In
previous posts, we’ve explored the reality of significant uncertainty today in
any complex B2B sale, such as “What
Is Causing Uncertainty?”. As we’ve discussed, we will almost never have
perfect information – and, in truth, we
can’t have perfect information. This would require all of the customer’s buying
influencers to be perfectly aligned on the outcomes they want to achieve and to
basically be experts in what they are buying – meaning they can easily “connect
the dots” between those desired outcomes and the best solution to deliver them.
Think of the risk we’re taking on!
Add
to that, the dynamic of being “sold to.” How many of us can’t wait for another
telemarketing call during dinner when we are at home? How many of us appreciate
hard sell tactics when we are at the car dealership or shopping for a major
appliance? I would bet not too many (my experience is salespeople as some of
the hardest to sell to – just saying).
Don’t we all want to feel we are making an informed decision? Aren’t we more willing to part with our money
when we get to participate in the buying
decision? And yet, too often we act like these aren’t important considerations
to our B2B customers. The inevitable result is lower conversion rates and extended
sales cycles with a heavy emphasis on price/discounts.