A Needle in a Haystack
Today, finding the right product can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. In your B2B business, how do you help customers find and choose your products? The best answer is to focus on your stakeholders – know what they want.
A Complex Task
In addition, Knowing your stakeholders is a complex task, as there tend to be many involved in any one deal. For example, a typical manufacturing decision-making team comprises executives, management, operations, and purchasing staff. Add to this mix the prevalence of buying committees. According to a recent SMB survey, 80% of companies have buying committees that influence decisions today.
Value-Added Requirements
As authors Richardson and Sharer discuss in their book Agile and Resilient, this mix of stakeholders influences how you approach the sales journey. They report, “Three big changes we have identified where sellers need to become more adept are: selling to committees, working with purchasing/procurement, and selling to the C-suite.”
In addition, sellers must tailor their conversations, marketing messages, and sales tools to all stakeholders. For this purpose, sellers need to identify the stakeholders’ value-added requirements.
Mine Your Data
Therefore, mine your data to help find and understand your customers’ value-added requirements. Make sure you have an omnichannel presence. According to IndustrialDistribution, “Omnichannel refers to the connection of all systems, platforms, departments, and sales channels. Furthermore, with omnichannel capabilities, distributors can provide customers with a consistent experience across all touchpoints. With AI, that experience isn’t just consistent – it’s seamless.” Contrarily, use data to understand your stakeholders’ buying patterns and needs more fully.
Knowledge is power
Lastly, fulfill your stakeholders’ specific needs by understanding their expectations and pursuing sales success relentlessly. The power of the sale lies in customer knowledge.
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