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Are your customers buying differently? You bet.
(September 24, 2012)
New technology is changing the buying process. In the past, customers had little information about providers available to them and it was difficult to make direct product comparisons. Today, customers have multiple resources with which to identify, screen, and select vendors without contacting them and often reject sellers before the seller even knows they have been screened out. In fact, an American Marketing Association report indicates that 80% of customers find sellers before sellers find the customer. This is a significant change in how buyers buy and requires an equally significant change in how sellers sell.
In the past the sales process was the driver of the interaction between the customer and the seller. Salespeople prospected for new customers, led the identification of needs and requirements, proposed solutions, and “closed” the sale. Today, it is the buyers who are in charge of the sales process and they do not follow a linear process:
- They gather information independently on available solutions and options.
- Based on this initial scan, they define their basic requirements and often vet providers through their social networks.
- They screen potential providers, often without the providers’ knowledge, and then further refine their requirements.
- They use decision teams rather than a single decision maker so they can maximize the amount of information they extract from each potential provider and understand the impact on various functions.
- Only then does the formal purchasing process begin, and it often involves additional stakeholders such as procurement, executive buy-in, etc.
How does a sales force differentiate itself in an environment like this? Successful ones adapt their sales process to the buyer’s buying process and align with how the customer wants to buy. Read how.
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About the Author
Michael Leimbach
Michael Leimbach, Ph.D., is a globally recognized expert in instructional design and sales development, sharing his message that it is not about what you learn but what you use. His approach has been adopted by numerous Global 1000 organizations in Australia, England, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and throughout the United States. Dr. Leimbach is Vice President of Global Research and Development for Wilson Learning Worldwide. With more than 25 years in the field, he provides leadership for researching and designing Wilson Learning’s diagnostic, learning, and performance improvement capabilities. He has managed major research studies in sales, leadership, and organizational effectiveness. Dr. Leimbach also developed Wilson Learning’s impact evaluation capability and return on investment models. He has served as a research consultant for a wide variety of global client organizations, is the Editor-in-Chief of the Advances in Developing Human Resources professional journal, and serves on the ISO Technical Committee on Quality Standards for Learning Service Providers. Dr. Leimbach has authored six books, published numerous professional articles, and is a frequent speaker at national and global conferences.
