Sales and the Educated Buyer: T to the Power of 3
B2B Selling: T to the Power of Three
The higher the stakes when making a purchase, the more stakeholders are involved to try to lessen the risk. Compounding the mix, buyer due diligence has transpired and you haven’t even begun to have a conversation to qualify a lead.
The buyer process has changed significantly in the past three years. Stakeholders have been on social media, visiting websites, downloading White Papers and conducting price comparisons. Plus, there has been an explosion of options to choose from for a buyer and it becomes confusing because product functionality will vary and buyers can perform due-diligence much better than ever before.
Statistics reveal most buyers are 57% of the way through their purchasing decision before they engage with a vendor. It’s now time for you to have the conversation with them that builds constructive tension.
You embark in a two-way dialogue using insight selling by providing unique perspectives comprised of critical findings you have gleaned by remaining industry-informed, and staying people-connected. There are three components to a constructive tension discussion:
Teach, Tailor, & Take the lead forward.
Stakeholders already know what’s keeping them up at night. As you teach through the conversation, be prepared to offer what should be keeping them up at night and what they should care about, as their industry heads into its next evolution. Facts tell, stories sell. Stories feel real and authentic. Is there a customer story you can share that will educate and make your savvy potential buyers even smarter about themselves?
Speak to and prove the differentiators. Tailor the constructive tension talk around the hook or hypothesis that your product will solve for them now and into the future. Be thought provoking! Reframe the conversation from their recognized requirements to those not previously recognized, or have yet to develop. Your insightful selling will then create resonance-purchasing with foresight, thereby creating loyalty. One of the biggest B2B customer loyalty drivers is the ability to deliver new insights.
Don’t quiz! This might only set the stage for a singular needs-based solution transaction. Instead, become the value-add Stakeholder Navigator while providing perspective and information on their market and their competitors. Have they asked themselves the right questions and, if not, can you explain why the answers to those questions matter on a successful acquisition? Take the lead forward in the buying process by diplomatically illustrating new issues and outcomes they may not have taken into account.
T to the Power of Three:
Teach to deliver your value.
Tailor to remove any price differentiation.
Take the lead and coach stakeholders forward through all of the evaluation on how to make their purchase.
Then close the sale!
Customers are seeking out public information to self-diagnose. It is the era of insight selling.Are you building constructive tension and, if so, how?