How to increase the B2B sales conversion rate?

Increasing your B2B sales conversion rate isn’t just about generating more leads—it’s about understanding your buyers, aligning with their needs, and guiding them effectively through the sales journey.

This guide dives into proven strategies and tools that can help you turn more leads into clients. Whether you’re looking to qualify leads better, improve your sales process, or foster long-term client relationships.

Understanding your B2B buyer’s journey and profile

A B2B client is still a client, but their needs often come with more complexity. Unlike B2C buyers who typically make quick, personal decisions, the B2B decision-making process involves multiple stakeholders, longer timelines, and higher stakes. That’s why understanding your buyer’s journey and target audience profile is crucial for success.

The typical buyer’s journey—consisting of awareness, consideration, and decision—still applies to B2B clients. However, each stage comes with nuances that reflect their unique priorities.

1. Awareness stage

At this stage, your client becomes aware of a challenge or opportunity. They’re not actively looking for a product yet—they’re seeking insights and information to better understand their problem.

Take Alex, a sales manager at a growing company, as an example. He notices that his team is losing track of potential leads. Curious, he starts researching “how to organize customer data efficiently” and stumbles upon blogs, guides, and videos discussing CRM software as a potential solution. At this point, Alex is gaining clarity on his problem but isn’t ready to evaluate specific tools.

2. Consideration stage

In this stage, the client moves from exploring the problem to actively researching solutions. They start comparing vendors and assessing which options could best address their needs.

After learning about CRM software, Alex dives deeper into evaluating platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, etc. He examines features such as lead tracking, marketing automation, and integration with email tools. Alex downloads whitepapers, attends webinars, and even engages with initial inquiries to see how each solution fits his company's requirements. He’s focused on finding the best match, weighing the pros and cons of each option.

3. Decision stage

At this point, the client narrows their options and selects a vendor. Their final decision depends on how well the solution meets their specific criteria, including features, budget, and ease of use.

For example, Alex shortlists HubSpot and Salesforce as his top choices. He schedules demos, compares the user interfaces, and evaluates the add-on options. Ultimately, he chooses HubSpot because it offers a user-friendly interface, integration with his existing tools, and an affordable pricing structure that fits his company’s budget.

How to calculate your B2B conversion rate

You might be wondering, how the buyer’s journey connects to your B2B conversion rate. The two are deeply related. A B2B conversion rate measures the percentage of prospects who complete a desired action. In the context of B2B, it’s not just about turning leads into sales.

Each stage of the buyer’s journey—awareness, consideration, and decision—has its own key actions that guide your prospects toward becoming a customer.

By understanding where your client is in the buyer’s journey, you can define the specific desired actions at each stage and measure how effectively your strategy moves them forward.

1. Awareness stage

At this stage, your client is beginning to explore their problem or opportunity. They’re not ready for a hard sell; instead, they’re looking for insights to help them define and understand their challenge. This is where you can capture their attention and convert them from casual visitors to engaged prospects by offering a lead magnet.

A lead magnet is a free resource, such as an ebook or webinar, that provides value to your visitors. In exchange, they share their email or other contact information. This approach allows you to build trust while gathering details that enable ongoing engagement.

Desired actions like downloading an ebook, signing up for a webinar, or subscribing to your email newsletter are ideal because they show that prospects are actively engaging with your business. These actions show genuine interest and demonstrate that they view your brand as a credible resource for addressing their problem.

If downloading an ebook or subscribing to your newsletter is the desired action at the awareness stage, the B2B conversion rate for this stage is often referred to as the form submission rate and can be calculated using the formula:

Form submission rate = Number of form submissions / Number of page visitors x 100

For example, if 500 visitors land on a landing page for your ebook titled “10 Reasons Why Your Users Churn” and 50 of them complete the form to download it, your form submission conversion rate is 10%.

The average conversion rate for landing pages is 7.12%. When optimizing your landing page, this serves as a solid benchmark to strive for, helping you gauge the effectiveness of your efforts.

