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John Burson  edited Thursday, September 21, 2023

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Originally Published: https://www.salesforce.com/uk/blog/2016/09/the-role-of-crm-systems-in-the-b2b-sales-funnel.html
Author: Salesforce UK
Author’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/salesforce
Author’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/salesforce

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Business 2 business marketing strategy is currently the most appealing sales funnel there is because it accelerates prospects through the funnel. Its primary goal is to channel your prospective clients through content that acts as awareness-building and to direct customers to make a purchase.

Because your business has different considerations and touch points, it isn’t as clear as a single client which makes it difficult to figure out where clients are and what they are looking for.  That’s why your company requires a business 2 business marketing customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Important Features that You Should Look Out For in a B2B CRM System

Your business requires a business 2 business marketing (CRM) strategy to help manage your company’s relationship with existing and potential clients. A CRM system is a software that is often stored in the cloud to track, host, and prioritize data on your behalf. When selecting a B2B CRM system, ensure that you select one that closely maps your sales funnel and can be easily integrated into your sales strategy. You also need a CRM system that can help you keep track of all opportunities and refine areas that cause your leads to leaving the funnel.

Opportunity Stages:

Traditional methods are being replaced by more accurate opportunity stages. These opportunity stages are integrated into the CRM system which means that sales will be subdivided into observable phases that can be measured and tracked easily.

Although opportunity stages depend on the type of business, a sale can have six stages including:

• The prospect downloads the content and decides to contact
• Complete an ROI assessment
• Get a proof of concept
• Negotiate the costs and agree on the sale
• Sales emerge from a potential solution

When you integrate your business to business marketing CRM system into your opportunity stages, you will be able to nurture leads successfully at each level of your sales funnel until your potential clients are ready to purchase make a purchase. When your clients are ready, you should guide them to the right business representatives at the right time. Your sales and marketing placement efforts will also be easier. When you have a fully integrated business 2 business marketing CRM system, you will be able to track the performance of your marketing campaigns to know exactly where your leads came from.

Your business 2 business marketing CRM system can benefit your business if it can be configured to fit all your prospects, and can adopt changes in your prospects. It will also enlighten you on the type of content to send to potential clients, the interactions you should create, and most importantly, the next step you should take. There exist CRM systems that suggest the best practices that can fit your business needs.

Benefits of a Business 2 business Marketing CRM Strategy

After using your business 2 business marketing CRM system, you should experience the following:

• Efficient sales processes that make the work of your sales team easier. This will create time for them to mend any holes in the sales funnel.
• You will become more visible because you already know what is in your sales funnel, and you have an easy time keeping your sales team up-to-date.
• You will receive more reliable data, better ideas on the metrics that are making a difference to your business.
• You will make less guesswork which will increase your chances of making a sale by 80%.
• You will conduct less administrative tasks and experience increased efficiency.

Your business 2 business marketing CRM system hosts several leads, hard numbers, and projections that make up a powerful business tool.