Written by: Vickie Sullivan | January 13, 2025
Is Your B2B Sales Strategy Ready for Today’s Challenges?
Before you kick off the year and implement your growth plan, let’s do a reality check. Will the B2B sales strategy you created work?
A good place to check your B2B sales strategy against those that have worked is Dentsu’s research report, A Unique Perspective on the B2B Buyer and the Difference between Winning and Losing. (Free registration is required.) The study, which uses data from over 3,500 buyer interviews, is a deep dive into how B2B sales really work. From a sales message perspective, the results are not pretty.
Is Your B2B Sales Strategy Ready for Today’s Reality?
To succeed in today’s competitive B2B landscape, your B2B sales strategy must align with the realities buyers face. It’s not enough to rely on assumptions or outdated tactics. Buyers are more cautious, more informed, and less forgiving than ever before. The Dentsu report uncovers critical insights that can shape how you build trust, stand out, and ultimately close deals. The question isn’t whether you have a strategy—it’s whether it addresses what buyers genuinely care about. Here’s what you need to know.
• Trust is everything. Buyers confirm what many of us suspected: personal factors outweigh professional considerations. Trust has taken the top spot among “decision drivers,” making it the most critical factor in closing deals. Buyers need to feel confident and secure before signing a contract. The days of earning the benefit of the doubt are over.
• Big gap in differentiation. While 71% of B2B marketers believe they effectively communicate a unique brand position, 68% of B2B buyers feel most brands they encounter deliver similar marketing and messaging. Even more troubling, this perception has worsened—up from 60% in 2022—despite marketers shifting their focus from lead generation to brand building. The message is clear: our differentiation isn’t breaking through.
• Winners win by inches. The gap between first and second place in B2B sales has narrowed dramatically, shrinking by 78% between 2021 and 2024. In just three years, competition has become so tight that there’s no clear standout after many final rounds of consideration. The most minor, subjective factor can tip the scales in either direction. Remember this the next time you celebrate a win or analyze a loss.
Time to Update Your B2B Sales Strategy
The selling environment has shifted. Incumbents are no longer viewed as a safe bet (loss rates rose from 29% to 34% last year), more options are being considered (up 62% since 2021), and our ethics can no longer be taken for granted.
This study demonstrates that our B2B sales strategy and messaging must return to basics: establishing trust, highlighting how we differ from others, and explaining why that matters. Everything else is just window dressing.
Now Read This:
- Decision-Maker Changes in the C-Suite: Pitching to COOs
- Competitive Branding for B2B Professional Service Firms
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