B2B sales process in 7 stages. Find the one where you are losing customers.
Stages of the sales process from the first inquiry to the next purchase. For each of them: a symptom you know from your own company, what is worth measuring, where the bottleneck usually occurs and what tools can improve it. Those that we build ourselves are clearly marked.
The implementations on which we base this map: AkpilForestMetal RoofingRecovery CenterKG Electronics
Which of these symptoms do you know?
Click on a stage to see what's blocking it and what to do about it.
- 1Collecting inquiriesThere are weeks when the phone is silent and then you don't know what to put your hands on.
- 2Building trustCustomers ask for the price and disappear before they understand what they are actually paying for.
- 3QualificationSalespeople spend entire mornings talking to companies that will never buy.
- 4Identification of needsEach salesperson asks the customer something different, and the notes stay in his head.
- 5OfferingThe client receives the PDF, says „I have to think about it” and loses it.
- 6ClosureThe client says „yes”, and then we wait for weeks for the signature and transfer.
- 7After sales and growthWe sell once and forget about the customer, and the next time he buys from someone else.
Where is your company blocking out?
Mark the symptoms you see in yourself. The result will indicate the stage of this map where you should start and the first step.
JSON Hub: our CRM in the six stages of this map
JSON Hub is a CRM and company management system that we built and develop ourselves. Sales, offers, conversations and projects are all in one customer card. We mark it with the JSON Hub symbol on the map, and with a thick green border in the graph.
- 1Collecting inquiriesThe new query goes to CRM without rewriting: you enter the NIP, the company data comes from the Central Statistical Office, and the panel warns against duplicates.
- 3Qualification„My Day” shows you who to call. You call from the panel, and the „No Next Step” list ensures that no inquiry goes unplanned.
- 4Identification of needsJSON Meet transcribes the conversation and AI analyzes it: objections, buying signals, rating and one piece of advice for the next conversation. An assistant with in-call suggestions is in preparation.
- 5OfferingOffers module: offer-link instead of PDF. The customer changes the parameters, sees the new price and clicks „I accept the offer”. You know when he opened it.
- 6ClosureA funnel with a value-weighted chance of winning and a marker for chances with no activity. Accepting the offer itself changes the status.
- 7After sales and growthThe winning opportunity immediately becomes a project for the same client: tasks, Gantt chart and work time, with the entire history.
7 stages of the B2B sales process and what each of them can improve
Each stage is where companies lose customers or time. For each one you'll find a symptom, four review questions, tools that can help (ours are marked with a checkmark), and articles to help you get started on your own.
Collecting inquiries
This is where the customer even learns that you exist. This stage decides how many opportunities enter the process. This is where tools help that attract the right companies, paid and organically, and direct them to a measurable funnel.
Objaw„There are weeks when the phone is silent and then you don't know what to put your hands on.”
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- How many inquiries from companies matching your profile come per week. No clicks or likes.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- Advertising gives a signal after days, content and search engines after months. Rate each channel at its own pace.
- Where it gets clogged
- Rare here. Before sending out inquiries, check whether qualifications and offers are keeping up.
- How to react strongly
- Change one thing at a time and wait a full cycle. Don't double your budget after one bad week.
The result: a constant, measurable supply of the right queries instead of „it will work out somehow”.
What can improve this stage
Advertisements
Meta and LinkedIn campaigns that direct traffic to a landing page connected to a measurable funnel, with conversion measurement. It's the queries that count, not the clicks.
Buy Signals
Monitoring purchasing signals catches companies that are looking for such a service: automatic collection of data about companies, purchasing signals and assessment of fit before they go to the competition.
Short films
One interview can yield a series of short videos for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. The cutting can be done by AI.
Search engines and content
Articles, calculators and downloads that Google and AI search engines have shown to customers for years.
Articles for this stage
Building trust
Most companies don't buy right away. First he reads, watches and compares. This stage builds your position as an expert before the sales conversation takes place, so that the customer can make his own decision.
Objaw„Customers ask for the price and disappear before they understand what they are actually paying for.”
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- How many people come back: open e-mails, watch videos, return to the website. And how many of them end up asking to talk.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- The longest in the whole process. It takes months to see the impact of your content, so evaluate it quarterly.
- Where it gets clogged
- The time of an expert who is supposed to create content and at the same time sells and runs projects.
- How to react strongly
- Steady rhythm instead of bursts. One piece of content every week adds up to ten a month, and then silence.
