In this post I will help educate you on differences between B2C (Business To Consumer) Sales and B2B (Business to Business) Sales.
It’s the difference between working as a Real Estate Agent selling homes to families, and working in Commercial Real Estate for CBRE selling offices and buildings to businesses.
It’s the difference between working as a Teller in a bank (Retail Banking) vs working as Equity Research Analyst on the Sell Side (Investment Banking).
Selling cellphones at Best Buy is completely different from selling business software at a B2B Technology company.
| Different Types of Sales | |||
| B2C Sales | B2B Sales | Enterprise Sales | |
| Problem solving/Products | Simple problem | Helping businesses Save time/money | Solving complex business problems “Consultative sales” |
| Style | Emotional | Logical | Emotional + Logical + Business Case |
| Sales Cycle (length of deal) | Hours, within a day | Weeks | Months “Triple decker” |
| Training | On-the-job | Week-long | Six-month longs |
| Pay | 100% commission | Base + commission40k + 20k typical for new grads | Base + commission 50-60k base + 15-20 typical for new grads |
| Culture | Often students or non-university graduates | Sexy startup, cool perks | Not as cool, but generally cushy |
| Cold calling? | 100% prospecting | 80% prospecting20% inbound/account management | 20% prospecting80% inbound / account management |
| Clients | Any joe blow | Business owners | F500, large businesses |