We continue to see executive buyers prove, by their behaviors, their interest in engaging in sales conversations about the outcomes they’re after for their businesses. They’re curious to find effective ways to get outcomes that they’re after.
Some salespeople, on the other hand, continue to prove, by their behaviors, that they need to spend some time in a Product Detoxification Centre. Sellers’ knowledge of their solution / product is impressive. It’s something they just can’t wait to share with each prospect. And, typically, when they do it’s a conversation killer. Mistakes will happen. Heck, nobody’s perfect! But, my oh my, fast and continuous learning is key.
Consider this example: a Rep used messages with a buyer focus to gain sales conversations with 25-35% of their buyers; then, inexplicably, the same Rep drifted back to using messages with an overwhelming product focus which produced virtually *no* conversations. The good news: when such product-focused mistakes are visible for all to see, bad practices get abandoned. Better sales practices get adopted. Visible mistakes tend to be mistakes that get fixed.
Buyer focus is like a gift to sales productivity that just keeps on giving. It produces more conversations. It can also produce conversations with more influential buyers. We had one client, for instance, who used buyer-focused messaging to gain access to the head of procurement for a multi-billion firm. They did *not* take their product to the meeting. They took only issues-oriented diagnostic questions. It worked. They learned more about the buyer’s situation, earned referrals to several other executives, and closed sales.
One last point to note: metrics matter in nudging better behaviors. Done right, they personalize learning. We’re seeing buyer-focused sales practices occur more habitually when their value in creating conversations is obvious for all to see.
