If you’ve been reading blogs about B2B sales and marketing, you’ve likely heard that “the buyer now controls the sales process.” The statement is repeated often because it’s true, and a failure to incorporate this truth into your sales strategy will cause you to lose customers to your competitors.
The buyer’s new power is a result of the internet and internet-based technologies. Whereas going through a list of vendors from an industry magazine or browsing booths at a trade show used to be how your B2B buyer found you, the buyer now has many more resources available to help them make purchasing decisions.
Buyers now get their information in the form of digital articles, blog posts, tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, Instagram pictures, webcasts, etc. This increasing interaction with digital information on a mass level has not only affected the economic structure of business, but the sociological one as well.
As the buying process changed with the introduction of web-based technologies, buyers changed too. Buyers adapted new traits and behaviors conducive to the new digital space they occupy. By understanding these new traits or characteristics and incorporating these insights into your sales strategies, you can make better connections, earn more trust and ultimately, close more deals.
We have a strong belief that more and more B2B products are “Bought” then “Sold”. The habits of buyers are now proving that the buyer wants to feel like they are in control of their education and early stage buying process. Once they have short listed and “bought,” they are much more open to being “sold” by your closer. Because let’s face it, it’s much more fun to buy something than to be sold.
In this four part blog series (this is part 1), we outline six “types” or buyer personas of B2B buyers that occupy the digital space and offer some practical tips on how to adapt your sales and marketing strategies to make it easier for your buyer.
As a quick summary of the types:
The first buyer persona is the Window Shopper, whose flighty tendencies disturb the normal B2B buying timeline. Next, we have the Device Queen who spends half of her time on her iPad. Then, we have the Mystery Man—this guy is as intriguing as he is annoying. Then there is the Eager Beaver who wants everything done, like yesterday. Next is the Worrywart, who needs a bit of hand-holding to be assured he is making the right choice. Last, we have the Know-it-All who forces you to be at the top of your game if you want to impress.
For the next part of this blog series profiling the first two buyer personas, click here.
If you would like more educational content on how integrating insights about your buyers with marketing automation can affect your sales, click here. To learn more about the sales and marketing outsourcing services we offer (including marketing automation implementation, content development and lead nurturing), you can check out our services page. If you are interested in a free review of your sales cycle, you can request one here.
