B2B sales mistakes that your fashion brand must avoid

B2B ecommerce can be a great way to boost your brand’s sales beyond B2C channels. However, the B2B space works very differently and the marketing, ordering and fulfilment processes require different approaches to what you’re used to in B2C. To be successful in B2B sales, you need to have the right tools, processes and strategies in place. Here are some common B2B sales mistakes that you need to avoid for your fashion brand to close more deals.

1 – Assuming that the buyer is one single person

With B2C sales, you need to appeal to the wants and needs of independent consumers and connect with what your customers are looking for in their clothes and accessories.

However, you should remember that decisions in a B2B purchase are often made by more than one person within a company. B2B sales will usually pass through several people and multiple stages of approval, making it a longer and more complicated process.

Your sales team should take this into account and adapt their sales practices and expectations.

2 – Rushing the buyer into making decisions

In B2B sales, you need to invest time into building trust and relationships with potential buyers. B2B sales don’t happen overnight, and an aggressive salesperson is always a turn off. Rushing your prospecting into making a decision will likely push them away from closing a deal.

Instead, be respectfully persistent and follow up regularly with your potential buyers. Strive to understand why they are hesitating to buy and be ready to respond to their issues and queries.

This way you will create a strong impression and even if they don’t buy from your brand immediately, you will be at the forefront of their mind when they want to buy later.

3 – Not adapting your B2C marketing strategy to B2B buyers

As we’ve already discussed, B2B sales work differently to B2C purchases. Your B2B buyers are thinking less about their personal clothing style preferences and more about factors such as cost, volume and fulfilment time.

When marketing to your B2B buyers, your focus should therefore be on your ability to deliver value and be dependable and professional. Whilst your brand’s creative identity is still important, B2B customers want to know that you can process large-quantity orders in a timely, affordable, and reliable manner. Make sure you adapt your marketing materials to communicate this.

4 – Forgetting about the art of building relationships

The most effective B2B sales strategy is to stop trying to sell and focus on relationship building.

Instead of hard selling, turn your sales meetings with retailers into conversations to identify their problems and suggest solutions. Ask about their business, needs and vision. Do your research on the retailer beforehand so you can be fully prepared.

Even after a sale is made, you should ensure that you’re providing top-notch customer service to buyers to maintain a great relationship. You may choose to assign specific individuals as the point of contact for each B2B buyer or rely on a customer service team.

At BLANC, our customer service solutions create a smooth communication channel between brands and buyers, helping you to build relationships and keep retailers coming back to you for more purchases.

5 – Not measuring your sales processes

To help improve your B2B sales, you need to be tracking and measuring data from your sales processes.

This process is much easier with a B2B sales platform such as BLANC, which can provide you with the crucial data you want to measure. That way, you can figure out what works and what does not, giving you a better understanding of the market and the retailers.

6 – Not investing in tools and software to meet your B2B needs

Onboarding a digital B2B platform like BLANC can make growing your business much more intuitive and streamlined. They can also help optimise your sales process with features such as smart payment systems, efficient inventory management systems, customer service and digital marketing functions. You will also benefit from their database of existing buyers from around the world.

So contact us for a demo to see for yourself how Blanc’s tools and features can help your B2B sales goals become a reality!