Gartner research shares that 72% of B2B buyers prefer to make a purchase without a seller.   

Sure, some of them may regret the decision made without support, but this speaks to the awful experience many sellers provide.  Given the sad state of sellers adding value, it is so easy to differentiate today.  The pitch and chase mentality is what causes 72% of buyers to avoid the salespeople. 

Personal Situation:   

My wife shared an experience she had with a salesperson.  Her company is considering ways to be more agile with the services they provide, and software is an option.  The rep immediately offered her a demo.  No questions about her situation or needs. My wife could not get off the phone quick enough. 

However, she assigned a colleague the responsibility to do research on the company’s software without engaging with a rep. After all, the rep will be available if they want to see a demo.  I shared the statistic, and said she was part of the 72%.   

Let’s look at do’s and don’ts using the seller in my wife’s situation.

Question 1:  Does the prospect have a problem you can solve?  

The seller must ask questions, good questions, and enough questions to gain an understanding of the prospect’s perspective on their problem.    

The rep could have asked questions about how my wife defined the problem of being more agile, and gain an understanding of the priorities she and the company had.  Looking for her blind spots in her thinking; after all the seller is the expert and should have perspective that can be demonstrated through the questions.   

A mistake I see sellers consistently make is making statements about their product.  The product should not be discussed at this point because as the seller you are gathering information to determine if you have a fit. 

Question 2: What is the impact of the problem the seller can solve in the context of time, money and risk?  

Had the seller asked my wife a question about the impact of “agility” on her department to deliver, he would have entered a conversation that added value.   

Every executive is concerned about time, money and risk, so the seller must ask questions that identify the challenges in that context.  

• Is your team spending too much time on projects because the process is too cumbersome?   
• Would being more agile mean the team would save time?  
• Is that a priority right now?   
• Are there opportunity costs for not being agile? 

Question 3:  Does the prospect have a compelling reason or can the seller help identify a compelling reason to solve the problem?  

All the questions the seller asks during the discovery process is to expose blind spots, to bring clarity to the decision process, and the decision criteria.  Ultimately, the seller must identify the compelling reasons the buyer will move forward, and how their offering will be the best fit.   

It is important to note that compelling reasons are not facts, but are tied to emotions that resonate with the buyer.   

In our example, considering software that makes a department more agile is only a fact.  The department becoming more agile to save time, and being more efficient with limited resources are compelling.  If the buyer can uncover that the executive has personal consequences if the problem is not solved -that would be COMPELLING.

Question 4:  Why you versus a competitor or the status quo? 

This is a question that many sellers are reluctant to dig into with a buyer. However, the buyer’s natural tendency is to not change. So, how does a seller open up this question?  I suggest direct and transparent questions.  

• How does our offering stack up to your options?   
• What else is required to put our system into your system? 
• Who else is needed to agree that our solution is doable in your world?  

The buyer is at peril when they don’t understand the competition, and there is always competition.  The more complex the product the more critical the decision criteria.

2 More TIPS  

Sellers put themselves in situations where they get ghosted by the buyer.  This occurs because the seller hasn’t delivered value.  They haven’t asked critical questions that make the buyer think differently about their situation.  Ask tough questions, ask good questions and ask enough questions.  

There is something else sellers can do to avoid being ghosted – use what I call Up-Front Agreements.  The seller can open and end meetings with UFA.  It sounds like today we agreed to spend 45-minutes covering ________, and in the end we will make a decision to keep talking.  

An UFA at the end of a meeting late in the sales cycle might sound like I will provide you with the technical specifications, and we will reconnect on Friday at 3pm to determine if a proposal is appropriate.  

Holding the buyer accountable for a mutually agreed upon next step will avoid ghosting, and shorten the sales cycle.

Since you are here… 

Do you understand your sales team?  Are the strengths and weaknesses of the people and the sales systems crystal clear?  Before you spend another dollar on training or development, it might make sense to know the ROI.   

This is especially true if you are considering making changes to the team due to the economy.  This link provides some additional insight on what you can learn.  I believe if you have good data, you make better decisions. I can provide you with better data on your sales team.

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I want to thank you for subscribing and reading the blog.  The entire team at Helix Sales Development is working hard to deliver value to as many entrepreneurs as we can.  We do not and cannot work with everyone who reaches out, but we are building offerings to give you access to great tools.