Sales Should Never be a Battle Between Buyers and Sellers
- majorkeycreative
- Aug 8, 2016
- 4 min read
All too often, the interaction between buyers and sellers in B2B sales can feel like the clash of the titans. It can sometimes call to our imagination - the dreaded experience of buying a used car. B2B SaaS sales should never be a battle between the buyer and seller. Instead, it should be a relationship between a client and a trusted advisor that adds value to both parties. In every sales engagement, there should be trust, rapport, and ultimately, value for both parties.
First Impressions
Similar to most first impressions, the first sales call can determine the tempo of the evaluation process, or whether or not it continues. A slight misstep on the part of the buyer or seller can result in a lasting impact.
As a buyer, you're either evaluating software because you were tasked to do so, or because you've recognized a challenge or opportunity to improve an internal workflow/process. A quick Google search reveals there are dozens of similar solutions. You don't know where to start, how to filter, categorize, and stack rank them. You might pick the first couple you see, you might ask a friend or colleague for advice, or you might use a third party review site. Either way, you have a lot of work ahead of you and the last thing you want is a sales call from someone who doesn’t know about your business and doesn’t care about your problem, and just wants to sell you something.
Sellers:
Before you gain an understanding of the buyer, their business, and the challenges they’re looking to solve, do NOT:
Ask for the buyers budget, timeline, or signing authority
Read off your product’s list of features and functionality in its entirety
Ask them if they are ready to make a purchase today
Your main goal using a consultative approach is to gain a deep understanding about the buyer, their business, the challenges they are looking to solve, and provide them with valuable insight around how others in their industry are seeing success. Only after you’ve both determined their needs are aligned with your solution,should you be discussing next steps.
As a software sales rep, you've been tasked with maintaining a high volume of activity. Juggling demonstrations, follow up calls, admin duties, and internal meetings is a part of your daily routine. When you pick up that phone, the last thing you're hoping for is a prospective customer that has no idea what they want, withholds BANT (budget, authority, need, timeline), but still asks for pricing and a demo. Only to skip out on the scheduled meeting and eventually go cold on you.
Buyers:
The first call is meant to be an exploratory dialogue with a potential vendor. During this call, you should NOT:
Withhold relevant information pertaining to yourself, business, and current challenges
Withhold information pertaining to evaluation process, timeline, and key stakeholders
Use as a premature attempt to negotiate pricing and terms
Agree to schedule a meeting with no intention of attending
Don't be shy about sharing information if you’re serious about the evaluation. It’s important for you and the seller to be on the same page, and for them to gain a deep understanding of your circumstances in order to provide the best insight.
The first sales call should be engaging, informative, and insightful. If done well, there should be a level of understanding, rapport, and trust that will allow the buyer and seller to solidify a partnership and work in tandem during the evaluation process. There should also be an agreement on the timeline to conclude the evaluation and ultimately decide to buy or not to buy.
Next Steps and the Making of a Champion
Once the first call ends, the evaluation process begins. Depending on the product/industry involved, there can be a lengthy, complex process ahead. The buyer and seller should be working especially close together in exchanging documents and information, coordinating schedules for demos, follow up calls, and balancing multiple stakeholders with shifting personalities. In a smooth evaluation process, the seller should be able to provide the buyer with all the information they need, and the buyer should keep the seller in tune, with full visibility into internal progressions and potential roadblocks to proceeding.
A good seller and good product will turn a good buyer into a Champion. Champions are created when the buyer sees the value of a product they are evaluating and receives insights and value from the seller that will enable them to mobilize their internal team. This buyer will do a lot of work to ensure all key stakeholders involved are held accountable for providing necessary sign-offs and approvals. In many cases, the Champion buyer will have something to gain from the successful implementation of the product being evaluated, such as accolades, honorable mentions, and even promotions.
To Buy or Not to Buy, Pricing is the Question
A good evaluation process will inevitably lead to a final discussion around pricing and getting started. In some instances, this is where things go awry. It’s important to note on both sides that, if the shoe doesn’t fit, there’s no point getting into a pricing discussion. That is, if it hasn’t been decided that there is a product fit, the pricing/discount discussion is irrelevant. In a good buyer/seller relationship, pricing should be an easy conversation because there should be enough value add, and an idea of the ROI involved. If you make it to this stage and cannot come to an agreement, something went wrong in earlier conversations.
In today's information age, people can access to almost any piece of information with a few taps of a finger. The paradigm shift has had an impact when it comes to B2B sales. Gone are the days when the customers know minimal information and rely significantly on the sales reps for information. Because of this paradigm shift, some people believe that most smart buyers only contact the sales person when they're ready to make a purchase. This means that sellers need to provide more value than a discount to survive, and the good ones will.
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