2. Consideration stage

Once prospects understand their problem, they begin exploring possible solutions. At this stage, they’re actively comparing options, including your business. If the awareness stage focuses on converting website visitors into engaged prospects, the goal here is to convert those engaged prospects into Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs).
 

An MQL is a prospect identified as having the highest potential to become a client. To determine whether an engaged prospect qualifies as an MQL, consider factors such as:

• Fit with your ideal client profile (ICP): Do they match the demographic, industry, business size, or other relevant attributes of your target audience?
• Engagement with your emails: Are they opening, clicking, or interacting with your newsletters and campaigns?
• Website behavior: Are they visiting high-value pages like your landing page?

A lead scoring system is invaluable to identify MQLs. Lead scoring assigns point values to prospects based on actions they take and how well they align with your criteria. For example::

• Visiting the pricing page could add 10 points.
• Subscribing to your email list could add 5 points.
• Matching your ICP could add 15 points.

At this stage, the B2B conversion rate is referred to as the MQL conversion rate. It measures the percentage of engaged prospects that qualify as MQLs:

MQL conversion rate = Number of MQLs / Number of engaged prospects x 100

Example: If 100 website visitors download your ebook and your scoring system identifies 20 of them as MQLs, your MQL conversion rate is 20%.

To identify ideal scoring criteria and acceptable conversion rate benchmarks, your sales and marketing teams must work closely together. The sales team often has firsthand insights into what makes a high-quality lead, while the marketing team understands what type of lead is easy to nurture and convert.

3. Decision stage

At the decision stage, your prospect is ready to choose a solution. They’ve narrowed down their options and are looking for the final proof to make a confident choice.

At this stage, your objective is to guide prospects through three critical conversions:

• Convert marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) into sales-qualified leads (SQLs).
• Convert SQLs into demos.
• Convert demos into clients.

Now, you should note that marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) should be categorized based on their sources. The conversion rate varies depending on where your leads come from. For example, an MQL from a Google ad is often more ready to make a purchase, while a lead from your lead magnet may only be seeking information and not yet ready to buy.

From MQLs to SQLs

Once you’ve identified MQLs in the consideration stage, the next step is to nurture them further to qualify them as SQLs. 

This is where targeted emails and valuable resources come into play. Your lead scoring system remains a critical tool, helping you track and evaluate prospects based on new engagement behaviors, such as:

• Opening and engaging with nurturing emails.
• Visiting high-intent pages like the pricing page or demo booking page.

Assign points based on these criteria, just as you did during the consideration stage. When a prospect’s score reaches a predetermined threshold, they become an SQL. At this point, your marketing and sales team need to work closely together to ensure success. The marketing team need to:

• Notify the sales team to reach out directly.
• Send personalized sales emails, including an invitation to book a demo (if they haven’t already).

SQL Conversion Rate Formula:

SQL conversion rate = Number of SQLs / Number of MQLs x 100

From SQLs to Booked Demos

SQLs who book a demo show strong intent to purchase. Your demo process is a key opportunity to address their final concerns, showcase your solution’s unique value, and build trust.

Demo Booking Conversion Rate Formula:
Demo conversion rate = Number of demos booked / Number of SQLs x 100

From Demos to Clients

After prospects attend a demo, the final goal is to convert them into clients. At this stage, your focus should be on tailoring your pitch to their specific needs and addressing any objections. Effective follow-up after the demo is crucial to securing the deal.

Client Conversion Rate Formula:
Client  conversion rate = Number of clients / Number of demos x 100

Key strategies to increase your B2B sales conversion rate

Converting visitors into clients is about how you guide prospects through each stage of the buyer’s journey. Every touchpoint, from the first email to the final sales pitch, plays an important role in building trust, addressing objections, and demonstrating value.

To improve your B2B sales conversion rate, you need a focused strategy that aligns with your client’s needs at every step. This means optimizing how you attract, nurture, and close deals while eliminating friction in the process.

