Don’t Let Your Sellers Sell the Way They Buy

All of us have a process for buying, especially services or products we consider “big ticket.” Some of our processes might look like “winging it” to others, but all of us have a process.

That’s great for buying, but not when our sellers are selling.

Let’s say one of our sellers likes to gather a lot of information before making a purchase. They spend hours reading reviews, comparison shopping online or in-person and talking over options with their spouse, partner or friend group. When this seller encounters a buyer who says, “I need to get another quote” or “I’ve got to talk about this with the Committee” our seller thinks “makes sense to me!” and they let that “opportunity” bloat out our funnel while they wait for their buyer to get back to them.

On the other hand, let’s say one of our sellers makes buying decisions in an instant, sometimes returning items due to buyers remorse. When this seller encounters a buyer who says, “I’d like to dive a little deeper before moving forward,” the seller is likely to get frustrated and potentially damage rapport with their buyer, disqualifying an opportunity that could have been a good fit for our organization because the seller inserted their buying process over their buyer’s process.

One of our long-time clients says, “don’t unintentionally lengthen your sales cycle.” For our sellers who fit the first profile we coach them to make decisions with less information and in a shorter time frame, while always getting a clear next step in the calendar with their buyers.

For our sellers who fit the second profile, we coach them to focus on supporting their buyers in selecting the right fit provider, even if it isn’t us, and not getting emotionally involved in a sale especially at the early stages.

Coaching all of our sellers to have a mindset “it’s not about us, it’s about our buyer,” reduces the potential for our sellers’ scripts and preferences to interfere with qualifying and closing.

Until next time… go lead.