B2B Buying is Really Hard

I have been writing a lot about Selling with the Buyer’s Perspective. Thousands of sales executives are using this new selling approach with great results worldwide. Something is worrying me, though: when the going gets tough, and sales directors and senior management are under pressure, will the front line be able to keep their confidence up? Or will they succumb to that pressure and fall back to the old tactical solution-selling approach?

Selling with the Buyer’s Perspective requires a different mindset and the application of new selling skills and behaviours. This blog encourages you to keep going and push yourself to do the best you can in Selling with the Buyer’s Perspective. Do you know why? The reason is, and has always been, to see selling from the customer’s point of view: B2B buying is really hard. That’s it: B2B buying is painful, frustrating and distressing. And that is our opportunity.

A long, hard slog

The buying process starts when someone in the organisation has a complaint or identifies a problem hindering the company’s performance. It can also be that someone has an idea that, in their view, needs to be explored to generate more customers and/or orders. Any change accepted as a priority needs to drive a better top or bottom line—or both.

Changing suppliers is not even a consideration at this stage. There are other questions to be answered:

What is the problem/idea?
Is it a high priority?
Who is involved?
What are possible solutions?
Which criteria matter?
How much should we spend?
Should we issue an RFP?
How do we evaluate the offerings?

If only it were that simple, a single, straightforward process. But it is not. Instead, as they want to move forward towards decisions about which supplier is the best fit to deliver the desired results, the process is slowed down and becomes a long, hard slog.

Getting stuck

During ‘Problem Identification’, stakeholders disagree on the scope. More functions get involved, and more data to review is requested. Are the roots of the problem identified, or are these symptoms instead? Should they be solved with current suppliers? Often, Buyers prefer a fix over a change. In addition, the available information on the web is overwhelming. White Papers are downloaded and put forward to key stakeholders for review. Have they been looking at the wrong area to improve? Should they involve consultants? Often, an idea doesn’t get further than this. It’s stuck. And if it moves forward, then proposals for a budget to further explore the original problem or idea are presented to the Executive Level. Decisions are made….and the status quo is preferred over a change.

Guess what? Even if an idea or a problem to fix makes it to Solution Exploration, the whole long-winded process starts again. Be not surprised that Procurement gets involved early.

What seemed to be so clear and easy to some is now surrounded by dark clouds and headwinds by others.

Selling is Helping

Be confident that this state of buyers’ frustration, confusion and being overwhelmed is exactly your opportunity. Use it. Avoid pitching products and solutions or why you are better than the competition. That doesn’t help. In fact, such an approach would work against you. Instead, show you understand their situation, frustrations and, above all, their challenges. Focus on how you can help grow their business. Helping comes before selling. Bring your best business acumen to the table and back your ideas up with third-party research. Mention that you have helped other similar customers with similar challenges. Have customer stories, references, and business cases ready to increase the customer’s confidence in moving forward. With this approach, you are helping your stakeholders to make sense of this whirlpool of spinning around and not moving forward. B2B buying is really hard, and they need your help.

I am convinced you can do it, as long as you sell with the Buyer’s Perspective.

If you like this post, forward it to your colleagues who need some encouragement.