Who’s your buyer?
I recently was invited to give a presentation at the Local Search Conference in Ljublijana (Slovenia). The event was organised by Local Search and SIINDA. The request was quite a challenge to start with: what do you talk about when discussing a sales approach in media sales and you only have half an hour?
So many questions and even more possible answers to present. I decided to focus on just one aspect: the buyer.
The buyer is at the centre
Today’s sales approach needs to put the buyer at the centre. There are several elements that may help you reflect upon ideal ways to present your solutions to buyers today.
You need an approach that is aligned with today’s buyer and his changing buying behaviour. So, the key question is, to whom are we selling?
First we need to ask ourselves, who’s that buyer in today’s SME’s?
Facts
- On average, 5.4 people now must formally sign off on a B2B purchase
- 77 percent of B2B buyers did not speak with any sales people until after they had self-educated themselves through the internet and peers
- 55% of millennials have lead a buying decision over the last year
So What
- Today’s tech savvy buyers enter and re-enter the sales funnel
- The linear sales approach has turned into a spider web of social influences and research channels
- Sales, marketing and customer services blur and are all part of the sales process
- Winning sales organizations build a capability spanning sales and marketing centered on engaging customers with insightful messages and content
And Yet
- 53% of the buyer’s loyalty is driven by a sales person’s ability to deliver unique insights to the customer. Even tech-savvy buyers need an emotional connect to buy.
- Buyers want to be
- Educated: bring them pointed insights and evidence
- Entertained: seek to challenge an entrenched point of view
- Engaged: talk about his business, not your product
marbl
Want to spar and reflect with us on this issue? Do not hesitate, together we know more.