How to Start a B2B Sales Career 

A career in B2B sales can be fast-paced, well paid and surprisingly varied. It suits people who enjoy solving problems, building relationships and working towards clear targets. It also offers strong progression, even for those without a traditional sales background.

Today we’ll be exploring what business to business sales actually involves, the skills required, typical roles and salaries, as well as how to get your start in the industry. 

Understanding B2B Sales

B2B/business to business sales involves selling products and/or services from one company to another. This can be anything from software to manufacturing and even logistics solutions.

Compared to consumer sales (B2C), B2B sales cycles tend to be longer and more considered. Decisions are often made by multiple stakeholders, budgets are higher, and the focus is on long-term value rather than impulse purchases. This is why B2B sales is less about eyegrabbing marketing and more about consultation and persuasion.

What Do B2B Sales Jobs Involve?

Although day-to-day responsibilities can vary a lot depending on your exact role and sector, most B2B sales jobs do share a handful of traits. These include a lot of research for potential clients and their needs, reaching out to clients and setting up meetings, as well as making presentations.

Some roles are heavily focused on finding new clients while others concentrate on account management and upselling existing clients. That said, at its core every B2B job is about communicating the value of your product/service and facilitating a dialogue between the needs of the client and your business’s product team. 

Skills Required for B2B Sales

Becoming a successful sales person doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a broad skillset that has to be learned on the job.

B2B sales experts don’t just know their product inside and out – they know how to make the case for their product. They know the industry and real day-to-day experiences of people working in that industry. On top of that, they know how to listen actively.

A really good B2B sales presentation isn’t just a prepared speech. To make a good presentation you have to be able to adjust on the fly, addressing the questions and concerns of the potential client. You need to feel comfortable in sales negotiations combining background research with a persuasive case for your company.

So with all that said, when hiring for entry level positions, companies are most interested in attitude and potential. They want to see that you’ve got a good sense of a client’s needs and really solid communication skills.

Do You Need Qualifications to Work in B2B Sales?

There is no single qualification required for B2B jobs but there are some that can help. In particular, companies love to see knowledge of retail, customer service, hospitality and admin. In terms of degrees, business and economics are both excellent starting points but you certainly don’t need a degree.

More important than qualifications is your experience. While you can start out in a sales position it is really good to have hands-on experience in a customer facing role. If you really want to sell yourself in that job interview then even being able to talk about simple customer interactions will go a long way.

B2B Sales Salaries & Earning Potential

B2B sales jobs pay across a broad spectrum. While entry level roles are often minimum wage the sky is essentially the limit in terms of long-term earnings expectations. That said it’s very dependent on your industry and experience level.

In general B2B sales executives have a base salary between £30,000 and £50,000. That said their actual income is often quite a lot higher due to bonuses and commission. On top of that B2B sales can be a great path to the C-Suite if those are the kinds of roles you’re interested in. B2B provides a great perspective to understand the needs of a company and the skills that go into running one.