How to align with today's expert buyer in 6 steps

Today, buyers can progress much further into the buying cycle through the use of internet and social media as they don't feel the need for salespeople to sell them a product or service. Even before speaking to a salesperson, most buyers have determined their requirements. Buyers in the digital age prefer to evaluate their offerings and determine their requirements without the influence of any salesperson as no one likes it when someone oversells to them. Salespeople need to develop patience when dealing with buyers who have done their homework. If a salesperson tries various combinations of sales tactics to meet the buyer's requirements, the buyer will see through his tactics and recognise his efforts as an attempt to persuade his buying decision.

Image : shutterstock

To avoid being viewed as a typical salesperson, here are six easy steps that will help you align your efforts with today's expert buyer:

Try to understand the buyer's requirements before proceeding ahead

Start by getting to know who your buyer is and what his intentions are. This will give you an insight into what he is looking to get out of your product. Knowing how he came to contact you and what his position and title is will give you an added bonus while making your sales pitch.

Ask what his research has yielded

If you know that your buyer has already established his requirements, ask him as discreetly as possible as to what his research has yielded. If he has taken the pain to get in touch with you, he is in favour of knowing more about your product without being oversold to.

Ask questions if you're unsure about the buyer's goals

You can only make a successful sales pitch when you are sure about what your buyer intends to gain from the conversation. Ask a few environmental questions to get him talking so you can determine your best strategy going forward.

Help your buyer determine a goal

If you find that even after asking the environmental questions your buyer hasn't shared a goal, you can provide a menu of goals for him to choose from. This will help him understand what exactly he stands to gain from the product you're pitching to him.

Put yourself in your buyer's shoes

After the buyer has shared a goal, ask him how he operates today without the desired capabilities. Do a thorough analysis of his situation and strive to identify potential new capabilities the buyer is likely to want.

Give him a summary of the sales pitch

After you have pitched potential new capabilities to the buyer, summarise the previously stated capabilities with the new ones. You can do this by asking simple yes and no questions. Doing this will give you an idea if your buyer is any closer to achieving his desired outcome.

The number of buyers that are doing their research before contacting sellers has increased exponentially in the last few years. Salespeople should therefore use the above mentioned six steps to align their interests with today's expert buyers to obtain best results.