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Mastering and Managing the Buying Process

This guide explores key strategies for mastering the buying process, focusing on how marketing can generate high-quality leads and maximize opportunities. It emphasizes understanding buyer behaviors, creating resonant messaging, and aligning information with buyers' needs throughout their journey. By adopting an outside-in perspective, aligning marketing and sales efforts, and strategically segmenting the market, businesses can enhance buyer engagement and drive sales effectiveness. Discover how to leverage insights and foster buyer confidence to ensure long-term success.

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Mastering and Managing the Buying Process

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  1. Mastering and Managingthe Buying Process Juliann M. Grant, Partner Telesian Technology Inc. julianng@telesian.com 978-681-1600

  2. Mastering The Buying ProcessBuilding Marketing Value That Drive Sales

  3. The Bottom Line… • Must generate high quality leads • Maximize every opportunity • Sales doesn’t give marketing any credit • Marketing could be doing more to leverage sales

  4. Principle of Leverage J. Paul Getty, who created one of the world's greatest fortunes, said: "I would rather make 1% on the efforts of 100 people than 100% on my own efforts.”

  5. Marketing Landmines • Shot Gun Approach • Leaving it all up to channel to succeed • Inconsistent contact with your market • Inside-out thinking

  6. Understanding The Buying Process • Understand buyer behaviors • Who are they • Know best times when are monies available • Motivators • Messaging is critical • Connect with your audience • Make your message different from your competitors • Take the competition test • What are you promising? (outside-in thinking)

  7. What is the Buying Process? • Thinking process for making purchases or investments for your programs/services • Puts you in the Buyer’s shoes • Emotions • Excitement, fear, cognitive dissonance • Needs • Pains • Informational

  8. The Buying Process Stages Awareness Interest Your Universe Confidence Close

  9. Why Is It Effective? • It is strategic and not tactical • It complements the sales cycle • It focuses on moving buyers through each stage of the decision process: • Persuasion • Conditioning • Establishing preferences

  10. Know Your Market • Market segmentation vitally important • Manufacturing is many markets • Discrete, Process, Utilities • Financial Services • Healthcare • Retail, CPG • New vs. existing • SIZE THEM ALL

  11. New Buyers vs. Customers • New Buyers • Need more background info • Want to feel good about you – warm and fuzzy • Need confidence in your offerings • Customers • Want to know what’s happened since they last communicated/invested • Validation of previous investment • Successes, new programs • Goals achieved

  12. Align Information Around Buyers • As buyers move through the process, their informational needs change • Early stages of buying • Mid stages of buying • Bought • Customer

  13. What Aisle, What Shelf? Help your buyers know where your products and services fit

  14. Market Strategically, Sell Tactically • Aligning messages, programs, tools around motivating needs • Urgent, important, useful • Address Customer lifecycle needs • Prospect to customer – the buzz, excitement, sexy bells and whistles • Existing customer – enhancement-based features

  15. Pre-List vs. Post-List • New buyers focus on pre-list requirements • New to product/solution • Buzz and excitement • New features, sexy • Ex. Open source, SOA, Java OS, Integration • Customers focus on post-list • Know product/solution • User-driven requirements • Make my current product work better • Ex., Need a user-defined field in database, want a place to add comments, want to add catalog search capability

  16. Balance is Key • Need both Pre-List and Post-List features addressed in new solutions and services • Customers place pressure on R&D for specific enhancements • Product marketing needs to understand pre-list features and speak for the market needs

  17. Messages Change Subtly • As stages progress, a buyer’s informational needs change • Early Stages • Bonding needs • Sorting process, information gathering • Stand out messages that help buyer understand why you are different • Mid-Stages • Setting evaluation criteria • Competitive positioning • How are your solutions better

  18. Uncovering Needs • Something required or desired that is lacking* • A condition in which help is required* *Webster’s New World Dictionary

  19. Needs Can Develop From Trigger Events • Revenue shortfall • Acquisition/merger • Industry issues, i.e., Compliance • New hires or reorganization • Outdated system • Broken internal processes

  20. Classifying Needs • Some needs are bigger than others • Urgent • Determines what and when they buy • Important • Influences what they evaluate • Useful • Influences what they look at

  21. Awareness Needs Analysis Interest Requirements Defined Interest --- Confidence Capabilities Demo Confidence--- Close Your Universe Negotiation Close Leverage Points Approval Leveraging the Sales Process

  22. What’s Happening in Each Buying Stage • Think like a buyer • Typical activities • Goals to move to the next stage Messages that Resonate

  23. Awareness:What’s happening? I have a need • Evangelize problem types solved • Prospects bond with problems • Shows expertise and experience of vendor • Buyer’s savvier today – most likely been through this type of purchase before

  24. Early Buying Stages: Building Awareness Awareness Needs Analysis Your Universe

  25. Awareness: Think Like a Buyer • “I’ve got this problem, and I need to solve it.” • “All the vendors kind of sound the same.” • Improve throughput, reduce costs…etc. • “I’ve got to sort through this clutter and figure out what will best to address my needs.” • “We already use XYZ, but what can a new product/technology do to resolve my problem?”

