This Is Next Level: Introducing Buyer-Focused Selling.

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the traditional sales playbook just doesn't cut it anymore.

That's why understanding the buyer has never been more crucial.

The challenges we face today, from rapid technological advancements to shifting market dynamics, require a sales approach that places the buyer at the heart of every strategy.

For senior sales executives and business leaders, it's imperative to pivot from traditional sales methods to a more buyer-centric approach.

Why?

It's Now A Buyer's World.

Today's buyers are empowered.

With a wealth of information at their fingertips, they often come to the table with a clear idea of what they want (or at least what they think they want).

Far too often now, the traditional sales playbook, which over-emphasizes the seller's perspective, is no longer effective. Instead, we need to delve deep into the buyer's world, understanding their motivations, challenges, needs and desires.

“In today's market, it's important for sellers to focus on the needs and wants of their Buyers, rather than just trying to push a product or service. Hence, a huge advantage is now waiting for those Sellers who are ready to embrace Buyer-Focused Selling.”

- Peter Strohkorb, Peter Strohkorb Sales Advisory

What's The Essence of a Buyer-Focused Sales Strategy?

A buyer-focused sales strategy is not just about understanding what the buyer wants, but aligning your sales process with the buyer's journey. It's a shift from pushing products, to understanding and addressing the specific needs and pain points of the buyer.

1. Deep Buyer Understanding:

This goes beyond knowing what your buyer wants. It's about understanding their industry, the challenges they face, their motivations, and even their risks and fears. It's this deep understanding that allows for true personalization and consequently buyer engagement.

2. Value-Driven Engagement:

In a buyer-focused sales strategy, every interaction should offer value. This means moving away from generic and product-focused sales pitches to tailored conversations that address the unique needs of each buyer.

3. Building Rapport and Trust Through Authenticity:

As I've mentioned in previous articles, trust is the foundation of any successful sales relationship. In a buyer-focused sales approach, trust is built by consistently placing the buyer's needs above all else, even if it needs to be at the expense of short-term success.

The Role of Advisor in a Buyer-Centric World.

In previous pieces, I've touched upon the evolution of the sales executive from a seller to an advisor. In a buyer-focused sales strategy, this role becomes even more pronounced.

Sales executives need to position themselves as trusted advisors, guiding buyers through their buying journey, offering insights, and helping them navigate challenges.

In essence, sellers now need HELP buyers to make informed buying decisions.

The Power of the Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel.

As many of you might recall from my earlier writings, the Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel is a paradigm shift in how we approach sales today. It emphasizes our understanding of where prospects truly are in their buying journey, and then tailoring our engagement strategies accordingly.

This not only streamlines the sales process but also ensures that we're always offering value, building trust, and fostering long-term relationships.

Transitioning to a Buyer-Focused Selling Model Is Easy.

1. Leverage Existing Tools: No Overhauls Needed

The beauty of this strategy is that it doesn't demand a complete tech transformation. Most organizations already possess robust CRM systems and digital platforms. It's about harnessing these tools more effectively, gleaning insights that cater to the modern buyer's preferences and pain points.

2. Real-world Success: The Proof is already in the Pudding

Many forward-thinking companies have already transitioned to a buyer-focused selling approach and are witnessing tangible benefits, such as increased conversions, lifted revenue, enhanced customer loyalty, and a surge in repeat business. They've successfully made the shift, and so can you.

3. Training and Transition: Easier Than You Think

Transitioning to a buyer-focused selling mindset is more about refining than redefining. Through proven programs, your sales team can effortlessly adapt, merging their existing expertise with fresh insights and techniques, tailored to today's buyers.

4. Metrics and KPIs: Same Goals, Clear Focus

You're likely already monitoring crucial metrics like lead conversion rates and customer satisfaction. A buyer-focused sales strategy offers a refined perspective on these numbers, ensuring your efforts are laser-focused on genuine buyer needs and successes.

