Newsflash- Buyers Don’t Want to be Treated Like Leads

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Newsflash- Buyers don’t want to be treated as a lead, a prospect, or a sales opportunity.

Here is what they are increasingly telling salespeople:

– Don’t treat me like a lead…

– Don’t prequalify me…

– Don’t give me your sales pitch…

– Don’t force your sales process on me…

In short, buyers are increasingly independent and self contained. They don’t want to be corralled into your pipeline, or managed through your funnel.

Yes, buyers are prepared to buy, but they don’t want to be sold to. That is they don’t want to be exposed to the stereotypical sales person, with his, or her self-serving sales tactics, messages and techniques. Have you heard this from your prospects recently:

– We have done our homework.

– We have the information.

– We know what we want.

– The process is set out.

– We have the expertise to decide.

CAUTION: Take Care How You Treat Buyers

So, as salespeople when we try to accelerate the sales cycle, converting a lead and prequalifying an opportunity, we may be alienating those who we depend on for our next commissions payment.

For the past 5 years or so, sales managers have been focused on the development of a repeatable sales process that puts the seller in more control and ensures maximum chances of success. They have also been focused on more effective sales techniques and strategies.

Great, but let’s not forget about the buyer and what his needs are. They are after all the Ying to our Yang!