Effect: clients come to the interview prepared. You come in when they are ready.
What can improve this stage
Educational Email
Automatic series of emails: welcome, knowledge, reminder about yourself after a break. The contact matures into conversation at its own pace.
YouTube Expert
Regular videos that build your position as an expert and build trust before the first contact takes place.
Content and calm, unobtrusive contact with decision-makers where purchasing decisions are made in B2B.
Website and blogWe do it
A site that turns visitors into queries and not just looks good: audit, rebuild and speed.
We do it. We design and build B2B websites and stores. Service: sites and shops
Articles for this stage
Qualification
Not every query is worth a salesperson's time. Qualification separates companies that are ready and match your profile from the rest, before you engage your most expensive resource, the interview.
Objaw„Salespeople spend entire mornings talking to companies they will never buy.”
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- Time from inquiry to first contact and percentage of conversations with companies outside your profile.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- In short, hours. That's why it's worth reacting quickly and decisively.
- Where it gets clogged
- A salesperson who counts offers at the same time. Inquiries wait until he finishes.
- How to react strongly
- A simple rule instead of discretion: an inquiry without an answer by the end of the day is an alarm, not an exception.
Effect: the salesperson talks to those who can realistically buy.
What can improve this stage
Quick response to inquiryJSON Hub
The inquiry immediately goes to the appropriate salesperson, along with a notification and a conversation script. The shorter the customer waits, the greater the chance that you will talk at all.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, „My Day” shows you who to call. You call from the panel from a company number, and the call history and recordings remain in the customer's card. View JSON Hub
Configurator for the customerWe do it
The customer selects the product himself, sees the live price and leaves an inquiry with complete data. The salesperson receives a ready range instead of asking „how much does it cost?”.
We do it. We design and build configurators to order. Service: configurators
Company report before the interviewJSON Hub
Before you call back, you have the company details, its description and an assessment of its suitability to your customer's profile at hand.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub you enter the NIP, the company data comes from the Central Statistical Office, and the panel warns if the company is already in CRM. View JSON Hub
From our implementations
- ForestThe customer assembles the weapon himself in the configurator (model, stock, wood, caliber, magazine, accessories) and sees the total in real time.
- Metal RoofingInternal tool for traders: selection and valuation of roof, facade and fence, offer in PDF with a link for acceptance.
Articles for this stage
Identification of needs
This is where B2B sales are won or lost. It's about understanding the client's situation, goals and real problems before you propose anything. The salesperson who asks and listens wins, not the one who immediately shows the offer.
Objaw„Each salesperson asks the customer something different, and the notes stay in his head.”
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- How many conversations end with an agreed next step with a specific date.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- Weeks. The effect of a good conversation can only be seen in the offers and decisions of customers.
- Where it gets clogged
- Knowledge about the customer locked in one person's head or on a piece of paper.
- How to react strongly
- Correct your questions and notes before adding interviews. More poor calls will not result in better deals.
Effect: you get to the customer's real problem, so the offer responds to what he wants to pay for.
What can improve this stage
Finding the customer's problem
Questions and prompts that lead the conversation to the real problem instead of guessing, based on proven methods such as Challenger or SPIN.
Interview scripts
Scenarios and next steps saved in CRM so that the entire team sells coherently, and not everyone sells in their own way.
Recording and transcription of conversationsJSON Hub
Every conversation is recorded, transcribed and searchable. No more notes on paper.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, the meeting in JSON Meet is transcribed and the analysis shows objections, buying signals and one piece of advice for the next conversation. View JSON Hub
AI during the callJSON Hub
Summary of the conversation straight to CRM and suggestions during: next step, the right argument, response to an objection.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, the note with the next steps after the meeting goes to the client's card. Conversation prompts are in preparation. View JSON Hub
Articles for this stage
Offering
The moment when most companies lose customers: the offer comes out too late, looks unprofessional or ends up in the mailbox as a PDF „for viewing”. A good offer arrives when the customer is still interested and shows what he is paying for.
Objaw„The customer gets the PDF, says „I have to think about it” and it's gone.”
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- The time from the conversation to the sent offer and how many offers the customer opened at all.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- The client's decision comes weeks later. You know the offer preparation time immediately, so it is your early signal.
- Where it gets clogged
- One or two people who „can do the math” on the quote. When they are occupied, all sales stand.
