The Real Reason Your Buyer is Deep Into the Buying Process

Want to know why your dream client is deep into their buying process when they decide to explore working with a new partner?

Surprise! It’s not the Internet!

If you think your dream client is spending their day on the Internet researching your product, service, or solution, you are incorrect. Your dream client is buried alive trying to produce the business results they are charged with producing.

If you believe that your dream client is through the phase of the buying cycle where they begin to recognize their needs because they spent their day with their face all aglow from their laptop screen, you are mistaken.

If you assume that they are deep into identifying the options available to them before they ever speak to a salesperson because the Internet replace the need for a salesperson, you are suffering from a delusion brought on by your spending too much time on the Internet and buying the hype.

The primary reason your dream client is deep into the buying process when they decide to cast aside the status quo is because this isn’t the first time they have bought what you sell.

First Time at the Rodeo . . . Not

The reason your dream client is so deep into the buying process when you happen upon them is because they have already purchased what it is that you sell. They have probably made the decision to buy more than once or twice.

They know what they need because they have been using what you sell for a long time, and they believe they know what needs to change in order to get better results. They also know what a lot of their options look like. Not because they have spent their time on the Internet, but because your competitors have relentlessly called on them over the years, trying to nurture relationships. They have seen what’s available.

If your dream client is 60+ percent through their buying cycle before they first communicate with a salesperson, it’s because they have some experience buying what you sell. This ain’t their first time at the rodeo.

How You Sell

This whole “Internet” thing seems to have some legs. There is no reason to pretend that it’s a fad or that it’s going away. You and your company should have a killer presence on the web, one that helps you acquire clients.

But there isn’t any reason to pretend that there isn’t value to be created for your dream clients early in the process unless that value is housed on the Internet. This is criminal negligence.

If you are going to win your dream clients, you need to get in front of their buying process.

Getting in front of your client’s buying cycle means you prospect and nurture relationships. It means you need to help shape their needs, and you need to share ideas before your dream client is ever dissatisfied (creating value before claiming any). When you are out in front of an opportunity, you have the relationships, you are known, and you have a record of being a value creator.

When your dream client decides to move, they are going to look at your website for sure. But you are already going to be invited in for the plain and simple fact that you haven’t gone away at any time during the three years they exclusively used your competitor.

The real reason your dream client is deep into their buying process before they ever speak to a salesperson is because it’s not their first time buying. Sell like this is true and don’t fall behind the buying cycle. Instead, lead it.

Questions

Is the reason your clients are deep into their buying process because they have the Internet as a research tool? Or is it because they have bought enough times to be a sophisticated buyer?

How does the fact that your buyer has some ideas about what they need when they decided to change effect the decisions you make about how to sell?

If you really want your dream client to try something new, innovative, and disruptive, at what stage of the buying cycle do you want to approach them with your ideas?