C: different universes

What is the difference between B2B and B2C sales?

In trainings, I constantly ask participants what they see as the difference between selling to B- and C-customers. The reaction is contradictory. Some say a sale is always a sale. Others - that yes, these are completely different things, but they cannot clearly articulate what the difference is.

Not seeing the difference between the two phenomena, we do not distinguish between them and cannot effectively manage them. Next, we explore the fundamental differences between B2B and B2C sales, and B- and C-customers.

We will use the found traits in the future to look for leverage and select keys to influence the decisions of the B-client.

Another important point. Since this book is the first to describe the systemic differences between B2B and B2C sales, you, its readers, will have unique tools with which you will be able to correctly perceive any information about sales in the future. You will be able to cut off everything that is unnecessary, false and ineffective, which does not correspond to the specifics of B2B sales. You will also be able to accurately extract from any training or book what will work in B2B sales.

B2C sales and B2C customers: the world of desires

Let's take a look at the B2C selling process. The client is a private individual. It is already ready to buy something, because we live in a consumer society. Wherever we are and whatever we do, we are exposed to a massive attack of advertising. Advertising is truly ubiquitous: it is in magazines, on the pages of newspapers, on TV, on the Internet, before the start of a movie show ...

Advertising not only encourages a person to buy, but also gives meaning and purpose to shopping, justifies it emotionally. What do you do when you are in a bad mood? Many will probably answer: “I go to the store and buy something for myself.” Shopping for a private person has long turned from providing oneself or one's family with necessities into something else: a form of psychotherapy, entertainment, confirmation of social status, etc.

If you think about it, what is the purpose of our work? We earn money to buy, having fun. A person in a consumer society lives to acquire. And he earns for the same.

Rice. eight

Those working in the B2C market are supported by the global system of the consumer society itself. A person is simply doomed to buy something. Because money for the mass consumer is only valuable when exchanged for goods.

It is important that there is a system for creating and amplifying needs for B2C clients. Marketers all over the world are solving the same problem: how to make a C-customer want to buy something else that he did not even think about. This is being done on a grand scale and at the expense of colossal funds. By awakening new needs in C-customers, companies are developing new ways to influence the behavior and decision of buyers. And the farther, the deeper marketers seek to get into the head of the consumer, using state-of-the-art technologies for studying the brain. This is how the interdisciplinary science of neuroeconomics and its daughter discipline, neuromarketing, arose.

As a result of these systemic factors, the C client is almost always warm. He is constantly ready to buy something, and most importantly, he is convinced that spending money will bring him pleasure.

Rice. 9

Why is it so much easier to work with C clients than with B clients? It is thanks to the pleasure factor: the decision to buy for the sake of pleasure is made spontaneously and without regard to real financial possibilities.

I think it has happened to everyone (if not from you personally, then from acquaintances) that the purchase of expensive things on credit is contrary to logic and economic possibilities. Most consumers build their budget in an extremely emotional way, based on momentary desires generated by advertising or social influence. In this sense, the decisions of the C-client in the overwhelming majority of cases are not independent. Making purchases is forced by fashion, advertising, the opinions of friends and acquaintances, and other methods of social pressure. The situation in the B2C market is often characterized by a high level of irresponsibility on the part of the C-client. When making a decision, the consumer is responsible only to himself. And psychologists rightly argue that the degree of responsibility without external control is very low. Through the efforts of marketers, a person in the market turns into a child.

A very curious phenomenon is the prices in the C-market. In B2C sales, brands play a huge role, allowing you to sell a product to a C-client at a cost ten times higher than that of a non-branded counterpart. The difference provided by brands is characteristic of the B2C market, as purchasing decisions are made emotionally, and the goal is pleasure, not the satisfaction of material needs. For the same reason, it is easy for a C-client to sell a "new" thing - the same thing as the one that he already has, but in some way transformed and, as the advertisement says, improved. The culture of mass consumption is the culture of novelties.

Rice. ten

C-customer makes many purchases in a wide variety of areas. He buys food, clothes, electronics, education, medical and banking services, real estate, construction goods, stationery, etc. It is obvious that most consumers cannot be specialists in such a wide range. This opens up wide opportunities for expert sellers to manipulate the client's decision due to his incompetence.

