Betsy Buckley of What Matters spoke at the Sales Shebang about a major factor that prevents buyers from making purchasing decisions.
Often, sellers focus only on telling potential buyers about the benefits of their product or service. In many cases, however, there's a hidden dynamic at work in the sales process.
Believe it or not, many people who are buying today are scared.
If it's their company, they're worried that making the wrong decision could destroy them. If they're working for someone else, their job could be on the line if they make the wrong choice.
Betsy addressed what sellers can do to shift that fear away. She talked about identifying the interpersonal aspects of selling: when contacting someone involved in purchasing, the seller needs to consider who else needs to know what they do, how the contact can share that information with them, and how the seller can keep the conversation grounded.
Many times, potential buyers are held up in their decision because they don't know how to tell the other important decision makers about their decision.
Why are they choosing to go with this seller? Why do they need the new product/service? How does this decision benefit the company?
Betsy said that this essential information cannot just be given to the potential buyer. It's not as simple as running down a list on the phone, or sending over a fax.
To really give a potential buyer the information they need to make their decision and talk to others about it, sellers need to go beyond telling, and show their potential buyers what they have to offer.
Sellers need to be generous with their knowledge and help buyers learn the information they need to know. They need to think about the questions the buyer is facing, and share their wisdom in a way that will get the buyer to where they feel confident about the experience.
According to Betsy, many sellers are hesitant to give away information for free. What they know is valuable and they feel that customers should pay for it.
However, the more complex a sale is, the more fear haunts buyers.
Having that valuable information at their disposal not only makes them more confident about their purchasing decision, it also predisposes them towards the provider of that information as someone who wants to help their business succeed.
Betsy reminded attendees that sharing their wisdom and knowledge is a fantastic way for buyers to experience how it will be to work with them.
And when buyers are operating in a tense environment where decisions are incredibly important, knowing the experience they will have with a seller ahead of time can be a powerful factor in their buying decisions.
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