In 2012, the global research and advisory firm Forrester Research reported that when it comes to B2B sales, business customers are now fully in the driving seat and those with products and services to sell have far less influence over buying behaviors than those with products and services to sell. the one they had a decade or two ago. The sales process has evolved and we have entered the era of the buying process.
Historically, business owners, professional service providers, and sales professionals strove to present themselves as “trusted advisors,” hoping to guide customers through the sales process and influence their choices, ideally for mutual benefit. But now that the purchase process is in order, we say goodbye to all that.
Your organization’s sales approach to B2B customers must evolve in response to the new reality, because what once was will never exist again. Get used to your customers making decisions about your products and services largely without your input.
According to Forrester, customers now routinely discuss and shortlist product and service needs in consultation with their own team of trusted advisors, which can include unknown outside “experts” they find on websites like Yelp and Angie’s List. How far along the path of the buying process they will go varies by industry, but the report indicates that between 65% and 90% of customer research is completed without their help. By the time the customer is ready to make a purchase, for the most part, only their price quotes and delivery date will be needed.
As you may have guessed, customers prefer to be in control. Distrust of sales practices that are sometimes perceived as off-putting, combined with access to technologies that allow them to fairly easily research needs for products and services once they have been identified, are the driving forces behind their independence. Many B2B customers are wary of being manipulated into paying for upgrades and add-ons that do nothing for their goals.
To thrive in the realm of the buying process, accept that your marketing strategies will play a more prominent role in the selling process, responding to the customer’s desire for information. Marketing messages must resonate with target customers and media platforms must be carefully selected. Also remember that traditional media may still be important to some clients, so the relevance of the press release should not be discounted.
Create marketing campaigns that will create and sustain demand through highly targeted messaging and storytelling designed to persuade target customers that your solutions will be effective and always include compelling calls to action. Choose media outlets and platforms that target customers follow and trust, to allow your information to be discovered and supported.
Content marketing will keep your influence spread across your website and the social media platforms that are important to your customers. In your writing, be sure to include motivating factors that encourage customers to investigate your products and services while evaluating possible solutions, as well as the benefits they will receive, frequently asked questions, and how easy it is to buy from you.
OK, so the marketing people will still think they’re bigwigs! What will sellers do? How will B2B sales professionals generate billable hours or sales in the age of the checkout process? Will the sales team be reduced to mere order takers?
On the contrary. We will apply our well-honed communications expertise to identify networking opportunities and build relationships. It’s wonderful that marketers can generate great content that shows the organization in internet searches, but at least in my city, no one hires a stranger, regardless of cleverly written content. When the decision maker is not familiar with the organization, there is often no sale.
In the age of the buying process, sales professionals will focus on being in front of live audiences moderating or speaking on panels; teaching workshops; joining and speaking at business association meetings and generally becoming the public face of the brand. Networking will balance the equation, the ying to content yang, as you meet leads and referral sources and build relationships. The B2B buying process is a difficult task for those who sell to survive, but we are determined to succeed and will rise to the challenge.
Thank you for reading,
kim