So what is a C client?

Rice. eleven

1. He lives and works to buy.

2. He buys to have fun.

3. It is fueled by a huge and constantly evolving Information system(advertising, fashion, social opinion).

4. He makes decisions emotionally, without regard to his real financial capabilities.

5. It is quite easy to convince him to buy something that he objectively does not need, due to the high degree of irresponsibility in the decision.

6. He is willing to overpay for the brand.

7. He is often completely incompetent in what he buys, and is forced to rely on the opinion of an expert seller.

B2B sales and B2B customers: a world without needs

Clients in the B2B market are organizations. Unlike individuals, they do not exist to spend money, but to earn. Accordingly, the first and very important difference between a B-client and a C-client is that the B-client does not enjoy the buying process.

Since the goal of business is profit, a reasonable cost reduction is always welcome. Ideally, the B-client, when making a purchase decision, should be entirely guided by rational, economic motives.

Unlike C-client, B-client's purchasing decisions are almost unaffected by fashion and the overconsumption system. This does not mean that fashion does not affect the purchases of organizations. However, the motives for buying are completely different. C-customer buys a new car model or mobile phone to indulge your vanity. The retail buyer purchases the same products in order to increase profits, knowing the weaknesses of the C-customer. At the same time, the personal attitude of the buyer to the purchased goods is unimportant. The main thing is profit.

Here lies the fundamental difference, the barrier between the buyer and the purchaser. For the buyer, buying is life and pleasure. For the buyer - daily, routine work.

Rice. 12

If an organization buys something for its own needs, such as a plant - machines, then the equipment will be operated for as long as possible and economically feasible. Until recently, some enterprises had drilling and turning machines that were exported from Germany in the 1940s. They worked, and there was no point in replacing them with new ones. On the manufacturing enterprises it never occurs to anyone to change expensive equipment just because the next model has come out. Yes, innovations, of course, are being introduced, but much more slowly than in the case of the C-client, and for completely different reasons.

C-client, as we remember, is ready quite easily, on emotions, to spend money, sometimes more than he can afford. B-customers most often know perfectly well that any purchase that does not meet economic criteria will have a bad effect on the economy of the enterprise and personal bonuses.

Procurement at enterprises usually takes place under the control of several instances. Psychologists have long proved that if a decision is made under supervision and control, then the degree of its spontaneity and irresponsibility decreases.

B-customers, unlike C-customers, most often specialize in the purchase of a certain type of goods. And sometimes they are experts in their field and are far superior to salespeople in terms of competence.

In well-organized companies, a B-buyer is either an expert or an ordinary employee who has clear decision criteria (what, how and why to buy). Day after day, a professional buyer acquires about the same thing. Looking for favorable conditions, holding tenders. Naturally, he has not experienced any joy from this for a long time.

So what is a B-client?

Rice. 13

1. He does not buy for himself.

2. He doesn't enjoy shopping. Its' his job.

3. He works under the pressure and control of several levels of his organization.

4. Decisions are made in terms of economic feasibility.

5. It is extremely difficult to convince a professional buyer to buy something unnecessary. It operates within tightly controlled budgets and regulations.

6. In most cases, he is not ready to overpay for the brand, if in the future it will not bring guaranteed profits to the organization or is not authorized by top management.

7. He is an expert in his narrow niche of procurement and most often has clear instructions on the procedure.

This book is an easy-to-follow, illustrated guide to B2B sales based on twenty years of Mikhail Kazantsev's experience. The book contains more than 100 drawings and diagrams of the author, which help to easily memorize and apply B2B sales technologies.

From the book you will learn:

how sales and customers differ in B2C and B2B markets;

what is a situational approach to sales and how to apply it to closing deals;

how to look at the situation through the eyes of the client;

how to work with the buyer and the purchasing committee.

From the author

I write those books that I myself lacked when I started working in business. At one time, I had to drastically change my life and start selling. I have been in sales since 1993 to the present. It so happened that all my work was related to B2B sales. For many years I tried to find a book, a guide, a manual that would help me sell more, better, more efficiently ... However, I did not come across such books. Therefore, I decided to systematize my experience, the experience of my colleagues and clients and write a series of books devoted exclusively to the system analysis of B2B sales.

