Who do you sell to?
It’s an important question to answer. If you don’t know your target audience like the back of your hand, you won’t close many deals. So take time to learn about your customer base.
Where do they live? What industry are they in? What do they struggle with on a daily basis? And how can your company solve this problem for them? Just as important, what kind of companies do they work for?
SMB vs mid market vs enterprise is a critical distinction to make. This is especially true when it comes to enterprise field sales, i.e. using field sales techniques to sell large-scale products and/or services.
In this article, we’ll dig deep into enterprise field sales to learn what it is, how it differs from SMB and mid market sales, and how to sell to enterprise organizations successfully. Let’s dive in!
Understanding Enterprise Field Sales
As mentioned above, enterprise field sales is the process of using field sales strategies to sell to enterprise organizations. By “field sales strategies” we mean traveling to a prospect’s place of business to close a deal, rather than calling them from a company office or similarly secluded location.
More often than not, enterprise-level sales are high-value and involve multiple decision-makers. Because of this, enterprise sales cycles often take longer to complete than SMB and mid market deals.
It makes sense when you think about it. Enterprise organizations need large, in-depth products and services to meet their needs. Since large, in-depth products usually cost more money, 6 to 10 people have to sign off on a deal. That’s a lot of decision-makers to get on the same page, which extends sales cycles.
SMB vs Mid Market vs Enterprise Sales
The difference between SMB, mid market, and enterprise sales is important. So let’s go over the definitions for each. That way you understand who your target audience is and can strategize accordingly.
- SMB: To make SMB sales, you need to actively target companies with less than 100 employees and $50 million in annual revenue. Local restaurants, cleaning services, and gyms usually fall into this category, as do most individually-owned e-commerce brands.
- Mid Market: To make mid market sales, you need to actively target companies with 100 to 999 employees and between $50 million and $1 billion of annual revenue. Many real estate development, food wholesale, and beauty brands are considered mid market companies.
- Enterprise: To make enterprise sales, you need to actively target companies with at least 1,000 employees and $1 billion in annual revenue. Almost all of the most popular businesses in the world are at the enterprise level, such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Slack, and Facebook.
Differences Between Enterprise and Other Sales Levels
So, what’s the difference between SMB, mid market, and enterprise from a sales perspective?
You’ll experience various sales cycle lengths and a different number of touchpoints depending on the kind of business you sell to. You’ll also notice different complexity levels and decision-making processes:
Sales Cycle Length
SMB, mid market, and enterprise sales all have different sales cycle lengths.
Generally speaking, the bigger the transaction, the longer it will take to close a deal. Since enterprise companies usually purchase more expensive products and services, enterprise sales take longer.
How long? It depends, of course. But most enterprise sales take at least a few months, if not a year or more. SMB and mid market sales, on the other hand, may only take a few days or weeks.
Number of Touchpoints
Enterprise sales reps usually deal with multiple stakeholders. In other words, they have to convince a platoon of decision-makers to buy their product or service, rather than one or two individuals.
Enterprise companies buy more expensive products. To justify the thousands—or even millions—of dollars spent, multiple people have to sign off on the deal. This usually isn’t the case in SMB and mid-market sales, where a single person can often make purchases on behalf of their company.
Decision-Making Process
You’ll notice a different mindset when selling to SMB, mid-market, and enterprise buyers, too.
The latter are usually more strategic, and tend to plan farther into the future than smaller companies. SMBs and mid market organizations are more likely to make snap purchasing decisions.
Again, much of this comes back to the amount of money spent. SMBs can afford to be more impulsive. After all, they’re probably only spending a few hundred dollars on a product or service. Enterprises, however, might spend six or seven figures on a single deal. No wonder they’re more calculated!
Complexity and Customization
Finally, enterprise sales is more complicated than SMB and mid market sales. This is because enterprises typically want custom solutions, while smaller businesses are often content with out-of-the-box solutions.
Enterprise sales reps have to drum up leads, start conversations with them, and build custom offerings to close deals. It’s quite the ordeal. Fortunately, these reps are well-compensated for the extra effort. After all, customization will always increase price. And higher price points lead to higher commission checks.
Essential Strategies for Enterprise Field Sales Success
Now that we know what enterprise sales is, let’s talk about ways to succeed as a field sales rep in this industry. It’s going to take work, but these six strategies will help you achieve your goals.
Implement a Tailored Sales Methodology
First, choose and implement a proven sales methodology.
There are plenty of them out there. Some of the more popular ones include SPIN Selling, MEDDIC, and Challenger Sales. Go with the methodology that best suits your goals and team disposition.
