Your Customers Are Buying Differently | Sales Training | Wilson Learning Worldwide
 

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Are your customers buying differently? You bet.

(2012年9月24日)

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.

作者介绍
Michael Leimbach

Michael Leimbach

Michael Leimbach博士,担任Wilson Learning全球研究和设计副总裁。Leimbach博士拥有超过25年的专业经验,带领团队进行诊断、学习和绩效提升等方面的研究和设计。他曾带领研究销售、领导力和组织有效性;并制定了Wilson Learning的影响力评估和投资回报模型。Leimbach博士曾为多家全球公司担任研究顾问,曾在ADHR专业杂志担任主辑,并曾在ISO技术委员会TC232担任领导角色 — 制定学习服务供应商的标准。他有四本合著书籍并发表了大量的专业文章,也经常在美国和全球会议中发表演讲。

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