  26. Awareness: Buyer Activities • Information gathering: • Surf internet • Attend seminars, shows • Analyst reports • Talk to colleagues • Create list of potential companies to work with • Early stages of figuring out evaluation criteria

  27. Awareness: Vendor Activities • Search engine optimization • Advertising – web and print • Programs focused on evangelizing problems • Seminars, trade shows • Analyst relations • Public relations

  28. Getting to the Next Stage • Breakthrough the clutter! • Ensure your company finds its way on the prospect’s list of vendors to investigate • Want prospect to quickly understand why you are different than other vendors • Tools that help: Interview tools, White papers focused on problems/solutions and set criteria, customer list, partners, etc.

  29. Messages that Resonate • “Looks like many vendors can solve my problem.” • How is your solution different? • Is it new and exciting? How? • Who are you and what are you about • Not feature/function • Focus on problems, how you solve them, and benefits derived • Competitor test: If I inserted my competitor’s name in my position statement, could they claim it?

  30. Leveraging the Sales Process Awareness Needs Analysis Interest Requirements Defined Your Universe

  31. Developing Interest:What’s happening? • Prospects starting evaluation process • Have list of vendors they are interested in learning more about • RFPs and other evaluation criteria being defined • Beginning stages of buyer preference • Needs analysis

  32. Interest: Think Like A Buyer • What’s the best way to evaluate this solution for my problem? • Here’s what I know of the company and/or product, here’s what I really need to know • Which company has demonstrated experience with my kind of company? • What was the response from the companies so far? • Did they send information timely? • Did I get a return call?

  33. Interest: Buyer Activities • The bake-off begins! • Evaluation criteria formulates and evolves • In-depth corporate website surfing • Looking for “like” companies or scenarios • RFP is done and out, now reading the results – apples to apples comparison

  34. Interest: Vendor Activities • Sales tactics vs. marketing strategy • Needs analysis discussion • Uncovering problems • Conversations that build relationship and trust • Demonstrate understanding of their business • Product positioning tactics • Shaping the evaluation criteria • Educate on differences – technology highlights – laser vs. guided wave radar

  35. Getting to the Next Stage • Vendor building a good relationship • Helped the customer identify things that they did not think of before • Building preference over all others • Tools that help: Needs analysis docs, FAQs, key industry issues, features/advantages/benefits

  36. Messages that Resonate • Why is your product better • Help sales position your solution around the buyer’s needs • Competitive positioning tactics • Lay landmines, overcome obstacles • Leverage a weakness on competition and turn into a strength • Example: vertical focus vs. niche player

  37. Creating Confidence Awareness Needs Analysis Interest Requirements Defined Interest --- Confidence Capabilities Demo Your Universe

  38. Creating Confidence:What’s Happening • Proof, proof, and more proof • Show Me How Demonstrations • You vs. The Competition • Many influencers now engaged • Preference is established • Want to be the “preferred” vendor

  39. Confidence: Think Like a Buyer • “I really like Company X, but Company Y costs less.” • “We already use Company Y.” • “I really like Jim the rep, he and I work well together.” • “I don’t like Jim the rep, he’s a pain to work with.”

  40. Confidence: Buyer Activities • Closely evaluating products • Carefully comparing vendors and products against each other • Grading vendors on demo • Who did a better job, who worked in the whole scenario • What were the cool features • Negotiations around pricing • Building consensus on buying team • Looking at risks for doing business with a particular vendor

  41. Confidence: Vendor Activities • Product positioning • Strategic, Financial, Cultural, Operational Pains • Competitive positioning • Product/Feature/Capability Pains vis-à-vis competitors/categories of competitors

  42. Messages that Resonate • Stability • Low risk, safe bet • Demonstrated successes • Customer for life • Proven implementation methods • Training • Share their vision

  43. Getting to the Next Stage • Proving your company is the right partner • Risk management • Know your buyer • Tools that help: Annual reports, success stories, references, customer press releases, articles, analyst reports

  44. The Close Awareness Needs Analysis Interest Requirements Defined Interest --- Confidence Confidence--- Close Capabilities Demo Your Universe Negotiation Close Approval

  45. The Close: What’s Happening • Buyer knows what they want • They know how much they want to pay • Negotiations in play • Want to identify real ROI • Prospect looking for warm & fuzzies • Selling the system “up” to management

  46. Close: Activities • Checking references • ROI analysis • Contract negotiations • Terms, timing • Internal reviews • Consensus building on vendor/solution

  47. Getting to the Next Stage • A signed contract… • Tools that help: Annual reports, ROI calculator, corporate fact sheet, analyst endorsements, articles, positive press, project schedule, help desk, service accolades

  48. Mapping Your Tools & Programs

  49. Measuring Your Effectiveness Ask yourself these questions: • Where does it fit in buying process? • Do the messages address the concerns of this stage? • Do they overcome obstacles or create them? • How will this help move the prospect to the next stage?

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