The challenge with many sales organizations is that reps are so intently focused on the selling cycle they lose sight of the buying process they are trapped in for
reasons beyond their control.  In the high value or complex sale, in order to effectively sell, reps need first to understand exactly how your customers go about buying and help facilitate that potential barricade.

How long ago did you buy your last vehicle?  Are you a compulsive buyer who drove by an automobile dealer one day, saw a nice looking $50,000  SUV in the lot,
and went in and just bought it? I am sure that some do, but I don’t. When risk or investment is high, most buyers first do a fair amount of research.  For businesses making capital investments, the first step is to recognize that they have a problem and to articulate it.  As a study done a few years ago for HP revealed that executives work to first understand their underlying needs, set objectives, and then set a strategy for identifying, evaluating and integrating a solution.  It is at this early time in their process when the CEO and senior management gets most involved.  It is at this time that they eagerly scour Google, read articles in trade journals, search for information on the Internet, attend trade shows, talk with consultants, and ask other companies in their industry what they have done to solve a similar problem. It is during this stage that these companies are seeking answers, even from helpful vendors.

Unfortunately, when a sales rep hears from a customer “…we  have no budget yet.…”, “…we are just looking around….”, or “….we don’t expect to do anything for another 12 months….” Her/his patience or compensation quickly turns off any immediate interest in that customer.  Sales reps are rewarded for sales they make today, this quarter, not a year from now.

Now, look what happens when this same customer finally gets a budget and is actually, seriously ready to evaluate different options and sources.  The sales rep gets excited but as Mark Twain said, “When you need a friend it’s already way too late to make one” At this stage senior management is now dropping out of the actual buying process.  Your sales rep now will find even the best “consultative” or solution selling methodology will be difficult to use.  The vision has already been set during Phases 1,2,3.  The strategy is already solidly in place.  The rep at this stage is working with analysts or staff members, often responding to a RFQ for RFP well beyond any chance to interact and influence the real decision authorities at the ‘C’ level. You may be trapped in a sea of bureaucrats, isolated to where your benefits will most resonate.

Clearly, the best time to do your most effective selling is long before the customer is ready to consider different vendors.  In fact, the more complex the product you sell, the more critical the need to help them very earlier in their buying cycle.

But how can you do this effectively?  After all, it is at this very stage of their buying process that the customer does not want to be “sold to”.  And few would even accept regular phone calls from your sales reps at this late phase of the process, even if sales reps did have the time, persistence and motivation to make them.

If the early nurturing stages is the most receptive, then, appropriate time for gentle, intelligent, nurturing is often the most ignored time of the relationship by ignoring this most-vital selling behavior to be engaged in at this point.

Good Nurturing

Jim