Test Your Knowledge Of The Key Trends In Buying

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page Send by Email

How well do you understand the key trends in buying? That is the trends that are changing how your customers buy. Take a short quiz to find out.

There are more than a dozen key trends in buying that will impact on your sales success. These trends are not new. Many have been around for several years in companies like GM, Apple and P&G.

However, they are now beginning to reach the mainstream. If they are not being adopted by your customers already, then get ready they are on their way.

The New Buying Quiz For Sellers

Here is a short quiz on the new realities of modern buying. That is how your customers and prospects source, manage and reward suppliers.

The quiz lists 24 key trends and concepts in procurement and enables you to asses your familiarity with how your customers are buying today and will buy tomorrow.

Tick the concepts or terms in buying that you are familiar with and can explain:

Category Management
Supplier Concentration
Buying Process
Business Case
Supplier Performance Management

Centre Led Procurement
Strategic Procurement
Value Re-engineering
Cross functional buying
Contact Management
Supply Chain Management
Procurement Systems
eAuctions
Risk Management
SKU Consolidation
Spend Analysis
Alignment of Supply & Demand
Demand Management
Procurement Style
Hard V’s Soft Savings
Benefits Realization
Procurement Compliance
Spend Under Management
Stakeholder Collaboration

Your Personal Curriculum On Buying

Your responses to the above questions outline the New Sales Curriculum – your guide as to the aspects of buying with which you should become more familiar. They are the variables that could hinder, or help your sales success.

There are 24 items in the above list. So, add up those you have ticked – that will give you a score that we call the Knowledge Of Buying Score or KBS. The following is a guide to understanding your score:

KBS Score of 0-5: ‘Lots To Learn’

You are at a high risk of being taken by surprise in respect of events in some of your customers/deals. That is because you are familiar with less than 20% of the key trends or concepts in buying. Why not get started straight-away? Pick one of the trends you are unfamiliar with and find out more.

KBS Score of 6-12: ‘Eager To Learn‘

You could be in for some surprises because there are quite a few trends in buying (up to 50%) with which you are unfamiliar. Pick a trend/concept you are unfamiliar with and find out more.

KBS Score of 13-18: ‘Genius In Waiting’

You are developing a good understanding of the trends in buying, but there is some way to go yet (25% plus). Why not pick a trend/concept you are unfamiliar with and find out more.

KBS Score of 18-24: ‘Genius’

Well done. Your understanding of the trends and concepts in modern buying puts you head and shoulders above your peers. There were just a few areas with which you were unfamiliar.