Optimize your landing page conversion

Your landing page is often the first interaction prospects have with your business. A well-optimized landing page converts visitors into engaged prospects, setting the stage for further nurturing. Here are actionable tips to help you maximize your landing page’s conversion potential:

1. Craft a benefit-driven headline: Your headline is the first thing visitors see, so it needs to grab attention immediately and communicate the outcome they desire. Whether it’s a sales page, lead magnet page, or ad landing page, focus on what’s in it for them. For example, “Learn how to Boost Your Sales by 30% with Our Free CRM Guide.”

2. Only ask for 1 action in your landing page: A high-converting landing page should focus on one clear desired action. Whether it’s booking a demo, downloading a guide, or subscribing to a newsletter, avoid distracting visitors with secondary CTAs like links to pricing pages or blog posts.

3. Show benefit not feature: While showcasing your expertise is important, visitors care most about how your solution helps them achieve their goals or solve their pain points. Instead of saying, “Our CRM tracks unlimited leads,” highlight the benefit: “Easily track every lead so you never miss an opportunity to close a deal.”

4. Place the CTA buttons across the landing page: Ensure your CTA buttons are placed prominently in the hero section and repeated throughout the page. The worst thing you want is for visitors to scroll past a CTA, realize they’re interested, and then have to scroll back up to find it. Visitors are often impatient, and making them work harder to take action increases the risk of losing them.

5. Position important sections near the top of the pages: Place high-value content, such as what differentiates you from competitors, near the top of your page. Visitors drop off as they scroll, so maximize exposure to your key messages early. Tools like Microsoft Clarity’s heat maps can help identify where users lose interest.

6. Optimize for speed and mobile devices: A slow-loading or poorly formatted page can frustrate visitors and hurt conversions. If you’re running ads to the page, platforms like Google or Meta might even penalize your page quality, reducing ad delivery and effectiveness. Ensure your page loads quickly and offers a seamless experience across all devices.

7. Use social proof to build trust: Including testimonials, case studies, or statistics can reinforce your credibility. For example: “Over 10,000 businesses have downloaded this guide and improved their lead management.”

8. A/B Test for continuous improvement: No landing page is perfect from the start. Conduct A/B testing to compare different headlines, CTAs, layouts, and copy to see what resonates most with your audience. Use analytics tools to measure conversion rates and refine your strategy.

Further qualify your leads with pre-sales surveys

As we discussed, at the decision stage, one of your goals is to convert demos into clients. By gathering key information with pre-sales surveys before sales-qualified leads (SQLs) join the demo meeting, you can provide the sales team with all the information they need to tailor the demo, handle objections, and convert them into clients effectively.

Pre-sales surveys help by providing valuable context, such as:

• Pain Points: Understanding the prospect’s biggest challenges ensures your demo focuses on how your solution addresses those issues.
• Goals and Priorities: Knowing what success looks like for the leads, allows you to highlight features that directly align with their objectives.
• Current Setup: Insights into their current tools or processes help you show how your solution integrates seamlessly into their workflow.

Imagine a SaaS company offering CRM software. A pre-sales survey might ask:

• “What’s your biggest challenge with managing leads and clients?”
• “How many team members need access to a CRM?”
• “Are you currently evaluating other solutions?”

For example, if your pre-sales survey reveals that a prospect is struggling to track customer data, your demo can emphasize how your CRM automates data tracking.

Improve demo effectiveness with demo feedback

A product demo is one of the most important moments in the B2B buyer’s journey. However, not all demos convert. By collecting and analyzing demo feedback, you can refine your demo pitch, and address gaps to boost conversion rates.

Demo feedback gives you a window into what your leads are thinking. It can help you:

• Pinpoint pain points: Did your demo hit the mark on what matters most to them?
• Spot objections: Are there areas where they’re hesitating or not convinced?
• Fine-tune your message: Is there something you could explain better or present differently?

You can collect demo feedback by sending a short survey with questions like:

• Did we address your biggest challenges?
• What stood out to you?
• Is there anything we missed?

You need to make sure that the survey is simple and concise as nobody wants to spend 10 minutes filling out a survey. 

Sometimes, the best feedback comes from a quick chat. A follow-up call lets you dive deeper into what they thought of the demo and clarify any concerns.
You can also ask your sales reps to jot down what prospects are asking during demos, where they seem confused, and what gets them excited.

