"I don't want to advance the sale quickly. I'd like to slow down the sales process and move from opening to closing more slowly," said no seller ever.
That's why, on a recent webcast for Microsoft, sales gurus Barbara Giamanco, Tibor Shanto and I dissected the issues related to accelerating the sales process. We talked about what slows down the sales cycle and what sellers can do to advance the sale more quickly.
We addressed the ways that buyers have impacted the traditional sales cycle. There are more decision makers involved in B2B purchases. Buyers work themselves through more of their own buying process before meeting with a seller. Buyer-side research from the CEB (as reported in The Challenger Customer) paints a daunting scenario for sellers. Sellers today need to understand the differing needs of multiple decision makers and intersect with the right ones at the right times in the right ways.
We could stop there and use this new reality to rationalize our slower sales cycles. But there's more to the story. Sellers can advance the sale despite the complexity in the buying process.
In our research with 530 B2B buyers, we identified 30 specific behaviors that cause buyers to be more willing to meet with and buy from sellers. When sellers demonstrate these behaviors more frequently, they are more likely to advance the sale.
The 30 behaviors buyers respond to so favorably are behaviors more traditionally associated with leadership. In fact, that's where we found these 30 behaviors. They are closely linked to the behaviors researched in The Leadership Challenge® body of work by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. What we know from the 30+ years of work with over 1 million leaders in 72 countries is that people more willingly follow the leaders who more frequently exhibit these behaviors.
Our theory was that buyers would respond to sellers who demonstrated these 30 behaviors just as followers respond to leaders. The B2B buyer study and our in-field observations support that theory.
To advance the sale, you need to stop selling
It's every bit as important to define what buyers don't want from sellers. While we did not specifically ask buyers for that input, they openly and emphatically gave us their opinions about what sellers should stop doing.
Their open response comments, though unsolicited, were remarkably consistent. Buyers do not want to be subjected to stereotypical sales behaviors, outdated techniques and slippery tactics. Sales behaviors are off-putting and slow down (or shut down) the sales cycle. Buyers resist sellers who exhibit behaviors like these:
- Over-promising and under-delivering
- Asking self-serving questions to qualify a prospect
- Talking about irrelevant or low interest topics
- Dodging buyer questions
- Using generic assessment questions or pitches
- Crafting solutions without buyer involvement
- Going for the easy sale instead of bringing new ideas and value
Before you leap to "not me" defenses, beware. Nearly every one of the 530 buyers in our study said they would like to see more frequency of different behaviors even from the sellers they are currently choosing to do business with. We all have room for improvement.
To advance the sale, you need to start leading
Let's start by breaking down the Kouzes/Posner definition of leadership. They say leadership is "the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations." So:
- When you are leading, you're authentically putting yourself into the work. It's art, not a robotic sales process. It's you creating something with your buyer.
- When you are leading, you mobilize your buyers. They are ready to take action with you.
- When you are leading, buyers believe in you and what you bring to them. They believe so completely that they are willing to struggle to make it happen.
- When you are leading, it's not self-serving. The shared aspirations include the buyer's desires and you showcase those in your plan.
Leaders don't determine where to go and hope others will follow. They confer and collaborate to read their followers and find the common goals. They co-create a compelling vision and enlist others in that vision. That's why people willingly choose to follow.
Sellers take a different approach, one that is too often validated by off-the-shelf training programs and pressed by a focus on goal attainment. Instead of taking time to learn about buyer desires and lead by mobilizing around those shared aspirations, sellers default to process and sales techniques.
Of course, there's much more that leaders do that's different from what sellers do. That's why it's going to take 52 weeks worth of blog posts to share all of this with you. For now, and week by week, start asking yourself if your behaviors are those of a leader or those of a seller.
To advance the sale, you need to pay attention to the buyer's process vs. the sales process
One more consideration if you want to advance the sale. Use your sales process as a series of guideposts, but remain flexible enough to follow the detours your buyers want you to take with them.
The HubSpot Sales Perception study with buyers and sellers illustrates the stark contrast between what buyers want to talk about and what sellers choose to talk about. This derails sales instead of advancing them. The lack of alignment alienates buyers instead of positioning sellers as leaders who can bring value.
Here's the good news. It all boils down to a choice. You get to choose your own behaviors. We know which behaviors buyers prefer, and we know why it makes sense to Stop Selling& Start Leading®... all that's left is you making a choice.
