When buyer/seller harmony is achieved, more than a sale is made. Value is exchanged. Yet, for a number of reasons, sellers are about as in harmony with their buyers as I am in singing along with the radio.
They need some help.
Numerous barriers threaten buyer/seller harmony across all industries. Specifically in our B2B selling world, salespeople face high quota pressures, misalignment between product and marketing and sales teams, and a lack of the right value proposition and messaging to engage buyers.
But with the right skills, effort and mindset sellers cannot just overcome these barriers but attain a place of understanding and value exchange with their buyers. Read on for one of the top strategies for reaching this harmony.
Buyers Need to Be Seen
Sellers come off as pushy or one-sided to many buyers for the sole fact that buyers do not feel understood: Do you really know what I am up against? What can you say about my industry or customers that I am not aware of myself? Why would this be my best solution? What do you know? You surely do not get my situation.
When a seller truly understands buyers, the value messaging becomes clear and resonant.
But often, buyers are too deep within their role, organization, industry and situation to see the light of a solution on the other side — or even the initial challenge keeping them from achieving bigger and better themselves. They get stuck in the status quo. And they need a hero to see the true villain and rescue them.
Your salespeople can and should take on the role of hero to your buyers. Yet, they need to know what they are up against to best be prepared and succeed. After all, Batman would not know what tools to equip his belt with if he did not understand the villains he was up against, as well as the people he was saving. A seller who aims to be a hero should not only know about their buyers — they should know more about their buyers than the buyers know about themselves.
This means sellers must unearth, dig deep into and embrace:
- Buyer Pains and Challenges
- Buyer Motivations and Goals
- Relevant Use Cases
CSO Insights found that an overwhelming 90% of buyers would be open to engaging salespeople earlier in the buying process if sellers led with (1) something new for the buyer, (2) something risky for the organization or (3) the buyer themselves, and/or (4) something complex. In doing so, sellers are establishing real value exchange from the get-go.
When a seller truly understands the buyer’s needs, the solution and value messaging becomes clear and resonant with the right audiences. The buyer is better served. And the seller ends up saving the day in the end.
