How Your customers Buy Your Product (and how you can help them)

Unfortunately for us salespeople, selling a product is rarely as easy as turning up, showing someone your product and how much it costs, then closing the deal. 

Someone buying your product is the culmination of a buying process, with many steps. The trick to being successful at sales is identifying where a prospect is along that process, and helping them along it, step by step, until they buy from you. 

But what are those stages, and what you can you do to aid their journey? Let’s start by examining the buying process.

The buying process

Think of when you last bought a high-value product. A car, TV or holiday. Did you just buy the first one you saw? Of course not. The buying process usually starts long before your prospect comes into contact with you. 

Stage 1 – Problem recognition:

The first stage of buying is realising you have a problem that needs solving. This can often take a long time, people will muddle through accepting what they have without realising anything is wrong, let alone taking action. 

Stage 2 – Gathering information:

Next, the buyer looks for a way to solve that problem. They may search online for solutions, or ask for recommendations. This is a great stage for your brand to touch their consciousness in some way. Assuming they find you somehow, this is where you meet them for the first time, and find out what their problem is. 

Stage 3 – Evaluating remedies:

This is where the buyer receives all the information they need in order to make a buying decision. They will use a number of criteria to discern which product best solves their problem. As a salesperson, this is where you show the buyer how your product is the answer to their problem.

Stage 4 – Buying decision:

Here comes the crunch. This is where the buyer decides what solution best solves their problem. This is where you present your price, making sure your price is outweighed by the value your product provides.

Stage 5 – Purchasing:

Closing time! Here is where you and the buyer iron out the terms of the deal. 

Stage 6 – Post-deal evaluation:

The final stage. The buyer decides whether your product actually solved their problem. Did it deliver what you promised? If it did, you can look forward to future sales and a strong business relationship.

How to help the buyer along their journey

Of course, you could wait for the buyer to move along the path themselves, but the best salespeople help them along. They align their selling process with the buyer’s buying process. 

Here’s how:

They get everyone at the buyer’s end on board – it’s rare that there’s only one decision maker. When other influencers, such as CEOs and CFOs are brought into the decision-making process, a good salesperson will be able to answer their questions too.

Know your numbers, and your buyer’s – If your buyer can’t afford what your selling, or isn’t in a position to buy, you shouldn’t waste too much time with them. Know at an early stage what their budget is, and when they can spend it. If they receive a new budget at the start of the financial year, for example, make sure you’re on top of it.

Maintain a relationship – If a buyer isn’t ready to buy yet, don’t try to sell to them. Check in regularly with them until they are ready, then you are cleared for sales take-off. Even once they’ve bought, continue to service your buyer as if they were still a prospect. Turn them into an evangelist for your brand.

Alignment with marketing

The job of your marketing department is to make sure that when your buyer is at the start of the buying process, researching a solution for their problem, your company is one of the ones they call. 

They do this through many different methods, advertising, branding, SEO, content provision, social media and many more. 

The further they go along the buying journey though, the more the ball is in your court.

And to add post sale, how can your customers become champions and be the case studies for your product and service for your next customers. Aligning with Marketing to expand this through digital and PR is a must.

To conclude, good salespeople recognise the buying journey and pinpoint what stage their buyer is at. The best salespeople help them along the journey, and are rewarded by a deal at the end.

What do you think? What tips can you share about accelerating the buying process? Let me know in the comments below.

I plan to write a series of sales techniques that I have used in the past (trained and through self learning from books I have read) in my next articles.

If there are any topics you would like me to write about please feel free to get in touch, I’d like to hear from you.