- How to react strongly
- Don't flood these people with new inquiries. First shorten the quotation time, then increase the number of inquiries.
The result: an offer in minutes instead of hours, sent while the customer is still interested.
What can improve this stage
Offer as a pageJSON Hub
The offer is a link to click, not a PDF „to be viewed someday”. With the company's visual identification, clear pricing and information when the customer opened it.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, you send an offer-link: the customer changes the parameters, sees the new price and clicks „I accept the offer”, and the status changes itself. View JSON Hub
Offer remindersJSON Hub
Reminders for the client and an alert for the sales rep when the quote is opened. No opportunity is lost in the inbox.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, you receive a notification and e-mail when a customer views an offer, and viewing can trigger automation, e.g. e-mail. View JSON Hub
Sales Representative ConfiguratorWe do it
The salesperson makes a consistent offer in minutes instead of hours, with variations, margins and discounts under control.
We do it. We design and build configurators for salespeople and digital quoting solutions on demand. Service: digital quoting
An offer tailored to the clientJSON Hub
An offer tailored to customer data from CRM, and sometimes a demonstration or prototype for a specific customer. You show instead of telling.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, AI prepares a draft of the offer from your catalog based on the customer's history. Nothing comes out until you approve it. View JSON Hub
From our implementations
- AkpilTime to prepare an agricultural machine valuation: from 3 hours to 4 minutes.Implementation description: Akpil
- Recovery CenterThe selection of a heat recovery unit in the configurator ends with an automatic offer in JSON Hub.
Articles for this stage
Closure
The stage where „yes, sounds good” turns into a signed contract and payment. What matters are answers to objections, lack of friction in formalities and speed. Each additional day is a risk that the topic will cool down.
Objaw„The client says yes, and then we wait for weeks for the signature and transfer.„
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- How many days pass from „yes” to signature and payment, and how many offers are stuck without a response.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- Days. Widzisz skutek szybko, jeśli w ogóle to mierzysz.
- Where it gets clogged
- Formalities: contract written from scratch, acceptances, manual invoices.
- How to react strongly
- Don't respond to every customer's silence with a discount. First a reminder and a clear next step, a discount at the end and with common sense.
Effect: shorter path from „yes” to transfer, fewer topics cool down.
What can improve this stage
Replies to objections
A database of objections and verified answers in CRM, suggested during the conversation. The team knows what to say in every situation.
Team Implementation
Implementation of tools in the team and training in their use, so that they become part of everyday work and are not left for later.
Contract and electronic signature
Automatic contract generation and electronic signature. From „yes” to signature in just a few minutes—no printer or scanner required.
Payment in process
The payment gateway is built directly into the process, so the customer pays immediately and the sale is completed without friction.
Articles for this stage
After sales and growth
The sale does not end with the signature. Implementation, care and development of the client determine whether he will be left with one invoice or with income that returns over the years and referrals.
Objaw„We sell once and forget about the customer, and the next time he buys from someone else.”
Start with the four review questions below. If you want, we will go through the result together.
Discuss the result during the interviewThis stage as a loop
Each stage works like a loop: decision, waiting for the result, correction. These four questions help you see where you're getting stuck. More in the article- What are you measuring?
- How many customers have bought again or referred you and how often they use what they bought from you.
- How long does it take to see the effect?
- The longest: months and years. That's why you need a signal earlier, such as a decline in product usage.
- Where it gets clogged
- There is no person who contacts the customer after the sale.
- How to react strongly
- Respond to early signals, not just when a customer leaves. Then all you need is a phone call instead of saving the relationship.
Effect: one customer means income that comes back and further referrals.
What can improve this stage
Client implementationJSON Hub
Materials, training and customer guidance during the first weeks so that they quickly feel the value of the purchase and stay.
Our tool: JSON Hub. In JSON Hub, a winning opportunity immediately becomes a project for the same client: tasks, Gantt chart and work time, with the entire history. View JSON Hub
Customer care
Monitoring product use, customer health indicator and contact at the company's initiative before the customer even thinks about leaving.
More purchases
Suggestions for further products and services based on CRM data. This is where the customer's value over time increases.
Commands
Satisfied customers as a source of new inquiries: referral program, feedback requests (Google, Clutch) and implementation descriptions.
From our implementations
- KG ElectronicsSmart Control application for controlling boilers: 12,000 connected devices.Implementation description: KG Elektronik