Building Blocks, Close Up! - Buyer Acumen

Hello Enablers!?

It's been a long time coming, but I’m taking the leap. I’m using the decision to collaborate with Felix Krueger and FFWD (more on the partnership below) as an excuse to finally launch a LinkedIn newsletter. The newsletter will come from me, but I’m considering this a collaboration as well, and Felix’s fingerprints will be all over it.?

In this weekly newsletter, we’ll share:

1. A Building Blocks, Close Up feature, which will include a snapshot of one sales enablement building block.
2. Content from around the web, related to that building block.?
3. An update about the development of our sales enablement course, which will also give you an opportunity to provide feedback that shapes this learning resource.?

As always, your feedback matters. Please let me know how we can make this newsletter more valuable to you.

Enjoy!

Building Blocks, Close Up: Buyer Acumen

• What is Buyer Acumen? This is where you identify your common buyer personas and their roles and goals, including COIN-OP (Challenges, Opportunities, Impacts, Needs, Outcomes, Priorities), and their buying process.
• What challenges are your buyers trying to solve? Why?
• What opportunities do they hope to maximize? Why?
• What outcomes do they want to achieve? Why?
• What are the metrics that matter most to each? Why?
• What are their value drivers (business, experiential, aspirational, and personal)? Why?
• What is their typical buying process, including their buying process exit criteria? (What each persona needs to see, hear, feel, understand, and believe in any given stage, to feel comfortable moving forward to the next stage with you.)

Buyer Acumen lays the foundation for so many other things you will do in sales enablement. Without this foundation, it's like you are playing darts with a blindfold on…

Other Buyer Acumen Resources

Here are some resources you might find useful if you want to learn more about Buyer Acumen

• Podcast: the Buyer Acumen episode of The State of Sales Enablement podcast.
• Webinar: 6 Steps to Transition to Buyer-Centric Selling
• Article: https://gtmmag.com/gtm-metrics-and-mindsets/buyer-acumen-is-the-best-gtm-foundation/

Building Blocks Course Update

You might have seen last week that Felix Krueger and I partnered to create an online course based on my book, The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement.?

Our first announcement that the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement course will become a reality, was met with an overwhelmingly positive response by the sales enablement community. If that included you - many thanks! It was gratifying to see the reaction and even hear stories of how the BB of SE framework has helped others.?

You can check out our LinkedIn announcement posts here and here.

This effort is a collaboration, for sure, but I don’t want to take recognition that’s not due. Felix is doing the heavy lifting of course design, and will make it available through his company, FFWD. He’s currently in the process of designing the course curriculum and has started scripting the first videos.?

That said, and while I will obviously have input into content and design, we're both very keen on getting feedback from the community throughout the development of the course. And that means YOU.?

That's why our first question to you revolves around the support we're planning to provide to the enablers who enroll in this course:

SCENARIO: Imagine you are taking the online course. As part of your learning experience, you have an opportunity to share a challenge and receive tailored feedback on ways to address your challenge.?

QUESTION: What is your communication preference to submit your challenge and receive the tailored feedback??

A) A forum post (you choose if you want to be anonymous)

B) A group coaching call (you choose if you want to be anonymous)

C) A recorded Q&A video based on questions submitted by email (you choose if you want to be anonymous)

Let us know your preference(s) in the comments below!

If you want to receive this weekly newsletter and you haven't subscribed yet, please make sure to sign up here on LinkedIn. You can also sign up on the Building Blocks course landing page, and receive additional info via email on the course launch progress.?

Until next time, stay the course, and Make an Impact with Enablement!?

Mike