Selling: You cant sell, if no-one NEEDs to buy

Unlike consumer sales, B2B buying decisions are rarely made because someone wants or would like a service or technology, instead they are the result of a NEED, which may be compelling…or not! These are the simple realities at the heart of corporate procurement. So why do sellers spend so little effort to uncover what this need is?

Putting “Buying Motivation” at the heart of your commercial strategy not only maintains focus on this reality, but it also provides a basis to help develop your technology, or services expansion, market messaging and of course your sales approach. How can you realistically say that you consider a lead has been a commercial opportunity without finding out why the customer needs to buy?

In ComSkiCom we work with our customers to identify why people buy their products and services, and jointly create a consolidated list of the different “Buying Motivations”. We then look at the functionality needed to be competitive in each domain. Inevitably some will be a better fit than others, and this in turns provides the basis of identifying what you need to add to be attractive to a wider customer base, as well provide more to your existing customers.

No two customers or markets are the same and it is a short hop to constructing a geographical or profile-based strategy. It all sounds so simple. Indeed it is as long as you ask the right questions, remove the noise, and consolidate it all in a coherent manner. So where do you go from here?.......lots of places!. Let’s look at a few.

Messaging: Each buying Motivation will have succinctly different market messages, especially when you identify you own strengths that you want to leverage. The domains also provide an excellent framework with which to capture best practices..what arguments worked best?.

Prospecting: Where are the countries, customers or environments best suited for your messages to resonate? If you identify ESG initiatives as a domain, where are the customers publicly stating their ESG efforts, or countries where legislation is in place or coming. The Buying Motivation allows you to build a database with sufficient granularity to proactively target customers with confidence.

Entry point: Proactive prospecting is a challenge at the best of times, but knowing where to start and with what message, makes this a little easier. If you are promoting your ESG credentials it will be more effective with the HSE team, than procurement buyers. Similarly you may prefer to start with technology experts if you are proposing new and innovative products. Applying the Buying Motivation helps shorten the route to the ultimate decision-makers.

Training: A challenge in any company is that very few have the same skills, and so training it often too generic to have the impact that is anticipated. It is also frequently poorly aligned with the business realities. Centering training around Buying Motivation domains avoids these pitfalls and helps identify what skills are needed in which area, and for whom.

Product development: If you know why people buy a product you can make sure you develop it to be more attractive to them.

Establishing your customer’s Buying Motivation is the key to sales success, and allows you to thrive knowing you are always aligned with what is important to your customers.