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You have a buying process problem, not a selling problem
Guest articles > You have a buying process problem, not a selling problem
by: Sharon Drew Morgen
You know your solution. You understand your buyer’s need. You know how to sell. You understand the competition. You know how to price your solution, how to pitch it, how to run a presentation, how to follow up. You know the pitfalls, the follow-up procedures. Why aren’t you selling more then? Why aren’t prospects closing more?
I recently got a call from a prospect who said all of the above. Yes, they know everything – and do whatever they need to do, and do it well. Why aren’t they closing more? This is the perennial problem for a sales professional. It makes no sense: sellers can see the problem – seen it hundreds of times. You know your solution fits. Perfectly. The buyer knows they need you. The buyer is ok with the price. You two have a great relationship. And then they disappear, with about 90% of the other prospects you’ve been nurturing.
It’s an age old problem, one I’ve been talking about for 20 years. But after the conversations I’ve had this week, I thought it might be time to review.
THE SALES MODEL ONLY MANAGES 10% OF THE BUYING JOURNEY
It’s not the fault of your solution. The problem is with the sales process. It merely handles a tiny part of the buyer’s decision making. They actually have a rigorous set of change management activities they must complete, among colleagues and departments (or family members), before they can consider making a purchase. I’ve written a whole book about this (Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it). Let me share some insights (and then, if I’ve made some sense to you, go buy the book! or at least read the sample chapters).
Check out Sharon Drew Morgen's new book: Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it.
Or consider purchasing the bundle: Dirty Little Secrets plus my last book Buying Facilitation®: the new way to sell that influences and expands decisions. These books were written to be read together, as they offer the full complement of concepts to help you learn and understand Buying Facilitation® - the new skill set that gives you the ability to lead buyers through their buying decisions.
Contributor: Sharon Drew Morgen
Published here on: 05-Sep-10
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