RFPs (Requests for Proposals) are a necessity in B2B sales. Yet most sellers respond reactively, mistakenly believing that more proposals mean more deals. In truth, without a strategic approach, businesses waste valuable resources on low-probability bids. Worse, failing to differentiate means buyers default to price-based decisions rather than value-based ones.

B2B Sales: Definition, Skills, and Best Practices

Mike Schultz
February 19, 2025

What Is B2B Sales? B2B (business-to-business) sales refers to one business selling products, services, or solutions to another business. The dynamics of B2B sales tend to be more complicated than business-to-consumer (B2C) sales because they often involve higher dollar value solutions, longer sales cycles, and multiple decision makers.

Your Value Proposition Positioning Statement: How to Craft and Communicate It

Mike Schultz
December 11, 2024

What Is a Value Proposition Positioning Statement? A value proposition positioning statement is a compelling, tangible description of how a company or individual will benefit from buying something specific or buying from you in general.

Business Development Strategy for Professional Services

Bob Croston
September 6, 2024

What Is Business Development? Business development is the process of growing an organization, fostering opportunities, and expanding revenue. For professionals, business development often means bringing in new business, developing relationships, uncovering needs and opportunities, communicating value, demonstrating impact, and expanding accounts. When it comes to business development for professional services, one of the biggest challenges professionals face is finding time to do it all. After all, you don't sell full-time. Your work, whether it's consulting, accounting, IT, financial services, or engineering, is what you do full-time. It can be very difficult to find time to create and nurture the relationships necessary to bring in new business.

10 Tips for Selling in Economic Uncertainty

Mary Flaherty
May 31, 2023

Closing sales in today’s environment is a real challenge. If you’re in sales or sales leadership, I expect you’re nodding your head. Sales cycles are getting longer, more opportunities are being lost to no decision, and the economy is unpredictable at best.

How to Build a Value Proposition in Sales

Mike Schultz
March 29, 2023

Ask 100 sellers at 100 companies why their customers buy from them, and you’re likely to hear 100 answers with the same underlying theme: the value we provide. Sellers describe their value to us in several ways: we get results. Our relationships are very close. They get from us what they’ve always wanted (but never gotten) from other companies. We bring innovative solutions to the table. And so on. Pretty obvious, right? To win sales you must maximize value.

4 Misconceptions of Making a Strong ROI Case

Dave Shaby
November 4, 2020

Emotions are powerful motivators of buying. Consider that, in 2019, total U.S. spending in the weight loss category was $72.7 billion according to marketresearch.com. That's a lot of money spent on products and services that help people eat well and exercise more.

The 5 Cases Salespeople Must Make to Drive Change and Win Sales

Mike Schultz
October 28, 2020

At their core, top-performing salespeople are change agents. They recommend, advise, and assist buyers (what is typically known as consultative selling), and they aren't afraid to push when it's in the best interest of their buyers. Indeed, top sellers are Insight Sellers. These people make five cases to ensure the value proposition for each buyer is as strong as it can be. They inspire buyers with new ideas and perspectives, and influence how buyers tackle their priority initiatives. They question the status quo and don't let buyers accept it, thus redefining reality.

How to Write a Proposal

John Doerr
February 26, 2020

"Can you send me a proposal?" Sellers love to hear these six words from buyers. Once you submit a proposal, you can move forward to the win. While a good proposal summarizes what you've already discussed and agreed to, a proposal is, at its core, a persuasive document that communicates to buyers why they should buy, and why they should buy from you.

7 Questions to Uncover Impact and ROI

Mike Schultz
August 28, 2019

Show them the impact. Make a strong ROI case. Sell the value. Sales pros tout the benefits of making a strong ROI (return on investment) case all the time. Yet we see sellers time and again who don't know how to calculate and communicate the impact of their solutions. They focus on features in their conversations and highlight the benefits, but don't convey what it means for each individual buyer and the difference it can make for them—financially, personally, and emotionally.

9 Tips for Success in Financial Services Sales

Mike Schultz
September 5, 2018

Written by: Mike Schultz and Gord Smith When it comes to selling financial services, professionals are usually faced with three common challenges: Creating new conversations with potential clients Leading conversations and winning business against stiff competition Maximizing business with current clients The good news is that you can overcome these hurdles. There are specific things you can do in each of these areas to be more successful.

What Is Consultative Selling?

Mike Schultz
May 10, 2016

For years, traditional consultative selling was the approach many sellers used to successfully compete and consistently win sales. Today, it’s no longer enough.

Advanced Consultative Selling: Selling in the Blue Ocean

Mike Schultz
April 26, 2016

For the last 50 or so years, consultative selling has been the go-to approach for most sellers. In traditional consultative selling, the buyer states a need and the seller positions their offerings as solutions to problems. This used to be enough to win the sale. But today’s buyers often perceive sellers and their capabilities to be somewhat interchangeable.1 This leaves sellers stuck in a capabilities battle, fighting price pressure.

The Secret to Selling Professional Services

Mike Schultz
November 11, 2015

Selling. What images come to mind when you see this word? Close your eyes and say the word out loud. How does it make you feel?

Thoughts on the Five Seller Profiles in The Challenger Sale

Mike Schultz
May 22, 2013

In this post we noted we often get questions about The Challenger Sale. Perhaps the most common question we get is, “What do you think of the five seller profiles?” The five seller profiles, as defined by the authors of The Challenger Sale in “Selling Is Not About Relationships,” a Harvard Business Review blog post, are as follows. We list them in order by what they found in their study to be least to most likely to be a top performer in sales.

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