President & CEO of ValueSelling Associates and a noted speaker, author and consultant.
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The term “buyer-centric sales” sounds self-explanatory, doesn’t it?
When you put your buyer at the center of the sales process, you key into their needs and achieve the outcomes that matter to them. Many sales organizations say they have adopted a buyer-centric approach, but have they really?
What does buyer-centric (or customer-centric) sales actually mean? Is it reflected in their training methods and their sales process? Do sales leaders have a different understanding of what it means to be buyer-centric when compared with their reps?
To find out, ValueSelling Associates and Training Industry conducted a survey of 260 sales leaders and 278 sales representatives across a range of industries and company types. In this article, I'll break down some of the most crucial strategies to develop a more buyer-centric sales methodology.
What is a buyer-centric sales approach?
Most sales leaders and sales reps agree on these five points that provide a more in-depth definition of what buyer-centric sales means.
• Putting the client’s goals and needs first.
• Creating authentic connections between salespeople and clients.
• Requiring salespeople to research and prepare insightful questions for client interactions.
• Working with prospects to uncover ideas for ideal solutions and then mapping solutions to that vision.
• Ensuring salespeople have industry expertise and/or experience.
The common theme here is that buyer-centricity can be tied to tangible selling behaviors—from researching to preparation and centering the interaction on the client’s goals. While there is agreement on how buyer-centric sales is defined, less than half of sales leaders and sales representatives said their organizations demonstrate a higher mastery of buyer-relevant skills than others in their market or industry. Clearly, there’s work to be done, so let’s look at the six steps leaders can take to meet buyers where they are and improve the overall customer experience.
Here are six steps to better serve buyers.
A human connection remains at the core of sales, despite the fact that remote work has become more common in many industries. Revenue teams must work harder to develop skills across teams, provide them with properly integrated tech, and measure the desired selling behaviors. Here are six best practices that organizations can use to align with a buyer-centric approach.
1. Use a common enterprise language to establish a buyer-centric culture.
Every aspect of the buying process—from research and lead generation to account management and customer support—should be designed with the customer in mind. A common language facilitates your ability to engage with customers to better understand their needs, improve CX and drive customer loyalty.
2. Create feedback loops.
Revenue teams need to harness feedback to forge a dialogue with prospects and clients—and to help identify problems and additional needs.
3. Address contextual challenges.
Sales orgs often struggle with underlying issues related to sales tech and sales skills. The right tech can greatly impact seller behavior, but its impact depends on how it is integrated into their workflow and used to support and enhance buyer-centric behaviors. And salespeople need continued skill development to foster deep conversations during discovery and to shape solutions that verifiably meet client needs.
4. Measure and reward buyer-centric behaviors.
By encouraging and rewarding customer-centric behavior, sales organizations can ensure that their sales teams remain focused on the tasks that meet the needs of their customers. This also lets customer-facing roles uncover additional needs and grow the relationship.
5. Leverage data & analytics.
Tracking metrics such as customer satisfaction, lead conversion rates and customer lifetime value means sales organizations can make data-driven decisions and adjust their sales approach to better meet the needs of buyers.
6. Provide ongoing sales training and support.
Training is often the crucial component in creating lasting behavioral change. Once you’ve successfully identified and developed the right sales behaviors, support can come through technology. This enables sales managers to streamline processes and focus on monitoring and cultivating buyer-centric behaviors.
Today’s sales leaders and sellers understand must put in the work to become more buyer-centric.
Our study revealed that 61% of sales leaders believe that even though a buyer-centric approach takes longer, it makes sense to use it because it is more effective. Meanwhile, sales reps focused on the amount of effort required; 59% of sales reps said that it makes sense to choose a buyer-centric approach instead of any other, even if it requires more effort. In today's competitive landscape, the buyer-centric approach can be a crucial competitive advantage to any company's sales processes.
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