There is a reason why buyers sit back and let salespeople do all the talking — it puts them in control. This is particularly the case because salespeople ask fewer questions when they are talking — questions that buyers may be slow to answer because of: • Political or other sensitivities. • Genuine information gaps. [...]
Most salespeople know that sales cycles are much longer than they used to be. But, if sales cycles are long, then buying cycles are even longer. As the Fortune 1000 buying process shows today’s buying decisions start earlier and finish later. The Conception Of The Purchase The genesis of the purchase is Step 1, the [...]
When the numbers of the cost-benefit equation stack up and an attractive payback is evident, even making allowance for risk and compliance, is the result a compelling business case? Perhaps not, because managers must demonstrate that the project fits with the pre-existing jig-saw of organizational priorities, goals and strategies. They must demonstrate the purchase will [...]
Many sellers have spent too long on one side of the table to be able to relate to buyers and exactly what they are thinking. They need to stop looking at selling through a sales-centered lens. (a) It’s About Buying! ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’ is a phrase that played an important role in the election [...]
Perhaps the greatest myth of all in respect of selling relates to who is in control. It is widely believed that the seller can or should be in control. However, nothing is further from thetruth. The Seller As The Center Of The Universe Notice anything wrong with the diagram below? Well, as out of [...]
It can be tempting to underestimate the buyer — to assume they know less or are less sophisticated than the seller. Increasingly, this is a dangerous assumption. As we discussed in the previous section today’s buyers often know more than the sales team selling to them. They are exercising greater care in how decisions are [...]
A typical mistake made by salespeople is to assume that buyers want to be sold to. Buyers may want to buy, but that does not mean they want to be sold to. Indeed, as noted earlier, that is often the last thing that they want. They don’t want to be treated as a lead, a [...]
It is all about the buying decision, right? Well it used to be, but not anymore. Today’s major purchase requires not just a buying decision but a more fundamental businessdecision. Saying that a major purchase is a business, as opposed to a buying decision is not just a play on words. The two are dramatically [...]
Most salespeople are still selling products and services. That is in spite of the fact that what buyers really want are solutions to problems, not products and services. Take a look back at the Fortune 1000 buying process. How many times does it talk about product or service? Certainly a lot less than it talks [...]
Salespeople expect the Fortune 1000 buying process to focus on ‘shopping for a supplier’ and to include such steps as: – Defining vendor selection criteria. – Short-listing vendors. – Briefing shortlisted vendors. – Eliciting vendor proposals. – Vendor presentations and clarifications. – Vendor selection. – Notification of successful and unsuccessful vendors. – Final negotiation of [...]
It follows that as selecting a supplier is only a small part of the process, the sales process is typically only a small part of the buying process. The buying process is not just the search for a supplier and it does not begin by talking to suppliers about their solutions. It often begins long [...]
Sellers mistakenly assume that the competition is another supplier. However, in most cases it is not. The real competition is another project vying for the same resources, a decision todelay, a decision not to proceed or to do it in-house. With pressure on budgets, projects and purchases must compete for scarce organizational resources. Manager-buyers must [...]
For most salespeople the purchase order is both the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. The problem is that buyers see things very differently. Where Is The Purchase Order? By searching through the detail of the activities set in the Fortune 1000 buying process, we see that the PO or selection of [...]
Sellers have traditionally had a degree of antipathy towards purchasing departments. So too have buyers. That is because its bureaucratic ways were seen as a hindrance to thesale.However, the role and the value of the purchasing function have been radically transformed. Purchasing can now be a powerful ally to both buyer and seller alike. [...]
In the face of the new reality of how buying decisions are made, it is now time to explode some of the myths that make old selling and new buying so difficult to reconcile. That is a total of 11 erroneous assumptions: Myth #1: It’s about selling. Myth #2: The seller is in control. Myth [...]
A recent poll of sellers shows that most are failing in terms of their knowledge of how customers buy. So, how good is your buying knowledge?
We are learning a lot more everyday about the reality of public buying. That is thanks to a new and intensive level of scrutiny both from within and without the public sector. Naturally enough it is the horror stories that get the headlines. However there is a lot to be learned by looking behind the [...]
Who Really Makes Buying Decisions At one time a question, such as ‘who makes the buying decision?’ was easy to answer. But this is no longer the case. Sellers almost need a map of organizational buying to reflect all those who make and shape the buying decision. This video shows the locus of control in [...]
How Buying Decisions Are Really Made As salespeople we can often find buyers and their behavior very confusing. Just why do buyers do what they do? Getting inside the head of the buyer can be a real challenge. For one they are increasingly playing their cards close to their chest. However, as this video shows, [...]
How Buying Decisions Are Really Made? Organizational buying, once ad hoc and unstructured, has become highly sophisticated and process-driven. Although salespeople have noticed some changes, they often underestimate just how sophisticated buying has now become. That means they are prone to over-estimating what deals will close and when. What Is In This Video? In this [...]
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