I recently had lunch with a former long-term client who works for a major financial institution in the Baltimore area. In light of my work at UST I always like to ask decision makers questions related to professional sales. Since Bill and his team deal with sales executives on a regular basis the topic of the World Wide Web and how it has changed the way they deal with sales executives made for a lively conversation.
He mentioned that when determining which hardware or software product to purchase, his team does all the research on-line BEFORE visiting with a sales exec. In other words he doesn’t rely on the sales person to provide the product information. There is so much information available on-line that it is not necessary to spend a lot of time with sales people until they have narrowed it down to 2 or 3 choices. He will then bring the representatives in to answer specific questions and ask for formal proposals. Now keep in mind that Bill is responsible for the acquisition of highly technical and mission critical solutions that cost millions of dollars. And he is extremely comfortable operating in this fashion.
One would have to assume that for products and services that are less expense and not as business critical that the same methodology holds true. This is a far cry from years ago when the salesman was the primary source of information for the prospect. Since the landscape has changed and the sales rep is now only called in AFTER the prospect does significant research what does that mean for our profession?
There are only two ways to view this paradigm shift.
1) The sales exec is only needed to negotiate pricing and terms and conditions since the prospect has essentially decided whom they want to purchase from.
OR
2) The sales exec must be more on his game than ever to win in this new
environment.
I’m sure you have already figured out where I stand on this debate. Yes it is true that prospects have tremendous resources available to narrow down their choices. And it is also true that the sales person might not be the primary source of information. But when the salesman finally gets engaged with the prospect it is now fair to assume that the decision process is far along. So if handled properly the time invested to close the sale should be reduced. So the benefit is the sales exec is potentially only called in when a decision is eminent and the prospect has determined that your company is in the final running.
Why not look at this as a positive? Now it is up to YOU to take the ball across the goal line from the 20 instead of the entire field. And the most important factor you should always be mindful of is people buy from people. This Universal Truth will never change. So it is up to you to differentiate your company and products from the competition. One would assume that you would have information and insight that your prospect could not glean from their own research. Additionally, and potentially more important is your prospect is not only making a decision to buy your product but also making a decision to do business with you on a long term basis. Because servicing the prospect AFTER the sale should be important as well.
Remember, you are not an order taker, but instead a professional sales exec. Figure out how to inspire confidence in your prospect and win the business.
If you enjoyed this article you may also like the blog I wrote on October 18th.
https://universalsalestruths.com/remain-focused-client-sale/