Savvy salespeople know that tailoring their pitch to fit the preferences of their prospects and customers is one of the best ways to close deals. With this in mind, Bredin, a B2B company that helps the Fortune 500 sell to small to medium-sized businesses, recently conducted a new survey. Those polled included 532 key decision makers of U.S. companies with less than 500 employees, across industries.

The main goals of the study were to determine: What sources of information small to medium-sized businesses prefer to use to learn about offerings, when sales teams should engage with them, how a sales team can enable prospects to make a purchase decision, and what the best way is to nurture prospects. 

Keep reading for ten just released insights into how you can sell better to small to medium-sized businesses:

1. 65% of respondents said they were likely to first learn about a product or service for their business via a peer or colleague. 53% said an event or tradeshow, followed by 51% who sighted an email newsletter.

2. When asked if they could learn about new products and services for their business in only one way, the top answers were: Word of mouth, the Internet, email, a vendor web site, and direct mail.

3. 74% of key decision makers said that when their company decides to investigate a new product or service, they lead the research. 21% said that the relevant manager or group does the research.

4. 75% of those polled said that they very much want to hear from a salesperson on an ongoing basis, such as occasional call or email. 65% said they prefer to hear from reps only once they are ready to make a purchase.

5. 62% very much like to review printed materials, such as product sheets or brochures, with salespeople. A close second very much prefer a checklist or worksheet that helps determine the right product configuration for their needs.

6. 63% said they are very likely to enlist a peer or colleague when making a final purchase decision for a specific product or service. 53% said they use a product section of a vendor’s website. 51% sighted a call or meeting with a sales rep.

7. When asked if they could only make a final purchase decision in one way, respondents said they would most look to a sales rep if that was their only source of purchase information, followed by the Internet, word of mouth, and the vendor web site.

8. 77% of those polled said when it comes to marketing content from potential vendors, content that provides information on a product or service they’re interested in is very important. This is followed by content that clearly describes the benefits of the product or service, and content that is easy to understand and well written.

9. When small to medium-sized businesses are not ready to buy, 31% said they would like a vendor to contact them once a month, 27% said they’d prefer to reach out to the vendor as needed. 20% said they’d prefer to be contacted once every 90 days.

10. Once a small to medium-sized business customer has made a purchase, 28% prefer that their sales rep check-in frequency be once a month, 24% prefer to reach out to their rep as needed, and 21% prefer that their salesperson does a check-in once every three months.

Leading salespeople don't just sell differently, they sell radically differently. Apply the insights in this free e-book to your sales closing techniques to change the game.