B2B sales is a skill that can be learned. Here is the complete playbook for building a repeatable B2B sales process from scratch.

The B2B Sales Process

A well-designed B2B sales process has 6 stages: Prospecting, Outreach, Discovery, Demo, Proposal, Close.

Stage 1: Prospecting

Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):

  • Industry, company size, geography
  • Job title of the buyer
  • Pain points your product solves
  • Signs they are ready to buy

Build your prospect list using: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo.io or ZoomInfo, Industry directories and conference attendee lists.

Stage 2: Outreach

The best outreach is personalised, concise, and focused on the prospect's problem — not your product.

Cold email template: Subject: [Specific problem] at [Company name]. Hi [Name], I noticed [specific observation about their company/role]. We help [ICP description] [achieve outcome] without [common pain point]. [Customer name] went from [before state] to [after state] in [timeframe]. Worth a 15-minute call to see if we can do the same for [Company]?

Stage 3: Discovery

The discovery call is the most important call in the sales process. Your goal is to understand:

  • What problem are they trying to solve?
  • What have they tried before?
  • What does success look like?
  • What is the cost of not solving this?
  • Who else is involved in the decision?

Use the MEDDIC framework: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion.

Stage 4: Demo

A great demo shows the prospect their future — not your features. Structure it as:

  1. Recap the discovery findings
  2. Show the specific workflow that solves their problem
  3. Quantify the impact (time saved, revenue gained, cost reduced)
  4. Handle objections

Stage 5: Proposal

A winning proposal includes:

  • Executive summary (their problem and your solution)
  • Scope of work
  • Pricing (3 options: good, better, best)
  • ROI calculation
  • Timeline and next steps

Stage 6: Closing

The best close is a natural next step, not a pressure tactic. After presenting the proposal: "Based on what we have discussed, does this make sense to move forward?"

If they hesitate, ask: "What would need to be true for this to be a clear yes?"