What triggers that urge for your customer to make a buying decision?
Where does that electrical impulse come from that allows a customer to commit to a proposal or purchase a product?
I decided to spend some time analysing what has triggered my customers to make buying decisions. Having recently qualified as an mBIT (multiple brain integration techniques) coach, which looks at how we use our head, heart and gut brains to make important decisions, my main interest was in how my customers use their three brains.
As sales people we know the importance of marketing, branding, features and benefits e.t.c of our products/services. Analytically, logically and rationally there maybe no reason why anyone wouldn’t choose to go with our offerings, but all of this just appeals to the customer’s head (i.e their mind).
My research shows that buying decisions initially involves a lot of head based processes but just before the decision is made the customer’s gut felt it was the right thing to do. The customer’s heart also plays a very important role because customers buy from people they have a connection with; a sales person they built good rapport with that they can trust.
As a sales person it’s relatively easy to wrap our brain around a situation, an issue, a client’s perceived need and tailor our product or service to meets those needs. Marketing people spend a lot of time on promotions, ads and processes that will identify, promote and solve issues and meet client’s needs. These needs must be met in our products or services because our customer’s will be looking for these features and benefits – this is their logical head brain working. However, my research and experiences shows that what turns a prospect into a lifelong relationship as a customer, is a heartfelt connection.
It’s pretty old school thinking in sales to believe that it’s all to do with the number of calls, frequency of visits or the amount our target market has seen our message. As sales people we need to overcome old school thinking and go back to the reason why we got into the work that we do. Knowing our sense of purpose and why we believe that the service or product we are offering will make a real difference for our customers is key.
Caring about what we are selling and caring for the customer has to permeate and be real throughout an organisation. Sales people can have the best processes, scripts, marketing and persuasion skills but if they don’t care and have a clear sense of purpose about their role, they will struggle to build true rapport and have that heartfelt connection with their customers. My customers have told me that when a sales person feels genuine to them and demonstrates compassion that they then build a stronger connection.
From my own experience I know how it feels to connect with a customer when I am selling a service that I truly believe in that I know will make a real difference. When I walk away from a client meeting that really moved the ball forward and I feel that the client really got it, it feels like everyone involved has a bond towards a common goal.