B2B sales strategies and trends

How to Be a Hero to Overwhelmed B2B Buyers

Before you lament the fact that today’s sales prospects dictate the buying process, consider this: a CEB study found that modern buyers are actually struggling to get through that process. With so much information at their fingertips and so many options to evaluate, many feel so overwhelmed that they suffer analysis paralysis. Perhaps that’s why one survey found that 22% of sales reps noticed buyers are actually more reliant on sales pros during their decision-making process.

Step up and be the one who smoothly guides buyers down that perilous path to purchase and you stand a strong chance of closing the deal. According to CEB, “suppliers that make buying easy are 62% likelier than other suppliers to win a high-quality sale (one in which the customer buys a premium offering).” Here’s how you can throw buyers a welcomed lifeline.

Give the Gift of Simplicity

According to CEB, 65% of B2B buyers spend as much time as they’d expected for the entire purchase just getting ready to speak with a sales rep. To make it easy for buyers to make a purchase, become part of the solution instead of adding to the problem. CEB encourages B2B sales pros to “simplify the customer’s buying burden by carefully guiding customers along a complex purchase journey they would struggle to navigate on their own.”

Since one of the biggest buying problems is feeling buried under information, focus on simplifying your outreach and pitches. It starts with research and ends with insights that get the attention of empowered yet overwhelmed buyers and ease their buyer journey. The good news is that you can tap into LinkedIn and other online sources for digital signals so that you can put buyers’ priorities front and center while ignoring irrelevant details that only add complexity.

Get Smart About What Matters to Your Buyers

As you get started, keep in mind the need to address buyers’ organizational and individual priorities. Your buyer or buying committee is making a purchase on behalf of their organization, and it’s a big deal to champion a shift from the status quo at any company. Both budget dollars and professional reputation are on the line. No wonder 77% of B2B buyers consider whether a vendor will support their company’s goals and 68% want a vendor to help sharpen their competitive differentiation.

To help your buyer become more competitive, first understand the buyer’s concerns and priorities in relation to their company’s strategic focus. Considering that most B2B purchases involve multiple stakeholders, identify the other key players in the account. Call upon social networks, company websites, and anyone connected in some way to your target account to uncover front-burner concerns, priority initiatives, and potential barriers to purchase. Combine this with real-time alerts on LinkedIn and other social networks about your potential buyer and key stakeholders to stay up to speed throughout the buying process.

Counter Lack of Clarity and Indecision by Zeroing In On Key Priorities

Aim to develop an information-rich file that helps you zero in on the buyer’s top one or two most critical priorities. Once you’ve identified those, you’ll have a better idea of how to put your insights to use. Plan your outreach strategy and craft concise messages focused on those priorities. Map your messages to the buyer’s buying process so the prospect finds them contextually relevant.

In the early stages, you’ll want to encourage the prospect to consider the most pressing issues associated with the potential purchase. By carefully writing your messages with these factors in mind, you can keep your communications relevant while helping the buyer understand where to focus. In other words, guide the prospect to consider important points while eliminating extraneous ones. In that way, you help clarify what the buyer should take into account – and what to discount. After all, 61% of B2B buyers cited lack of clarity and indecision as major barriers to purchase. Your job is to help them get crystal clear on why they should make a purchase now.

To help the buyer navigate the complex purchase process, explain how they can make the business case and drive consensus for a purchase within their company. You can strategically guide the prospect in securing buy-in by calling upon the insights you gleaned from other buying committee members during your research.

You can accomplish all of this via LinkedIn. Either reach out to buyers you are already connected with or look for a warm introduction from a mutual connection. You can also show you understand a buyer’s situation and priorities by commenting on their posts and joining in discussions. However you share your insights and experience with buyers, make it a priority to ease their purchase path and you will be well rewarded.

For more ways to strike a chord with modern B2B buyers, check out our guide, Read Me If You Want to Effectively Engage Decision Makers on LinkedIn.

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