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Buyers Are In Control: The Sales Model Doesn’t Influence Buying Decisions If I read the words ‘each stage of the buyer life-cycle’ one more time I’ll scream. For decades, I was the only person mentioning the buying decision journey buyers must take prior to making a purchase. Now, with marketing automation, the ubiquitous nature of the web, and the ability to have more transparency as we understand better how buyers make a purchasing decision, everyone believes they understand how buyers buy (and naively believe that knowing a buyer’s buying process will help close a sale). When I ask folks the decision stages buyers go through, everyone seems to think simplistically: First, buyers recognize a need; then they seek a solution.
And if I understand your buying process (difficult, given even you don’t understand the entire process until you’re about done), does that mean I can enter it and influence you?
THE REALITIES OF THE SALES MODEL Sellers make a lot of faulty assumptions, starting with the belief that with a need in the appropriate demographic, there is a prospect. So you venture forth, gather data and share data, follow footprints online; you pitch, present, propose, and handle objections.If you and your spouse discuss purchasing a house, aren’t there a dozen things you must work out before you even begin looking at houses? If you’re overweight, aren’t there several issues you must consider before you respond to an ad about a cheap gym membership? If you and your team are going to do team building, aren’t there internal folks who must buy-in, or vendor issues to consider, or current skills that have to be melded into the new? Until or unless a buyer can manage all of the internal issues they must address, and get the buy-in necessary to create a solution that won’t cause major disruption, they will do nothing, regardless of their need. That’s where buyers go as you sit and wait. And wait. Indeed, the buyer is in control of what, and how, and when, and why they purchase. The only thing sellers have control over is the solution choice. And whether or not their activities are transparent, or what sort of data they discover about your competitors, it boils down to the same thing: s/he who writes the check is in control.
How’s that working for you? I’ll give you a hint: industry standard is 7%. That’s right: 7% of your sales are closing. That means you’re wasting 93% of your time, and have no idea at the beginning (or middle) of your relationship if this is a prospect who will close. So who is in control? Hint: it’s not you.
BUYERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN CONTROL Oh, I know you think that because you discuss features and functions that you had some control. Or because you understood ‘need’. Or because you made nice and had a great relationship and thought that they liked you so much that they’d choose you. If I’m a great hairstylist, and it’s obvious you need a make-over, will you shave your head because I try to convince you of my capability?But you have no clue as to what’s really going on that you can’t see, like those behind-the-scenes issues that always crop up with internal politics and with old vendors. That’s why you have no more than a 10% close rate no matter what form of sales you’re applying. When you speak about buyer’s buying process, you really mean: "each stage of the solution-focused end of the buyer’s movements that you can track" because there is no sales capability that manages the entire buying decision journey. You are overlooking those invaluable, important, necessary buy-in and change management issues buyers must manage prior to bringing in anything that will cause disruption. And bringing in a new solution will cause a disruption. Hence, before buyers can choose your solution, they have a heck of a lot of internal stuff to do. And the sales process doesn’t help them do it. Do you know the other vendors your prospects are talking to? Did you know who is on the Buying Decision Team? Did you know what role their regular vendor is playing? Listen up, folks: Buyers have always been in control. He or She who writes - or withholds - the check is in control. Period. No check, No sale.
HOW DO BUYERS BUY Let’s take a hard look at this. 1. Buyers will never buy until or unless they have their entire Buying Decision Team lined up and in agreement.How can you become part of the Buying Decision Team if you aren’t there? How do your prospects get the right people on board - and can you make the process easier for them (hint: no one knows when they begin a journey to change who needs to be involved)? How do they get agreement to make a change or use a new vendor/new solution? You don’t have a clue. The sales model doesn’t handle this; technology - the way it’s operating at the moment - has no way of knowing any of this. It’s a mystery to us right now. 2. Until they know what to do with their status quo so that any disruption will be managed appropriately, they won’t buy. This is simple systems thinking. Systems (and your buyers live in groups/companies which are systems that follow their own unique rules) do this thing called Homeostasis: they seek balance, and won’t change until balance is assured. This is where your buyers go when they don’t buy. They must - must - make sure that every potential bit of fall-out will be accounted for before they can do anything that will cause un-balance. The system is sacrosanct. My newest client had a helluva time getting buy-in for us to do training: Buying Facilitation™ represented a wholly new way for them to work with their prospects, and would create internal chaos while the entire (international) sales force figured out how to work in new ways, expect different ROI, manage people differently, develop different marketing materials, etc. It had nothing to do with their need or my solution. The disruption factor was huge. And until they figured it out, they were not in a position to move forward. I helped them through this by posing Facilitative Questions to help them mitigate, shift, and understand all potential problems up front; by doing so I halved the buying decision cycle. But it had to get done with me or without me. 3. Until all parts/pieces/people that touch the ultimate solution know how to shift, act, add, collaborate, reorganize, etc. they will not buy. Unfortunately, because sales works from the assumption that ‘have problem = need solution’ you are overlooking the fact that whoever will touch a new solution must buy-in to change, and figure out how to manage the change BEFORE giving agreement to make a purchase. The cost of change is far too high: the fallout would damage the system. It’s ‘cheaper’ to maintain the status quo, regardless of the need.
CONCLUSION So tell me now: what sort of control do buyers have now that they didn’t have before? They know more details about your solution and other competitive choices. They can read about more possibilities and find others who are using your solution. They are more active and more knowledgeable. They don’t need the sales person as much.But that doesn’t mean they do their buy-in/change journey differently. Buyers have the ultimate control over whether, how, and when they buy. You can either continue to focus on their need and your solution, or you can facilitate their discovery of what they need to address internally so they can purchase your solution. They must line up their people, policies, politics, relationships, numbers, partnerships, IPOs and stakeholder issues. You can either sit and wait while they do it, or you can enter earlier in the buying journey - but not by focusing on need or a solution place. Would you rather sell? Or have someone buy? Sharon Drew Morgen is the thought leader behind Buying Facilitation(R) and decision facilitation. She is the author of the NYTimes Business Bestseller ‘Selling with Integrity’ and ‘Dirty Little Secrets.’ She is a trainer, speaker, coach, and buying decision consultant. She can be reached at: sdm@austin.rr.com and www.newsalesparadigm.com
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