Myth #6: Buyers Buy Products & Services

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Myths About Buying

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 about the business case and requirements.

Buyers want to achieve results, to exploit opportunities and address challenges facing their business. Their primary interest is not a product or service and its features and benefits, but rather the results that can be achieved. Again this is clearly demonstrated in the buying model example. Although it relates to the purchase of IT, it is clearly not just a technology decision. Rather it is a business decision regarding technology.

So, while the vendor involved in this process may be selling technology, the buyer is planning the future success of their business. That means the decision:

Won’t be made based on the basis of the technology’s features (something vendors often forget) but on its business advantages.
Will revolve around numbers in the business case, not feature lists in a technical specification document.
Will not rest in the hands of the IT or Operations Department. The buying decision will be made by a cross-functional group of senior managers and will involve extensive consultation with all the stakeholders involved, from users to end-customers.

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