Overcoming the Fear of Buying
Understanding What’s Driving Your Sales Prospect’s Purchase Decision
You may be selling products to business people, but that doesn’t mean your sales prospect is any more rational than your everyday consumer. This is what a recent study, conducted by Enquiro, called the “The BuyerSphere Project” contends. As much as we’d like to think the B2B buying process is rational and methodical, it’s really not. As the study claims - “B2B buying decisions are based on one emotion - fear.”
When a person is responsible for making purchase decisions for their organization, they’re taking on, not only financial and resource risk for the organization, but also professional risk. If they make a bad decision, it’s their own reputation and even possibly their job that’s on the line. Knowing this, will it affect the way you approach your Internet sales prospects?
How the Risk-Averse Buyer Is Shopping Today
The business buyer who submits an Internet lead on an independent (non-vendor) website is shopping there because they want objective information and they want to weigh their options before making a decision. You may have heard the old saying, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” But while a strong brand name can never be underestimated (especially with the risk-averse business buyer), in today’s Internet retailing environment, it’s become the norm for people to shop around and compare before they buy. The BuyerSphere study also found this to be true: the higher the risk of a purchase (expensive and resource intensive decisions), the more B2B buyers rely on getting trusted information online in addition to word of mouth recommendations.
Reputation and Online Presence
Because you’re dealing with a sales prospect who is risk-averse and shopping around, having a solid online reputation is essential. You may have a great website with case studies and testimonials, but in today’s marketplace, that is no longer enough. Your marketing message and reputation needs to consistently instill trust and confidence wherever your target audience is shopping. This means being mindful of your presence on relevant social media platforms as well as shopping comparison sites. Consistency, accurate product representation, and fresh information are key – across the board. Your goal is to win the confidence of your sales prospects wherever they are learning about your products online.
Building Trust During the Sales Process
As it is with your marketing messages, so it should be with your sales process. Goal-oriented sales people can’t overlook the risk their sales prospect is taking on by giving them their time and attention. Before a sales person gets the chance to present all the benefits of their products, they may have to overcome the biggest obstacle in their path first - their business prospect’s fear of buying. You may be dealing with an Internet lead – a hand raiser who has already requested information on your products - but you’ll still need to use all of your trust and relationship building skills to win them over and help them be fully confident about their decision.