Just How Focused On Buyer Needs Are You?

Salespeople spend nine-times longer talking about their solutions and companies than about the needs of the buyer. This means they are up to nine-times more likely to get it wrong.

How do you know if you are more focused on the buyer’s needs rather than your solution?

Review the language you use in sales pitches, presentations and proposals, and using the table below circle the words that dominate your sales vocabulary.

You should be concerned if you are using the seller-focused language on the left-hand-side of the previous table. However, if you find you are using the words on the right, it is a strong indicator that you are focused on the real needs of potential buyers.

The Challenge Of Uncovering Needs

So, what is so difficult about finding out about the buyer’s needs before arriving at a solution?  Well here are some possible answers:

•      The buyer is reluctant to reveal the full details of their problem to the seller.

•      The buyer tells the salesperson what is wanted and the seller accepts it on face value.

•      The salesperson does not have the knowledge or confidence to uncover the buyer’s needs.

•      The problem is obvious to the salesperson so getting straight to the solution makes sense.

•      The seller assumes that the buyer can join the dots and link the solution to their problem.

•      The seller believes blindly that their solution is the best regardless of the specific needs of the customer.

•      Time with the buyer is limited so communicating key product information is a priority.

•      The salesperson is selling at the wrong level (i.e. too low down) or selling to the wrong organization.

Posted by Ray Collis on 10:36 pm. Filed under 5 First Needs, Then Solutions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry