How well do you understand your buyers decision-making journey?
It’s not always an easy thing to pin down.
In B2B sales you’re usually dealing with repeat customers. So it’s natural to develop a good relationship with your main contact.
After all, you see them regularly. And that person becomes the main point of contact for your sales efforts.
But what can be hidden are the other people who have an impact on each buying decision.
Call them the influencer, the decider, the approver, or a user, there are often other people involved in the internal buying journey.
Not just your regular contact person.
You must expand your reach and influence
In fact research from Gartner highlighted that as little as 17% of the buyers total time spent on buying may be spent with sellers. And remember, that 17% might be split across multiple suppliers.
So… how do you make an impact on the buyer when you’re only a small part of their buying journey?
➡️ Have you identified other parties in the decision-making chain that maybe you could also be speaking to?
➡️ Do you need to look deeper, and look wider, within the account to establish more points of contact?
➡️ Do you need to consider creating additional digital touch points as well as in-person?
➡️ Importantly, how do you position yourself with them as the Trusted Adviser so your input has impact?
Mapping the client journey
By taking time to understand the decision-making process the customer goes through to buy from you (or your competitor) you can position yourself to interact with appropriate people within the decision-making network.
And you can gain a better understanding what they might need from you to help with their decision. That is, what value can you offer them?
Mapping the customer journey is a great start. You can identify all the touch points and, importantly, opportunities to improve sales interactions. And you can include the different buying roles as well to get a comprehensive overview of the decision-making process.
As a Sales Leader are you preparing your sales or account management team to explore the customers buying journey and become a Trusted Adviser?
About the author
Stuart Ayling MIMC, BBus, GCM holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and a Graduate Certificate in Management (International Business). He is an experienced strategic planning facilitator/consultant, and trainer in business-to-business sales, critical thinking skills, and management skills. For over 20 years he has been engaged by a wide range of national companies, regional firms, and founder-led businesses across Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. He is also a full member of the Institute of Management Consultants (Australia).