Also, remember that enterprise field sales is a team sport. The more people you have working a deal (within reason, of course) the higher your close rate will be. In fact, teams of three are more than three times as likely to close a deal than a single seller. So, encourage your reps to work together.
Pro tip: you may need to change your commission structure to properly compensate your reps. They shouldn’t lose money because they partnered up to close a deal. Do right by your team!
Lastly, don’t forget to invest in the right tools to power your sales methodology. For example, SPOTIO makes it easy to create and assign territories to sales reps. You can also use the platform to monitor sales activities, progress towards sales quotes, and pipeline stages for each of your company’s prospects.
Deeply Understand Your Buyer’s Journey
Next, develop comprehensive buyer personas and map out the customer journey for each.
As mentioned above, enterprise buyers don’t make hasty purchasing decisions. They take their time, analyze their options, and get approval from multiple people before they sign off on a deal.
Accurate buyer personas will help your reps tailor their communications and offers to each prospect. This will give them a better shot at the sale. It could also speed up the process. Your buyer might think, “Wow, this is exactly what we need! I’m going to push this through so that we can get started ASAP!”
The question is, how do you learn about your ideal prospects? You study your industry so you know exactly what your buyers need. You can also use a tool like SPOTIO’s Lead Machine. Doing so will help you find quality prospects in less time by giving you access to advanced filtering features.
Foster Strong Relationships With Key Stakeholders
You need more than a proven sales methodology and a couple of buyer profiles. You need to identify, engage, and nurture relationships with multiple stakeholders within your target accounts.
This process is called multi-threading. It’s important in enterprise field sales because buying decisions are made by multiple people. If you build rapport and trust with each of them, you’ll close more deals.
Just don’t think that you have to physically visit every stakeholder multiple times to make sales. (Though, if you’re able to do this and enjoy that type of challenge, have at it.) Instead, use a tool like SPOTIO to facilitate your multi-channel communication efforts. That way you can email and/or text every stakeholder at once, track interactions with each, and move prospects through the pipeline at a consistent clip.
Integrate and Maximize Sales Enablement Tools
The right sales tools will do wonders for your sales team. But as you might have guessed, the “right” sales tools are different for each company. SMBs, mid-market businesses, and enterprises have different needs.
If you’re in enterprise field sales, you’ll want access to sales enablement and pipeline reporting tools.
The former will help you create and distribute sales content. Some can even aid your sales coaching efforts. The latter will help you track important sales metrics like CLV, win rate, velocity, etc.
SPOTIO, for example, provides real-time analytics and reporting to field sales teams. Once you have access to this kind of information, you’ll be able to make better decisions in less time. The result? More revenue.
Commit to Continuous Training and Coaching
Your field sales team won’t close deals and drive revenue without quality field sales reps. So, commit to hiring hard working individuals. Then provide them with ongoing training to sharpen their skills.
Continuous education will keep your reps knowledgeable. Has someone developed a new sales technique? Has your company’s product changed in a significant way? Is the industry substantially different than it was last year? Keep your reps updated on these things with regular coaching.
This will help your reps achieve more success in their careers. It will also keep them from seeking alternative employment. 80% of employees are more loyal to their employers if they’re coached.
Develop a Clear Value Proposition
Last but not least, enterprise field sales reps need to know their products inside and out. Then they need to write a clear value proposition to communicate the benefits of said products to potential buyers.
A strong value proposition will address the specific needs and challenges of your ideal customers. Once you have it, you’ll be able to cut through the noise and speak to prospects in terms they’ll understand.
Just don’t think that a value proposition alone will explode your close rate. You need to back up any claims you make with data and examples. This is where case studies earn their keep. Build credibility with buyers by showing them how you’ve helped other companies overcome similar obstacles.
SPOTIO Enhances Enterprise Field Sales
Enterprise field sales is unique.
If you’re new to this industry, expect longer sales cycles, more decision-makers, and added complexity. But also know that the deals you work will be higher value, which will lead to bigger commission checks.
Of course, you have to close deals to enjoy those checks. Luckily, the tips above will help you in this regard. If you choose the right sales methodology, understand the buyer’s journey, etc. you’ll be just fine.
You know what else will help? The right sales tools. SPOTIO is an excellent choice for field sales teams. With it, you’ll be able to generate leads, manage territories, communicate with prospects, automate admin tasks, track your sales pipeline, run custom reports, and a whole lot more.
Sign up for a free demo of SPOTIO to experience our unique solutions for enterprise field sales teams!