I have devoted several years to organizing my B2B sales experience, culminating in a series of books. The first of these books is before you.

In this book:

for the first time, B2B sales are considered from the perspective of the client, his interests and his business situation;

the results of the author's long-term practice in B2B sales are given.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone in B2B sales who wants to do it better.

Expand description Collapse Description

A book about b2b sales. From understanding the client's situation to the deal.
Mikhail Kazantsev, business coach and consultant, offers his own sales methodology. It is based on understanding the specific situation of the client and his business.

Excerpts from the book:

The most important thing in sales is situation analysis.

B2C: The culture of mass consumption is the culture of novelties.

An important difference between a B-client and a C-client is that the buying process for a B-client is not fun.

B-customer-purchaser:
1. Buys not for himself.

2. Purchase = work.

3. Works under the pressure and control of several instances of his organization.

4. Decisions are made in terms of economic feasibility.

5.Professional buyer works within tightly controlled budgets and regulations.

6. Not ready to overpay for a brand (in most cases).

The world of sales rests on 3 pillars. 1. Communication with the client. 2. The use of personality traits in the sale (their own and the client). 3. Management of the transaction situation.

The technology for managing the situation of the transaction and the client consists of 3 blocks:
1. Analysis of the client's situation
2. The choice of instruments of influence and the entry point into the situation.
3. Changing the client's situation (through influence).

We always tend to explain our behavior by the situation, and not by our personal qualities. And the behavior of other people, on the contrary, is always explained by the peculiarities of their personality.

If the participant in the transaction is lame in self-esteem or he underestimates his own social status compared to a negotiating partner, he will always lose.

Thompson's theorem: if a person defines a situation as real, then all its consequences are real for him.

Until you know for sure how the client perceives the transaction situation with you and your company, you are not talking to the client, but to yourself.

Studying the client's situation is not identifying needs. This is a clarification of the reality in which the client exists and through the prism of which he will perceive your offer.

A strong situation is a situation that leaves the participant no choice and no opportunity to express himself as a person. A strong situation drives you into a corner. The stronger the situation, the more primitive and unambiguous the behavior of a person. The simplest example is a fire.

A strong situation makes behavior predictable for the observer, but not for himself.

The more you want and the more you fear, the less likely the trade will go well.

Every competent negotiator tries to show his opponent that his own situation is very weak, he is not afraid of anything, has nothing to lose and is not particularly interested in anything. At the same time, an experienced negotiator in every possible way strengthens the situation for the opponent, clearly proving how shaky his positions are and how uninteresting his proposals are.

in negotiations

1. Once and for all, admit to yourself that the salesperson is always in a stronger situation than the client. And stop worrying about it.

2. Have a stock list potential clients, to which you will go in case of failure with the current client. Sales are a statistical thing. The more potential customers you have and contacts with them, the more successful your sales will be in general. And the weaker the situation of each individual sale.

3. With all your appearance to say: My company and I personally are doing well with sales. What I offer is in demand and has an adequate price. When communicating with a client, be moderately assertive, but not to the point of bending.

The winner is not the one whose situation is really weaker, but who demonstrates it as weaker.

If the salesperson is not in the position of a petitioner, but behaves like a potential partner, then he forms a common reality with the client. If this reality can be formed, then instead of a vulgar sale, we get negotiations for a mutual withdrawal. In this case, the salesperson calmly perceives everything that the client tells him, does not shake or get scared.

Analyzing our offer – Is there a unique advantage? – No – Accept it – Think of plans A, B, C – Stop selling. Ask and listen - Bring the client to his tasks and problems - The client sells to himself.

Channel factors are always based on the simplest human properties (laziness, greed, impatience, etc.)

Channel factors: money, time, emotions, similarity, help.

Sales managers often don't make the effort to imagine and understand what role what they're selling has in the customer's business.

If what you offer does not comply with the regulations and business processes of the client, this is not an objection. This is a reality that you will have to deal with.

