Cierre de Ventas de Servicios B2C

Selling B2C services can be a complex process that requires patience and strategy, especially when it comes to high-value products such as education, travel or insurance. Trust is the determining factor in these transactions, and understanding the customer's decision cycles can make the difference between a successful sale and a lost opportunity. Let's find out how to optimize this process and what metrics we need to consider to maintain long-lasting relationships with our customers.

Why can some B2C sales take up to 18 months to close?

When we sell high-value services such as postgraduate courses, cruises or family vacation plans, the sales cycle can be extended considerably. The main reason is the lack of trust in the buying process. Unlike low-cost products where the decision can be impulsive, these services require deep thought on the part of the customer.

In the B2C context, although we deal directly with the end consumer, we must recognize that this consumer also has his or her own "touch points" or influencers:

• The family
• The couple
• Parents
• Close friends

Understanding who influences the buying decision is critical to effectively target our communication and accelerate the closing of the sale.

Effective techniques for closing B2C service sales

To facilitate the closing process in high-value service sales, there are some techniques that have proven to be particularly effective:

1. Ongoing active listening: Allowing the customer to speak, especially in the final phase of the buying decision. Many salespeople make the mistake of talking too much and interrupting the customer, which can create discomfort and delay the decision.

2. Generate empathy with influencers: Incorporate questions such as "Who should you consult with on this?", "How do you think he will take it?", or in the case of travel, "What do you think he will tell his friends?". These questions help the client visualize the positive outcome and begin to "sell" themselves.

3. Avoid aggressive communication: Overly incisive salespeople can tire the customer and cause them to delay or even back out of the purchase.

How to measure loyalty and satisfaction in recurring services?

Many B2C services such as insurance or education require a recurring subscription or payment. Keeping the customer satisfied over the long term becomes as important an objective as the initial sale.

There are two main techniques to measure these aspects:

1. NPS (Net Promoter Score): measures customer loyalty through a key question, "How highly would you recommend me?" using a numerical scale. This metric helps predict customer retention.

2. CSAT (Customer Satisfaction): Instead of focusing on loyalty, it measures overall customer satisfaction with service using a rating scale of one to five or one to ten.

The particular case of insurance: maintaining loyalty in services that "hopefully won't be used".

Insurance presents a unique challenge: it is a service that the customer hopes never to use (as in the case of auto insurance). To maintain loyalty in these cases, it is recommended to:

• Establish effective communication channels
• Constantly offer valuable information
• Incentivize the use of complementary services (such as training or driver of choice).
• Remind customers of the benefits included in their coverage.

These strategies allow you to maintain contact with the customer and reinforce the value of the service, even when a claim has not occurred.

What metrics should we consider to evaluate our sales process?

Selling is not linear but cyclical, so we need metrics that reflect both customer acquisition and retention:

Acquisition metrics:

• Number of leads generated
• Established contacts
• Interested in the business
• Closed sales
• Performance by salesperson and acquisition channel

Retention metrics:

• Active users on the platform or service
• Effective contacts with existing customers
• Churn rate: can be monthly if the service is paid on a month-to-month basis, or annual if the service is annually renewed.

These metrics allow us to understand the complete customer journey and optimize both acquisition and retention.

Selling high-value B2C services requires patience, empathy and a well-defined strategy. Understanding decision cycles, identifying influencers and maintaining effective communication are key elements to shorten closing times and build long-lasting customer relationships. Have you experienced long sales cycles in your business? What strategies have you implemented to accelerate them? Share your experience in the comments.