Three Reasons Why Trusted Advisors Win (according to customers)

We have been waiting quite a long time for new research about B2B buying experiences and behaviours. But now it is out there. Thank you, Mark Savinson, for sharing. It reveals many insights that prove that B2B Buyers are less interested in talking to salespeople unless they can be trusted and have advice to offer. What are the main findings? I picked three:

1. B2B buyers are nearly 70% through their purchasing process before engaging with sellers.
2. Buyers initiate first contact with sellers more than 80% of the time.
3. Globally, 72% of buyers hire consultants or analysts to help them make purchasing decisions.

According to customers, these are the three main reasons why Trusted Advisors win.

Let’s go through these three conclusions.

1. Buyers prefer to do the research without involving Salespeople.

We already knew this, but now this percentage has increased to 70% from 57-67% in 2020). It shows that B2B buyers still have the wrong perception of salespeople. I thought slowly we could observe a change, but it doesn’t seem that way. If buyers do not get the value they need out of sales meetings, then that experience will lead them to figure things out for themselves without salespeople.

THE MESSAGE FOR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY?

Sales: Avoid talking about yourself or your solutions in every customer interaction until your customer is ready for that conversation. Instead, prepare from the buyer’s perspective. Understand their situation and challenges. Put on your business acumen hat and provide insights that will help your customer change their perspective about growth opportunities and risks to avoid. Only Trusted Advisors can do this.

Marketing: Help customers change their perspective by providing thought-leadership content appropriate to buyer needs and preferences. Provide insightful articles and white papers that address the customers’ challenges. Organize educational events that deliver value to buyers outside of standard selling processes. Your messages will align with what your Trusted Advisors discuss at sales meetings.

2. Don’t Call Us, We Will Call You

The second finding is also alarming for salespeople using traditional sales processes. It is a clear message to Solution Sellers: Don’t call us; we’ll call you. Buyers must be fed up listening to salespeople who aim to find pain points and dissatisfaction. They have heard all these discovery questions before and are tired of answering them. These sales processes do not add any value. Questions created to identify gaps in current solutions are not what buyers are waiting for. They are busy with other things, e.g.:

• What is trending in my industry? What have I missed?  What risks are forecasted that I need to know?
• What are business growth ideas we have not explored yet?
• What works with other similar companies, and what doesn’t?
• What strategic direction will give us the most competitiveness?
• Who can help me influence other stakeholders in my organisation?

THE MESSAGE FOR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY

Sales: If buyers only seriously reach out to salespeople when they have decided on the solution criteria, you must ensure they want to talk to you before discussing what needs to change. The discussion you should be involved in is about why they should change. Trusted Advisors can do this. Other salespeople cannot. Changing perspective is a skill that requires using proper, relevant insights.

Trusted Advisors are strategic thinkers who can identify where stakeholders are in their buying process. They align their sales process to the customer’s buying process so that the discussed content is what the customer is looking for. They add value to the conversation because they have the same goal as the customer: helping them grow their business.

Marketing: Help your salespeople build digital relationships with prospects and customers. in simple words, Cold Calling is dead; Connect Calling is alive and kicking. Work together with Sales and write content that customers want to read. The 6Sense study has an underlying message:

Customers are overwhelmed and confused. They want help, but only from those who try to understand them

The first step is to inspire customers to read your content. It should be all about them, not about your company. Only then will they be willing to enter into a digital relationship with you and your sales teams. The right Digital Marketing activities must support the Sales objective of contacting customers early in their buying process.

3. Customers would prefer Trusted Advisors over Consultants.

The third finding doesn’t surprise me: Globally, 72% of buyers hire consultants or analysts to help them with purchasing decisions. They are overwhelmed by available online information. Customers need help, and they take action. The ultimate question is: who is the right consultant and will pick the right strategy? Hourly rates for strategic planning consultants can range from $100 to $500 per hour, depending on the consultant’s experience, reputation, and project complexity. That’s $800 to $3,000 per day.

So, in my view, it makes perfect sense to work hard to become a Trusted Advisor to your customers. If you are well prepared with a business growth idea that makes sense, with insights, articles, your experience and research that backs up your idea, I am sure you will create your customer’s interest early in their buying process. In fact, you may be the one who kick-starts their buying process. Ensure you have customer success stories to share and a rough calculation of the outcome of your business case. Doing all these things right, your customers do not find the need to hire strategic planning consultants. They are happy to see you as a Trusted Advisor on their team.

The overall message? Do what you can to become a Trusted Advisor to your customers.

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