Remember: you are not selling what you think. You are not selling a product. You are selling a gear in a client's business mechanism and it must fall into place exactly and ensure the smooth operation of the business as a whole.

9 models of client situations

Defined by business processes and regulations of client companies:

Budget - Tasks - Problems

Importance - Regularity

Familiar - New

Adequate - Cost

Determined by the status and competencies of decision makers:

Uses - Benefit

Uses - Responds

Amateur - Professional

Decides - Influences - Does not affect

Knows - Wants

Situation models determined by business processes and regulations of client companies

Model Budget - task - problem

Customer situation: he has a problem that he is sewing with your product or service.
Most often, the one who first shows him that the problem can be solved wins. Everyone else will be late, even if they can solve the problem better.

The stronger the situation, the less time and patience the client has to make a decision. And the stronger the speed factor.

Client situation: he has a specific task and targets that he wants to achieve.
The supplier who wins the best way, from the point of view of the client, solves these problems and meets the target indicators as much as possible.

Client situation: he has a fixed budget for the purchase of something, and compliance with the budget framework is the key criteria for a deal decision.
Your task is to offer the client several attractive options and not get too carried away with colorful or detailed description their goods. It won't interest him.

Pattern Regularity vs Importance

Regularity. Whether your transaction is one-time or on a regular basis.

Importance: a) optional b) essential 3) extremely important.

Combination 1: One Time + Optional Deal

Example: aquarium, flower, clock.
Price is often not the main criterion. In transactions, it is more important to arouse the customer's sympathy for your product.

Combination 2: One Time + Necessary Deal

Example: office equipment, furniture, notary services.
If the client does not have criteria, then most often the main factor will be the price and a couple of formal characteristics.

For deals of this type, you never know which of your potential customers will have a need and at what point. Recommendations: visibility in search engines, increase the overall level of company awareness; regular combing and calling potential customers.

Combination 3: One Time + Extremely Important Deal

Example: commercial real estate, machine tools.
The decision criteria are not only the properties of the proposal, but also the compliance with the client's business model.

The price priority is reduced when it comes to one-time transactions of extreme importance.
Recommendations: Become a consultant and expert. Also effective strategy– search for persons influencing the decision.

Combination 4: regular + optional

Example: supply of water, tea, cleaning.
The most important thing is not the transaction itself, but the convenience and indispensability for the client of the supply process. Regarding such transactions, he wants to settle this issue once and for all and forget about it.

Mass calling to pot.clients and visibility in search engines work well.

Combination 5: regular + essential

Highly specialized (determined by the characteristics of the business - spare parts, tools) or standard transactions (paper, communication services, Internet).
The more difficult purchased on permanent basis goods, the higher the competence of the specialist who makes the decision to purchase.

Recommendations: Will have to work against already existing suppliers. Highlight a product against a specific background with the help of unique advantages (best price, service, consumer properties). Accounting for the characteristics of the customer and his KPI.

Consistently build long-term relationships with buyers. Be prepared that the first offer will not be accepted.

Combination 6: regular + extremely important
Example: supply of meat to a sausage factory, components for a car factory, paper for a printing house.

Purchasing criteria are accepted at the senior management level because they affect the core of the business.

Recommendations: the decision will be made slowly, since the success of the client's business depends on your product. The client already has a supplier, otherwise his business would not exist. Most likely, the existing supplier satisfies the client and fits his business model. It is necessary to prepare for serious competition and understand that the supplier will not be changed for the sake of a penny profit.

The technology of expert sales works.

Model Familiar - new

Habitual - a transaction similar to which the client has previously made.
For years, a client has been using not the cheapest, not the most modern and not the highest quality product just because it is familiar to him.
Recommendations: 1. Maintain a relationship with the client. Become familiar and safe for him and wait for the moment when the current supplier makes a mistake. And here the main thing is to be the first of those who offer their product in return.
2. Offer Essentially Better conditions. At the same time, try to do all the preparatory work for the client.
3. Translate a deal familiar to the client into an unusual plane. Update it. Surprise the client.