Leverage case studies

Case studies provide real-world proof that your solution works. They allow prospects to:

• Relate to real experiences: Seeing how similar companies solved their problems helps prospects connect with your solution on a practical level.
• Reduce perceived risk: Success stories remove doubts and build confidence in your ability to deliver.
• Highlight measurable results: Numbers, like a 30% boost in sales or a 50% reduction in costs, speak louder than general claims.

Here’s the different timing ideas of where you can use case studies in the sales process

• During demos: Use case studies during your demo to back up the benefits you’re highlighting. For example, share stories of clients in the same industry who’ve seen success with your solution. It makes your claims more relatable and credible.
• In follow-ups: Sometimes, there’s just not enough time in a demo to go over all the details. That’s when you can send personalized case studies as a follow-up. It’s a great way to reinforce your points and give your prospects the extra proof they need to make a decision.
• On landing pages: Highlight case studies on your website to build trust with visitors and attract more qualified leads. Seeing real results can help prospects feel more confident about reaching out to you.

Enhance post-sales engagement with post-sales surveys

Closing a sale is just the beginning of your relationship with a customer. To build long-term success, you need to stay engaged with clients after the sale and ensure they’re happy with every step of the process. Post-sales surveys are a great way to show you value their feedback while gathering insights to improve their experience and strengthen your partnership.

Post-sales surveys help you:

• Understand client needs: Learn if your solution is meeting expectations and where you can improve.
• Strengthen relationships: Show clients you value their feedback, reinforcing trust and loyalty.
• Identify opportunities for growth: Gain insights into additional pain points or needs, paving the way for upselling or cross-selling.
  Spot potential churn risks: Address dissatisfaction early to prevent losing clients.
• Turn clients into advocates: Happy clients are more likely to recommend your business or participate in testimonials and case studies.

Timing matters. The right survey at the right time helps you collect meaningful feedback and leave a positive impression. Here’s when to send them:

• 1–2 weeks after the deal closes: Send a quick survey to get their first impressions and see if the onboarding process is going smoothly. Address any issues early to ensure a good start.
• 1–3 months after onboarding: Follow up to check how well your solution is delivering value and meeting their needs. By now, they’ll have enough experience to give you detailed feedback.
• 6 months post-sales: Reach out to measure the long-term impact of your solution and explore any new needs or opportunities to grow the partnership.

How to leverage technologies to drive more conversions

Technology can be a game-changer for driving a higher B2B conversion rate. The right tools help you streamline the conversion rate optimization processes, save time, and focus on turning prospects into clients. Here’s how you can use some key tools to boost your conversion rates.

1. Landing Page Builder (with A/B Testing)

Landing page builders give you the power to create multiple landing pages at scales. Speed is the keyword here. By doing so, you can do A/B testing or multivariable testing to optimize your pages for a better B2B conversion rate. They also have templates for different types of landing pages, such as lead generation, or demo bookings. 

Most modern landing page builders also include A/B testing features, allowing you to create different versions of the same page—varying elements like headlines, images, or CTAs—and test them to see which performs better.

By testing and refining your landing pages, you’ll create versions that are more effective at turning visitors into leads or customers. The A/B testing gives you clear data on what works and what doesn’t, helping you make smarter decisions for future campaigns.

2. Survey tools

Survey tools help you gather valuable insights at every stage of the customer journey. Whether you’re qualifying leads, improving demos, or enhancing post-sales relationships, surveys provide the data you need to refine your strategies and meet your client’s needs.
With the survey tools you can send out various types of surveys such as:

• Pre-sale surveys: Qualify leads by understanding their needs and readiness to purchase.
• Demo feedback surveys: Collect opinions on how well your demo addressed pain points and showcased your solution.
• Post-sale surveys: Measure customer satisfaction, identify areas for improvement, and foster long-term loyalty.

Tools like SurveySparrow also offer many features to help your business gather feedback more efficiently and securely. With tools like recurring surveys, secure surveys, and smart surveys, it caters to various business needs across industries.

