Extra! Extra! Informed Guides close more sales

No matter what you're selling, but especially if you're selling something technical or complex, you can't assume that "the way we've always done it" will work for you now. "The way we've always done it" usually means that the salespeople have minimal training, and are set loose on customers.

Big Mistake. It was a smaller mistake back when salespeople could be "order takers," (I think that phrase was last heard sometime in 2007), but it's a catastrophic mistake now. Why? Because buyers have changed their behavior. Companies that adapted to those changes are doing OK. Those who haven't are slipping, fast.

The most significant change I see in buyer behavior is an increase in impatience. They have no patience for websites and salespeople that don't answer their most pressing questions. That's the first big hurdle you must overcome. Then, if you manage to answer their important questions, and meet their "Critical Criteria," they are impatient to make the purchase. They want your product or service NOW.

Let's look at these buyer dynamics using a fairly simple real-life example, but one that can be applied to even the most complex type of sale.

Real-life example of "Critical Criteria"

I'm buying another laptop. It has to have a large screen because of the kind of work I do (lots of spreadsheets, multiple windows open at once, etc.), and the screen has to be backlit for high-brightness conditions where I will be working. I also admit to being addicted to a pointing stick, because I am a very fast touch typist, and I can use the pointing stick without my fingers leaving the typing position. In that sense, the pointing stick is an even more efficient input device than the mouse next to my desktop computer keyboard.

Most buying processes start with Google these days. Like most buyers, the search string I started with (something like "laptop sunlight pointing stick") didn't give me the results I needed. After further research, I decided that a 15.4-inch screen and a backlit LCD were going to be sufficient for my needs. So the final search string was more like: "laptop 15.4 inch backlit LCD pointing stick."

Even then, what came up was not very helpful. What I really needed was a GUIDE, one of those "find the right laptop for you" tools. I tried a few, out of professional curiosity, but wasn't surprised when their "critical criteria" and my "critical criteria" were different - so they were basically useless. These guides, and most companies selling products, focus on the product's components rather than what the person is going to do with the product.

Useful guides - human or online - would ask, "How and where are you going to be using this?" Relevant choices would be: "In my office," "On airplanes, trains, and other public transportation," "On a boat or in a car - 12V environments," "Outdoors," etc.) Another great question the Guide would ask would be, "Which aspects of the product are most important to you?" Choices would include: "Having multiple windows open simultaneously," "Being able to work on battery power for long periods," "The input device - do you have a preference?" And so on. Note that none of this has anything to do with "memory" or "hard drive size" or "processor speed." These are the answers, not the questions.

To wrap up the laptop story, I ended up with another ThinkPad, partly because of that pointing stick. But they also offered backlit LCDs, which will help me in those "almost sunlit" situations. It took far too much searching in Lenovo's site to figure out which ThinkPads offered backlit screens, but non-Lenovo, published reviews (mostly blog-based) were the most helpful at sorting out the Lenovo product line. For example, this was more useful than this.

As I was buying, I found myself doing what I see my clients' buyers doing now:

• They use whatever methods they can to figure out who offers solutions for their problem.

   

   

• They are driven by several Critical Criteria. They search and search, every which way they can, including scouring discussion groups and customer reviews, to determine if someone can meet their Critical Criteria.

   

   

• Once they have finally found a company that can, or several companies, and their other questions are answered, they want to buy - NOW.

Obviously, the trick to closing more sales is to know what their Critical Criteria are, and to address those criteria FAST, either online or with your salespeople. This is where everyone is falling short.

Currently, websites are organized by product, product features (or even company structure!). Salespeople are kept in the dark and encouraged to feed clients BS. I just interviewed a customer for a new client who described his buying process, and it was obvious that the salesperson selling him a fairly complex product simply didn't understand one of the most critical words used to describe one of the product's functions. This led to a $50,000 misunderstanding - not in the customer's favor - and a very unhappy customer. Of course, as soon as I got off the phone, I called the CEO - my client. He called the customer, had a long conversation, and his people are now solving the customer's problem.

As I coach salespeople, I tell them their job is to be a guide - not a pusher or a manipulator. Their job is to understand what the customer wants - what are the most critical criteria? - and then help guide the customer to the right solution. And, if they don't have the right solution, they should say so, because that customer will never forget that little act of kindness, and will refer business to that salesperson from that day forward.

CEOs hire me so they can sell more. But it's their customers who are having trouble buying. It's terribly frustrating, more often than not, to figure out if your Critical Criteria can be met, who meets it, and how. Sellers don't make it any easier, on their websites and with their salespeople.

Extra, extra

If you want to sell more now, you can't "do it the way we've always done it." Today's buyers need something extra. They need you to identify their Critical Criteria, and then build your website - and train your salespeople - to address those concerns, upfront, efficiently, and honestly. If you do that, your buyer will think, "Oh, good. I can stop searching! Fantastic. Now all I have to do is place the order." And all you have to do is get it there as fast as possible.

Good for them, and good for you.