5. Navigating the Change: Embrace the Evolution

Change, while inevitable, can be daunting. But with clear communication, unwavering leadership support, and a vision of the bigger picture, transitioning becomes a journey of growth, rather than a challenge.

How Long does the Transition take? And How Much does it Cost?

Any kind of change comes at a cost in time, effort, and money.

However, when it come to Buyer-Focused Selling the transitioning costs are surprisingly low, and the time it takes can be short, often just a few weeks.

Make sure you seek support from an external specialist, though. Going on this journey without the benefit of an unencumbered external perspective and an umpire external to the organization is unnecessarily risky.

Don't try to wing it or DIY the transition.

Too many things can go wrong if you don't follow a proven, structured program.

See concrete examples of proven Transitioning Models and Programs here.

In summary, the Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel helps your Sellers to…

1. View the sales process from your buyer’s perspective
2. Open right by engaging prospects into a business conversation
3. Fend off your competitors, effectively and innovatively
4. Be the last seller standing who wins the deal
5. Convert your first-time buyers into repeat customers
6. Turn customers into advocates who refer new buyers to your business

Developing your very own Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel.

There are ten critical competencies in The Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel.

At Peter Strohkorb Sales Advisor, we work together with you, our clients, to embed all 10 competencies into your business, and we make sure they work to accelerate your sales.

Now, what are those 10 competencies?

Here is a list for you:

Here's more detail for you.

1. Have a brand promise.

This is not something esoteric, nor trivial.

When a prospect decides which vendor to contact, one of the criteria they use to decide which vendors to put on their shortlist is customer experience. They'll ask themselves: "What's it like to be their customer?".

Very few sellers mention customer experience on their website or in their collateral.

This is where your business can stand out. It's a huge differentiator.

Together, we'll develop a brand promise that clearly and succinctly communicates what kind of customer experience your buyers can expect from your business.

Here's an example of a brand promise we developed for a client in the US:

In this example, at just one glance you can tell exactly what customers can expect from this business:

Expertise: "They know what they're doing". --> I.e. they can help me.

Speed: "They won't dillydally around". --> I.e. they won't waste my time.

Results: "They'll deliver". --> I.e. they'll bring us success and they'll make me look good to my boss.

So you can see just how important a good brand promise really is to attract the right kind of buyers to your business in the first place.

2. Have very clear descriptions of your products and services.

This point may seem trivial, but it isn't.

After all, the saying goes: "A confused mind says NO".

Meaning, if your prospects are unsure of what you're selling, they will not tell you.

Instead, they will just move on and quietly walk away.

So, it is super important that you make it easy for your buyers to understand exactly what it is they are getting from your business.

3. Make sure you have a unique value proposition.

Many business leaders THINK they have a unique value proposition (UVP), aka a unique selling proposition (USP) that differentiates their business.

Unfortunately, most businesses don't.

Even worse, many focus on what the business does, i.e. on its products and services. However, what potential buyers want to know most is how your business is DIFFERENT from the others, and what's in it for them.

So, your UVP needs to truly differentiate your business from your competitors' and make you unique in the eyes of your buyers. Of course, your UVP needs to be real.

And you need to be able to back up your UVP with facts.

4. Understand who your ideal customers are.

There is little point in selling to the wrong kind of customers. You'll waste a whole lot of time, effort and money, if you do.

So, it's critical that you define your ideal customer persona (ICP) before going out to promote your business and advertise your offerings.

Narrow down your ICP by specifying criteria, such as your ideal buyers' location, industry, business size, their job title, and even their personal motivations and ambitions, so you can target them accurately and successfully.

5. Know where to find them.

This one is easy.

Once you know WHO your ideal buyers are, you'll want to know WHERE you can find them, be it online or in-person. Again, so you can target them effectively.

6. How to engage your potential buyers effectively.

This is the most critical competency in the Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel.

