In spite of, or because of, large buying committees, access to information, and strong referrals, buyers are still struggling to make the right choice in their buying decisions.
In today’s hyper focus on budget and expenses organizations are taking more time to evaluate tools, products, resources and more. They are scrutinizing every purchase, yet in spite of this, they are not making better decisions.
According to A Sales Growth Company’s recent survey of over 1200 B2B buyers, buyers are still experiencing just about a 50/50 success rate in their purchasing decisions. In other words, despite an increased level of due diligence, decision by committee and taking more time, buyers and their organizations are not buying the right product or service for the problems they are trying to fix. This lack of success in the buying process, depending on the functional group and the problems the organization is experiencing can lead to a myriad of problems including:
- Reduced profitability
- Inability to address the problem a second time, therefore allowing the problem or issue to continue
- Increased churn
- Increased manufacturing costs
- Reduction in productivity
- Poor customer success scores
- In ability to meet growth goals
- Longer servicing times
- Negative return on capital
This “cost” of buying the wrong product or solution can be extremely high and have widespread implications.
The information we uncovered was interesting, particularly because 27.6% of survey respondents said they DO NOT properly identify the size and scope of the problem before they start the buying process. This tells us, that buyers are quick to look for a “product” and product features which leads to poor problem alignment, especially if the salespeople themselves are pitching products. Product-centric buying combined with product-centric selling is having a very negative affect on buyers and their organizations. — Keenan CEO/President A Sales Growth Company
Inefficiencies in the Buyer’s Journey
Understanding this, it is our contention here at ASG, that assuming buyers know what they want and have done a proper analysis of their existing environment and the problems they are looking to solve is a poor assumption and one that is negatively impacting sales. Problem-centric “buying” is just as big a problem as problem-centric selling and it’s costing both buyers and sellers millions of dollars a year.
The old adage that buyers are 70% through the buying cycle before they reach out to sales, may be true, but what the data suggests is that it’s an inefficient and incomplete buying process, at least 1/2 the time.
Although only 48% of buyers report they have bought something they didn’t need or the wrong product, 68.7% said they rescoped the size and scope of the problem at least 1-2 times, 42.9% at least 3-4 times and 13.3% said they rescoped the problem 5-6 times. It is clear that in spite of all the effort buyers are putting into their buying process, there is a gap between how buyers buy and how sellers sell and this gap is leading to poor buying decisions.
Training Salespeople for Credibility
It’s never been more important for salespeople and sale organizations to position their sellers as credible, trusted, business advisors who are capable of helping prospects and buyers to solve the real, measurable business problems that are inhibiting their growth or operational efficiency. Unfortunately, the evidence shows that organizations lack the training, insight, and infrastructure to train and develop sellers to gain the necessary credibility with prospects.
To properly prepare sellers to move away from product-centric selling and to encourage buyers to stop product-centric buying, the following is required:
- A clear understanding of the problems your company solves for the buyers
- A strong robust business acumen in the field in which the sellers are selling
- A clear description and understanding of the company’s ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
In spite of what we’re told and the data, buyers struggle to buy, costing them millions of dollars in losses and lost productivity every year. Therefore, sales organizations that create and develop problem-centric buyers and are well positioned to help buyers identify and implement the best solution for them, will see the greatest increase in win rates, quota attainment and average contract value in today’s budget strapped selling environment.
0 Comments