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The problem
Your customer is not ready to buy yet
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Your prospects are overwhelmed with information. Every day, they see hundreds of ads, emails, LinkedIn posts and sales messages competing for their attention.
And here's the bigger problem: most of them aren't looking for your solution.
Only around 2% are actively looking for a solution. Another 23% are aware of the problem, but aren't necessarily ready to act. And the remaining 75% may not even realise they have a problem worth solving yet.
So we need to communicate differently.
Instead of immediately talking about our product, features or services, we need to educate, inspire and create awareness. Help prospects recognise problems. Share new perspectives. Show them what others are doing differently. And give them useful insights long before they're ready for a sales conversation.
That's how you earn attention and build trust.
So when a prospect eventually moves from problem unaware to problem aware to looking for a solution, you're already the company they know and trust.
The solution
Engineer your sales process
Most companies don't have a shortage of sales activities.
They do cold outreach. Attend events. Post on LinkedIn. Generate inbound leads. Follow up with prospects. Ask for referrals.
The problem is that these activities often operate in isolation.
That's why the first step is not adding another tool, campaign or channel. It's bringing structure to the way you sell.
Think of it as engineering your sales process.
Start by creating a blueprint of how a potential customer moves from not knowing you to eventually becoming a customer. What should happen at each stage? Which touchpoints do you need? Which content should they see? When should sales reach out? And what happens when someone isn't ready to buy yet?
I structure this around five interconnected flows:
1
Outbound Flow:
Proactively reach the right prospects through channels such as email, LinkedIn and cold calling.
2
Inbound Flow:
Create relevant content and insights that attract prospects and build awareness and trust.
3
Nurturing Flow
Stay relevant to prospects who aren't ready to buy yet through consistent, valuable touchpoints.
4
Referral Flow::
Systematically turn customers and your network into new introductions and opportunities.
5
Prospect to Customer Flow:
Guide interested prospects from the first conversation to a decision through structured follow-up, relevant content and clear next steps.
Together, these flows form your B2B Sales Machine.
Most companies don't have a shortage of sales activities.
They do cold outreach. Attend events. Post on LinkedIn. Generate inbound leads. Follow up with prospects. Ask for referrals.
Use technology to support your sales team
Once your sales process is structured, you can start looking at technology.
Not the other way around.
The goal isn't to add more tools. It's to identify where technology, AI and automation can take work away from your salespeople.
Today, tools can support almost every step of the sales process. They can help you find the right prospects, qualify and prioritise leads, research accounts, automate repetitive outreach, capture meeting notes, update your CRM and make sure opportunities are followed up.
The principle is simple:
Automate the work around selling, not the relationship itself.
Your salespeople shouldn't spend most of their day searching for information, copying data between systems, writing meeting summaries or doing repetitive admin.
Technology should take care of as much of that work as possible.
So your salespeople can spend their time on what actually matters: building relationships, having great conversations and closing deals.
Enable your sales team
A great sales process only works if your team knows how to execute it.
Once the structure, processes and tools are in place, the next step is to bring your sales team along. That means training them on the new way of working, practising the right skills and coaching them as they put it into practice.
Because changing a sales process isn't just about creating a blueprint. It's about making sure it actually gets used.
Throughout my career, I've helped, trained and coached sales teams at more than 350 international companies, including Daikin Europe, Victaulic, Etex, Ceratec, SD Worx, Accent and Vinçotte.
From prospecting and cold calling to enterprise sales, sales processes and AI: I help sales teams turn the strategy into everyday execution.
Because a sales machine is only as strong as the people running it.
Want to learn more?
What you'll learn
In this hands-on guide, you’ll discover:
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Why only 2–3% of your leads are ready to buy— and what to do with the rest
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A proven 4-step sales approach: Inspire, Activate, Help, Convert
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How to build smarter lead lists using AI, intent signals, and lead enrichment
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Cold outreach flows that actually get replies—email, LinkedIn, phone, and more
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Creative tactics to stand out in a crowded market (yes, even handwritten cards)
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How to stay top of mind without being pushy