Unfortunately, most sellers still use a lazy "Spray & Pray" approach to prospect engagement. Sending thousands of, often automated, sales messages in the hope of catching a prospect just as they are looking for what you're selling.

At Peter Strohkorb Sales Advisory, we make a huge distinction between "reaching out" to our ideal buyers, versus "engaging them in a business conversation".

In a previous article I have outlined the only 3 ways you can engage senior executive buyers these days. There, I describe how you create a “Lean-Forward Moment”, i.e. literally make your prospects lean forward and take an active interest in what you just told them, thus initiating a meaningful business conversation, instead of merely hitting them up with a sales pitch.

We work with our clients on the exact words they can use to engage their ideal buyers at the first point of contact. And we make it work for you, regardless of whether the engagement is inbound or outbound.

Contact me if that's something you'd like to explore further.

7. Fend off your competitors.

Very rarely will your business be the only one in the race a deal. Instead, you'll have to beat any number of other businesses that are also competing for the same prize.

We help our clients to discover what they can do to end up the last vendor standing, the one that wins the deal.

We teach our clients a proven method that kills your competitors dead, yet without badmouthing them.

Instead, our clients achieve this by sowing fear and doubt about your competitors by proactively raising the one subject that your competitors will not want to touch.

Talk to me, if you'd like to know more about this technique.

8. Have an effective Sales Proposal Process

Most businesses have a sales process.

However, very few have a sales proposal process, even though it gives them a huge unfair advantage.

We teach our clients this very effective technique. This is what one client said afterwards:

"This one technique just helped us secure a new multi-million Dollar project."

— Corey Veverka, President, TVS Inc, USA

9. Give your buyers a great buying experience.

A great pre-during- and post -purchase experience is more than just a "nice to have". In fact, it will be a huge boon for your business as it turns one-off buyers into repeat customers, and repeat customers into advocates who refer new sales opportunities to you.

Our clients learn the 7 simple, yet effective, customer experience principles to use in their business.

10. Implement a structured referral selling system.

Let's face it: Most businesses use referral selling sporadically, i.e. only when individual sellers think of it.

Even tough it is the easiest and most effective way to gain new leads and new customers.

Our clients discover how to turn their repeat customers into advocates who happily refer new business to them. We do that by setting up a great referral selling SYSTEM, with proper structure and metrics. So you can measure and manage progress.

Now you have the 10 competencies your business needs to be successful in buyer-focused selling.

In Conclusion: To Grow Sales, You Need To Truly Understand Your Buyers And Have a System To Manage The Buying Experience.

At its essence, adopting a buyer-focused approach is about deepening your understanding of the customer's journey. It's about ensuring that every touchpoint, from initial contact to post-purchase, resonates with their unique needs and aspirations.

The shift to a Buyer-Focused Selling Model isn't just a trend. It's the future of sales.

Equally, for senior sales executives and business leaders, this is more than just a strategy. It's an opportunity.

An opportunity to lead with buyer empathy, to truly connect, and to drive sales in a way that's not just effective, but also deeply resonant with the modern buyer's journey.

What's more, it is also the way to increase revenue and lift buyer experience. After all, a satisfied buyer will not only come back to bring repeat business. They will also refer new prospects to you and your business.

That's money in the bank.

Who wouldn't want that for their business?

Best of all: You can get ahead of the curve, right now.

Are you Ready? Let's talk...

Thank you for reading this article.

Peter Strohkorb

About Peter Strohkorb Sales Advisory

Peter Strohkorb?is the Founder and Principal of?Peter Strohkorb Advisory, the Sales Acceleration Advisory firm with a growing list of clients in the b2b services and tech space in the USA, in Australia and in the UK.

Our motto is?"Your Sales Growth. Co-Created.",?and that is exactly what we deliver to you, our clients.

Let's chat about modern Buyer-Focused Selling.

Contact

Australia: +61 (0)411 865 301?

[email protected]

USA:?+1 628-266-0787??

visit: peterstrohkorb.com