New for the client.
1. The client himself wants to buy something new.
Relieve client stress. Convince the client of your competence, show that you are familiar with the nuances and details. Become an expert for the client.

2. You offer the client to buy something that the client has never used.
Consider how conservative the client is. Selling new products to a conservative business is a very difficult business.

Model Adequacy and cost

1.economic;

2. personal (beliefs and preferences of the decision maker);

3. social pressure.

Goods and services low price category.

Main factors: price, discounts and deferred payment. Or the business model is focused on the cheapest or "cockroaches" of the client.
For people who focus exclusively on offers of low price range, arguments regarding quality, reliability and other things are out of the field of perception.

Goods and services of an average price category.

The customer pays attention to quality, ease of use, service and warranty, and price.
Collect as many arguments as possible in favor of your proposal.

Goods and services of a high price category.

Reign not trade marks and brands.

Customer preferences: installation (belief, principle of life) of the first person of the company; "by necessity". You can make an emotional sale in the first case.

The client has a subjective range of the reasonableness of the value of the transaction. Prices within this range are perceived as normal. The boundaries of the range of price adequacy at the client can correspond to market conditions, and may or may not match.
If the price goes beyond the limits of the adequacy range upwards, it is perceived sharply negatively.
If the price is below the client's adequacy range, then this often causes distrust and wariness.

Models of situations determined by the status and competencies of decision makers

Model Use - Benefit

The deal is beneficial to the buyer and he (his department) uses what he buys

The income of the purchaser depends on the subject of the purchase. For example, equipment consumables.

The benefit to the customer must be emphasized. It is advisable to give him a try to use what you are selling.

No benefit - enjoys

The deal does not affect financial indicators buyer and he (his department) simply uses the product. For example, an information system for an accountant, office furniture.
The subjective opinion of the client is important, he makes a decision based on the criteria “like / dislike, convenient / not convenient.

Favorable - not used

The deal is financially beneficial for the client, but neither he nor his department uses what he buys. Often from a buyer with KPI.

Not profitable - not used

The deal does not affect the personal benefit of the buyer, and he does not use what he buys. To the burden of a professional buyer.

Model Uses - responds

Responsible (responsible or not)
Uses - Responds

What you buy is what you are responsible for.

Does not use - answers

Recommendations: be the first to come to the client. It is useless to try to convince the client that your offer is special or good. The buyer, who does not use and does not respond, does not care. Don't offer anything that's out of your budget. It is worth playing cash for laziness and offering to make life easier for the buyer to the maximum.

Clients of this type can make decisions on emotions. To evoke emotions, let them touch and try the goods.

It is necessary to offer the best within the budget.

Model Amateur - professional

Most often, an amateur client is not going to spend a lot of time to figure out what exactly he is buying. His ideal supplier will be someone who inspires confidence that everything will be fine. And who will demonstrate expertise.
Recommendations: an amateur client must be shown that it is difficult or even unrealistic to independently understand the subject of the purchase; having calmed down, explain that there is no need to understand the subject. In any case, he will provide the desired result. Show that you are able to communicate with him in normal language and clearly answer questions.

If the client is of the “professional” type, he understands the subject of the purchase much better seller. The worst thing a salesperson can do in this situation is to try to quickly convince a professional client.

Model Decides - influences - does not influence

Clients are divided into three categories: decides - influences - does not influence.

Employee not influencing the deal

An intermediary on which nothing depends.
Use as a source of information about the situation and the decision maker.

Employee influencing the deal

There are two options: a smart intermediary (referent), an interested specialist.

decision maker
The decision maker is a busy person, don't be too pushy.

Model Knows - wants

The client does not want - does not know

The client has not heard about the product and does not want to buy an unknown product.

The client wants - does not know

The client has a problem or need.
Recommendations: If the client wants and does not know, ask what and why he wants. Tell us what options are on the market and submit yours as the best.

The client does not want - knows

The ideal situation is if you have exactly what the client wants. If there is something similar, then often the deal fails. Do not impose similar, but different.

Buyer Solutions

Three heads of the buyer:

A. Serving the interests of the company or the business as a whole.

B. Protects the interests of the service, position or unit.

B. Follows personal interests (career, money, self-importance).