• Recurring surveys allow you to automate feedback collection at regular intervals, instead of manually sending surveys every time. It’s a great solution for companies that want to regularly check in with clients to ensure they’re satisfied with your software and identify opportunities for feature updates.
• Secure surveys allow your business to collect confidential patient feedback securely. Survey Sparrow ensures data encryption, secure connections, and GDPR compliance so that your surveys meet regulatory standards while maintaining trust with clients.
• Smart surveys allow your business to display logic to tailor questions based on a respondent’s previous answers. This creates a personalized and engaging experience, resulting in higher response rates and more relevant insights.

3. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric that gauges customer loyalty and satisfaction. It provides a clear, actionable snapshot of how clients perceive your product and whether they’d recommend you to others. 
NPS is an invaluable tool for improving client retention and driving growth. It highlights areas where your product may be falling short, giving you the chance to resolve issues before they lead to churn.
 

4. Virtual Terminal

In B2B transactions, friction-free payment processing plays a critical role in closing the deal and kickstarting the partnership. A virtual terminal is a browser-based tool that allows businesses to accept payments over the phone or by manually entering payment details.
 

Imagine you’re an event planning company that has just secured a deal with a client over the phone to organize their annual corporate gala. The client is excited to move forward, but you require a deposit to lock in the date and start coordinating vendors. If the only payment options involve mailing a check or setting up a bank transfer, this could delay the process and risk losing momentum. With a virtual terminal, you can accept credit card payments, ACH payments, or debit card deposits instantly during the call.
 

For B2B businesses, a virtual terminal eliminates payment delays to keep the momentum going after a deal is finalized. Besides, your clients will also appreciate an easy, secure way to pay, especially for large transactions.

5. Email marketing tools (with lead scoring system)

Email marketing tools with lead scoring capabilities not only help you create and automate email campaigns but also allow you to prioritize prospects by assigning scores based on their attributes, engagement, and behaviors, such as opening an email, clicking a link, or visiting high-value pages like your pricing or demo request pages. As a result, your team can focus their time and energy on prospects who are most likely to convert.

6. Customer relationship management system

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems centralize your client data, helping you track deals, manage your sales cycles, and nurture relationships. 

With a CRM, your team can work smarter, close deals faster, and deliver a seamless experience for clients. It allows them to:

• Track every stage of your sales cycles, from lead generation to deal closure.
• Store and access detailed client information, including contact details, past interactions, and preferences.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure everyone is aligned on client needs and progress.
• Increase B2B sales conversion rate with Survey Sparrow

Boosting your B2B sales conversion rate requires the right tools to gather insights, and refine your sales process—and that’s where SurveySparrow comes in. SurveySparrow helps you understand your clients better, deliver personalized experiences, and make data-driven decisions that drive conversions. 
 

Here is how Survey Sparrow helps your business optimize B2B conversion:

Kickstart new client relationships by understanding their needs right away. Use pre-sale surveys to qualify leads and focus on clients who are the best fit for your solutions. Smooth onboarding sets the stage for a productive and positive partnership.

Fine-tune your sales calls and demos by gathering feedback directly from prospects. Learn what resonates with them and adjust your delivery to better address their challenges and expectations, creating a more tailored sales experience.

Gather feedback throughout the sales funnel to identify areas for conversion rate optimization. Pre-sale, demo, and post-sale surveys help you create strategies that align with client needs and improve your chances of converting leads into loyal customers.
 

FAQs

What are the average conversion rates for the B2B industry?

The average conversion rate for landing pages is 7.12%. Even though this number can be an initial benchmark, the rate varies based on the marketing channels that you drive traffic from. Besides, your sakes and marketing team should work together to determine acceptable average conversion rate based on historical data and ideal customer profile.

What are the Google ads conversion rates for the B2B industry?

Google Ads conversion rates for the B2B industry range from 0.8% for Display Network ads to 3.04% for Search ads. However, these conversion rate benchmarks can fluctuate depending on your offer. For example, if you’re aiming to generate leads with an ebook, the conversion rates may be higher than when asking for a demo.