Actions Speak Louder Than Words in B2B Sales

I've written of the inconsistency of how b2b salespeople focus their energy in selling versus what buying decision-makers actually are looking for from a vendor. Sellers are taught to focus on pre-sales activities and buyers are looking for predictors of how well they'll be supported after they make the purchase.

Sellers focus on presenting product or service features and making support commitments (words—often lots of words), and the customer is trying to predict performance (actions—or lack thereof). In making predictions, buying decision-makers have learned that words are not enough; every salesperson is well armed with those. All sales people know how to make promises!

What buyers look for are actions. They look for activities that allow them to predict that they are important to the seller, and that the salesperson has the chutzpah to see their commitments through.

Every decision-maker with buying authority has had the same experience. Usually it happens early in their career. They establish an emotional connection to a salesperson based on personality profiling. "Oh, Joe is such a great guy, he reminds me of my buddies at college, he'll never let me down!" And then he does! Joe makes the sale and is out on his next conquest. The buyer has a disappointment with the product and Joe is nowhere to be found.

Buyers want to avoid post-purchase trauma at all costs. Post-sale support failures cost them time and political capital. They learn early to look for the seller that will be there after the purchase and help them deal with any and all potential service disappointments.

So what helps the buyer predict good post-sales behavior on the part of the salesperson? Actions!

• Actions that demonstrate the seller cares about the buying organization and has a history of success.
  
• Actions that predict the seller is predisposed to post-sale support and understands the buyers internal organizational stressors.
  
• Actions that show power and influence within their own organization so they can see through on their commitments.
  
• Actions that show respect for the decision-maker's time.
  
• Actions that help the buyer win support from co-workers and internal customers.
  
• Actions that position the seller as trustworthy.
  

  
   

In short, there are specific actions that help the buyer get over their fear of making a purchase. Without those actions, the buyer is left with defending their purchase because they got "the lowest possible price". If you don't want to be the low-price guy, then be the 'best possible partner' guy and demonstrate exceptional post-sales support behaviors!

Post-Sales Behavior Key to Winning B2B Sales

As the SVP of Purchasing for a national buying cooperative, I've worked with hundreds of professional decision makers in evaluating salespeople from some of the most prestigious companies in the country. I can tell you with certainty that successful companies selling to other businesses, do not send in shoddy representatives.

 

The salespeople that enter a business looking to extend or begin a b2b relationship are good-looking, articulate, well-trained, personable folks who are comfortable in business settings communicating with other professional business people. Yes, there are minor differences in personality types and corporate culture matches, but generally, professional salespeople can make the client comfortable with them on a personal level fairly quickly. The days of a corporate representative's stereotype being overbearing, pushy or crass are largely over.

 

And that's the rub with professional salespeople. For the most part, the individuals on any sales team can easily move to a competitive sales group and you'd never know the difference. In fact, I was involved in numerous committee style vendor review panels. In these panels, a representative group of our cooperatives' decision-makers would hear presentations from up to six prospective vendor teams in a single day. At the end of the day our committee would have dinner together to 'download' our impressions of the days presenters.

 

It was common to have someone from the committee remark how similar the presentations were. In fact, one gentleman challenged the group, "If you recorded every presentation that day and bleeped out the company names, who here could tell the difference between the presentations?" Upon momentary contemplation of the question, there was a wave of laughter that swept over the room. After much discussion it was agreed that every presentation was remarkably similar. Same tone, same style, same general information with very similar 'here's why our customers choose to do business with us' commentary.

 

The reality is that pre-sales interactions with virtually any reputable company are very similar. There is very little chance to separate yourself from your competitors with words alone.

 

So if most salespeople look the same before the sale is made (in the courtship phase if you will), how do buyers decide with whom to do business? Professional decision-makers use a formula to predict how well the salesperson will support them after the sale. That's right, buyers focus on what happens AFTER the sale.

 

And that is the disconnect between most sales training and the sellers subsequent performance. The salesperson is taught to focus on one-to-one communication styles, presentations and pre-sale meetings. The buyer is judging them on how well they predict the salesperson will perform after the sale is made. Two completely different scales.

 

Why do buyer's focus on the seller's post-sales behaviors? That one's easy. Because that is were the good salesperson pulls away from the pack. Pre-sales skills (selling features and making promises of post sale support) are easy to learn and express by most people. But having the power and influence to see their promises through are not so easy.

 

In fact, that's the real lesson I learned as a professional with buying authority: every salesperson knows how to make promises. It is the exception that can prove they have the internal influence to see them through! Successfully position yourself as a person that can benefit the buyer after the sale is made, and you'll set yourself apart from the competition and improve your sales results.

 

I'll tell you how to accomplish setting yourself apart in future articles. If you want to learn more now go to ww.whatbuyerswant.net