Many organisations approach B2B sales training expecting a standard programme: a predefined set of slides, frameworks and advice that can be rolled out quickly across the team.
But the reality of modern B2B sales is rarely standardised. Every organisation faces different challenges, customers and internal dynamics.
That’s why the most effective sales training starts with discovery, understanding the people, the context and the situations where real improvement is needed.
The Discovery Approach to B2B Sales Training
When discussing sales training with prospective clients I quite often get asked, “what training will you deliver us?” to which I regularly answer “I don’t know.”
Cue silence and puzzled looks.
Naturally, I go on to explain that I need to add the word “yet” to my answer and share our discovery based approach.
Instead of rolling out the same off-the-shelf B2B sales training advice to every company we work with, we perform a meaningful period of discovery to understand needs at leadership, team and individual levels and then shape our training to be impactful, situational and relevant.
It takes longer and is harder to do for sure, but it is far better for our clients and their outcomes. Most importantly for me, I can sleep at night knowing I am doing the best possible work to help them.
Why Deep Work Matters in B2B Sales
In the B2B world this “deep work” approach is vital in nearly all sales scenarios to make a difference with anything – whether revenue goals, customer facing problem solving, team effectiveness and self-sufficiency or winning the next deal.
Sadly, I feel that many external forces such as the modern obsession with automation, increasingly shorter sales reporting periods, unrealistic target setting and more are leading sellers and their leaders to seek shortcuts to growth.
This can be dangerous and rarely leads to sustainable results.
The Problem with Shortcut Thinking
Often I get asked things like:
“What can I say when following up on a proposal to make it more likely to close?” or worse
“How can I force this customer into a quick decision?”
The answer is always the same.
Practically nothing.
Instead focus on opening your new deals brilliantly, putting in more time and effort to understand the customer, their unique situation and their need. This is much better than the alternative of rushing to your pitch.
How nice for the customer if you display curiosity, genuinely reflect on how you can help rather than pigeon-holing your solution and take the time to learn them in order to make a genuine difference.
Creating Value Earlier in the Sales Cycle
When it comes to your own gain, this approach means you are doing lots of value creation at the front end of the sales cycle, potentially eventually co-creating with the client.
So that when the last minute pencil-sharpening shenanigans rear their head (if they do) you are in a more credible position to remind of your value and worth.
In my experience though, if you get the front end right the conversation rarely gets to a challenging point on price.
What Sales Teams Should Focus On Instead
So instead of seeking a shortcut to success I would suggest focusing on:
– Building deeper connections with prospective clients that you really want to do business with because you genuinely believe you could deliver them something amazing (not just because they would be a good logo for you)
– Investing energy into getting to know multiple people and perspectives in these companies through real conversations
– Introducing this care and focus into your outreach rather than trying to mass approach the market or gamify prospecting
– Biasing time at the front of a sales cycle to grow understanding, explore alternatives, build value, challenge thinking, question assumptions and create trust and respect
A Final Thought
In life it is always sensible to avoid those peddling shortcuts and the B2B sales world is no different. Quality wins.
This discovery-led philosophy sits at the heart of the HUMBLE Sales Playbook, where we help organisations design tailored B2B sales training and development programmes that reflect their people, their customers and their market.
Key Takeaways on B2B Sales Training
- Effective B2B sales training should be tailored to the organisation, not delivered as a generic programme.
- Discovery helps identify the real challenges at leadership, team and individual levels.
- Investing time at the beginning of the sales cycle creates stronger relationships and more value.
- Shortcut thinking often undermines sustainable sales performance.
- Deep work and curiosity remain some of the most powerful drivers of sales success.
🎭 Book a Guest Speaker
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