Skip to main content

    Facilitating the Buying Process

    Bob Apollo
    Post by Bob Apollo
    March 7, 2009

    OK.  So you've managed to engage with a well qualified prospect who has issues they cannot afford not to deal with, and you're well placed to help them solve them.  How can you increase your chances of winning?

    The most important decision you can now make is to concentrate not on how you are going to sell but on how you are going to help your prospect to buy - through facilitating your prospect's buying process. 

    How and why do your prospects choose to buy?  Who are they likely to turn to for advice?  Who else is likely to be involved in the process?  Hopefully, you'll be starting with a sales process that reflects the typical process of buying in your markets - and then adapting it to what you are learning about this particular prospect.

    If you're an eagle salesperson, knowing how to advance the sale will probably come naturally to you.  But if you're one of the vast majority of sales people who could do with some support, you'll hopefully be able to call upon a sales playbook that provides a framework for having issues-led conversations with your prospect.

    Finally, you'll want to build credibility and trust.  Top performers distinguish themselves by having a rich collection of stories and anecdotes that allow them to sell through storytelling.  Somehow, when they talk with prospect, it always seems to come across as a conversation, rather than a pitch.

    Companies who have been able to master these three disciplines invariably manage to move more of their prospects further and faster through the buying process than their product-pitching competitors.  But they still have to ensure that the prospect is comfortable with committing to them.

    That's the subject of my next article...

    Bob Apollo
    Post by Bob Apollo
    March 7, 2009
    Bob Apollo is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales Professionals, a regular contributor to the International Journal of Sales Transformation and Top Sales World Magazine, and the driving force behind Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners, the leading proponents of outcome-centric selling. Following a successful corporate career spanning start-ups, scale-ups and market leaders, Bob now works as a strategic advisor, mentor, trainer and coach to ambitious B2B sales organisations - teaching them how to differentiate themselves through their provably superior approach to achieving their customer's desired outcomes.

    Comments