SMB Sales Strategy: How to Sell to SMB Customers

SMB stands for "small and medium-sized business," and SMB sales is the act of selling products and services specifically to SMBs. Small businesses employ 100 or fewer employees, while medium businesses employ 100 to 999 employees. These SMBs are typically local businesses or startups, and they often have very different needs and pain points than large enterprises. This requires SMB salespeople to use a unique B2B sales process to land clients compared to the strategy they'd use for enterprise sales.

It might be tempting for sales professionals to focus efforts on large enterprises when trying to land new business. After all, large companies have bigger purchasing power and a single deal can be quite lucrative. However, contracts with large enterprises are difficult to close, and you could end up wasting sales resources on deals that never pan out. SMBs require a different sales approach, but there are numerous benefits to pursuing an SMB sales strategy.

1. 1. Shorter sales cycle: SMB sales have a shorter sales cycle than enterprise sales, because large companies typically have a considerable amount of bureaucracy involved in closing a contract.
2. 2. Simple communication: The smaller the business, the easier it is to communicate directly with the business owner. When you have the ear of the top decision-maker, you avoid jumping through hoops with lower-level employees.
3. 3. Faster lead generation: Lead generation may be easier because the pool of SMB leads is enormous: In the United States, 99.7 percent of all businesses are SMBs.
4. 4. Ongoing relationships: Successful SMBs have the potential to grow into larger companies. That means if an SMB is happy with your service and chooses to stay loyal to you as they expand, you could one day have a contract with a multi-million dollar corporation.

When selling to potential SMB customers, sales reps must use different sales tactics to better match the smaller business size. Since SMBs have less purchasing power, you must work extra hard to prove you're offering value.

1. 1. Make your pitch easy to digest. Keep your sales pitch concise and practical. SMB owners are less likely to be familiar with the complex sales and tech lingo you might typically use. Simplify how you present your sales goals and metrics, and focus on conveying how you can address the specific needs that matter most to their business.
2. 2. Use incentives to alleviate worries. SMBs generally have less cash flow, which means they're less likely to spend money on a service they consider a risk. To put your SMB prospect's mind at ease, offer them incentives to make the deal less risky. For example, you can give them a money-back guarantee if they cancel before a certain time period, offer a free trial, or offer the ability to pay in monthly installments instead of an upfront yearly payment. It's also helpful to show them proof of your past success, either through case studies or testimonials from your other SMB clients.
3. 3. Build a rapport. When you're constantly on the hunt for new business, it's easy to start viewing your leads as names in your CRM platform instead of real human beings. SMB owners often need more personal attention, so do your best to connect with potential SMB customers before you go into hard pitch mode. You'll find that forming a friendly relationship not only helps your SMB customer grow fonder of you, but you'll learn more about their individual needs as well.
4. 4. Qualify your leads. The pool of potential SMB leads is a lot bigger than the pool of large enterprise leads, but that doesn't mean all of these leads are likely to become paying customers. It's important for your sales team to properly weed out cold leads so you don't waste sales resources chasing a dead end. Qualifying your leads is especially important in SMB sales because many SMBs are newer businesses who may not have raised much capital or figured out their business model yet.

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