Selling to businesses instead of homeowners
B2B sales in the trades runs differently. The buyer isn't the user, and the cycle is longer.
Find the actual decision-maker fast
The first call's job is to confirm who decides and what their process looks like. Quoting before you know either is wasted work.
Sell on reliability, not personality
Business buyers care about predictability. References, response time guarantees, written processes. These outweigh the charm of the owner.
Expect longer cycles, plan accordingly
Most B2B deals take 2 to 3x longer than residential. Track them in a separate pipeline so they don't make your numbers look broken.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.