Understanding how clients make a decision: It's not about you
If you're in a sales or client-facing role, especially in the B2B sector, you are probably familiar with the traditional "Sales Funnel", which goes something like this: identify a target, engage your prospect, qualify their needs, align your capabilities, and finally, close the deal to make them an active client.
While this model is good for managing a sales pipeline, the problem with it is exactly that -- it's about making a sale.?It's all about YOU.?To create greater value for clients, you need to flip the model around and see it from THEIR perspective.?That is, you need to understand how they, as a company, make decisions.
All businesses, whether it's the small, family-owned noodle shop down the street, or a Fortune 500 client account you're trying to close, follow a very similar process in how they make important business decisions.?That includes deciding whether or not to work with you as an external provider of a service.
How companies make decisions: 7 steps
As you can see, it all starts with the client setting a BUSINESS GOAL that they want to achieve. Let's say you're a marketing consultant.?If your client prospect is a startup digital media company, for example, you might say their goal is to be in the Top 5 in terms of # of users and to capture 20% of market share in the next two to three years.?
To achieve that goal, they need to solve a number of CHALLENGES and problems they face both internally and externally.?One of the problems could be, say, market competition.?They might have a great product but they lack a comprehensive marketing strategy to corner emerging opportunities and to be able to compete with more established players in the market, and this in turn, creates a NEED.?That is, better marketing.??
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To fulfill this need, they then EVALUATE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS. Will they look to develop internally from within the existing team??Should internal Talent Acquisitions post a Job Ad to attract potential candidates from outside? Or will they consider working with external consultants to acquire the capabilities?
At some point, they might rule out promoting internal candidates because there's nobody in the team who can do the job, or decide that posting a job ad is not the way to go, so they're considering several external consultants -- somebody who understands their space very well, who has achieved a similar business goal in the past, or solved a similar problem.?
Now, if you happen to be one of the lucky ones to get into their shortlist, why would they choose to work with you??This is where you can differentiate yourself.?Most people with a "sales funnel" mindset, and therefore just want to make a quick sale, only see what they want to see.?That is, how they can fulfill the client's need by selling a solution.
But we often forget: needs don't exist on their own.?They're always tied to business goal your client wants to achieve, and a business problem they're trying to solve.?If you can demonstrate your razor-sharp understanding of these goals and problems to your client, then you've already taken the first big step to any successful negotiation: making the other person FEEL UNDERSTOOD.?Only then will you earn the right to prescribe a solution.?Only then will you stand head and shoulders above the rest.
This principle applies not only to sales situations, but also to other areas like job hunting, because a potential employer -- whether they're aware of it or not -- follows the same decision-making process as a potential client.
All of this seems like common sense, but not necessarily common practice.?So, the next time you try to win over a new client, put aside that "sales funnel" mindset for awhile and just focus on the other person. It's not about putting yourself in a strong position to make a sale.?It's more about putting the other person in a stronger position to make the right decision.