Selling is dead. The Customer Community killed it.

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Selling is dead. The Customer Community killed it.

Submitted by Kristin Zhivago on Dec 13, 2011

Comments (3)
Share: Selling was something that worked when the customer knew less than you did. Selling was something that worked when customers had to depend almost exclusively on companies for information about products produced by those companies. Selling was all about "convincing" someone that they "needed" something.

Well, those days are gone, over, kaput. Not in the minds of company managers, sales managers, or salespeople, mind you. Nope, they're still playing the game as if selling still works, and selling still matters. It doesn't.

Customers begin their buying process with a need and a set of questions. Note that the need already exists. They start their research doing one of two things: they search on Google (for Low- to Medium-Scrutiny products and services) or they talk to their peers (for Heavy-Scrutiny and Intense-Scrutiny products and services). They start getting answers and recommendations, from other customers who have purchased the same product or service that they are thinking of buying. In other words, they turn to the Customer Community for answers - using reviews, discussion groups, blogs, and direct contact via email and conversations.

By the time these customers come in contact with a salesperson - or a website serving the role of a salesperson - the Customer Community has already served the role that the salesperson used to perform. Most of their questions have been answered, and the answers have steered them in a particular direction.

So why do we still need salespeople? Well, at some point, towards the end of the customer's buying process, especially in the case of a more complex buying process, some questions will have to be answered by a knowledgeable person. They are situation-specific questions, and questions that involve what it will be like to work with the company selling the product or service: Will this work with MY thing? How much will you charge ME? How long will it take for you to do THIS thing I'm thinking of doing? Will this fit me or my situation? Will I like how you do business with me? Are there people on your staff who can help me? And, the Big Deal Question most commonly asked by buyers and most commonly ignored by sellers and marketers: "What's going to happen to me after I buy?"

In the end, the sale will be made by the company that answers these very specific questions most successfully. "Hunter" salespeople aren't really good at this. "Nurturer" salespeople are much better. They are patient. They don't push. They just keep answering questions or getting the answer from a company specialist until the customer is satisfied.

Unfortunately, most salespeople are only able to answer the questions that the customer has already answered for himself. Salespeople are also trained to "convince" the buyer, which is really stupid, because the buyer already had the need when he started his buying process. His buying process is a search for the best solution to his problem, if a solution exists. It is now the salesperson's game to lose.

We are now experiencing the biggest disconnect that has ever existed between the buyer's process and the seller's process. Buyers are frustrated. Here are just two examples that have landed in my email the last few weeks:

•Very savvy manager is looking for a cloud-based PR/marketing system. "I first contacted them over 5 months ago after responding to an offer for a free iPod in return for sitting through a 30-minute demo online. I was intrigued by their technology. The presentation by the salesman was mechanical and showed no signs of homework and its relevant application. After a month and no followup or iPod, I called them. Turns out my presenter was MIA. After talking with a manager, I was assigned to another salesperson. He was conscientious, but still didn't get what was needed to position their system's offerings to our needs. I am still waiting for the iPod's arrival. Talk about lousy first impressions."
•Another smart business person is looking for a CRM system. "I was asked to sit in on a sales pitch for an accounting package that has CRM and eCommerce. I walked out of the presentation in less than ten minutes. The sales guy was a wind-em-up talking suit, all buzz words. 'We sell to big companies, small companies, 10,000 companies, so buy from us. We are the only alternative of choice versus Oracle and SAP for any high-growth but medium-sized company.' Yada, yada, yada. When my CFO asked a particular question, the guy had no idea which companies were actually like us. When I went to their website, it was all generalizations. No pulldown on CRM, though I eventually found it under the products tab. The different elements of CRM shown there were the right ones, but the descriptions were all too vague to mean anything. 'Gain real-time and accurate visibility into pipeline and forecasts, boost sales efficiency...' I want to talk to someone who can tell me about the struggles of putting it into practice and living with it day-to-day. It was clear from the 5 - 10 minutes that we spent with this guy that he was not going to be able to address any of the practical issues."

These salespeople UN-sold these prospects. These prospects came to them hopeful and left discouraged, even disgusted. They will look elsewhere.

By the time a customer has come to you, the Customer Community has answered many questions, and you are now on the prospect's short list. If your salespeople are selling the "old" (normal) way, you will lose the sale.

Solution:

follow the link for the rest of the blog

http://www.revenuejournal.com/

12/13/119:02 AM

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Original Post

JrlzDocusultant P4P'er

Well written blog, however I as agree with many of the points in the blog. For example:
1. Selling is not dead; it has changed and will continue to change. As the author finally arrives at near the end “old selling” is dead. As buyers change, great sales people have to change with them. Selling is alive and well, it has just changed.
2. Buyer communities did not kill selling. If anything, they can help it. If your company is doing a good job and made a name for itself then the buyer communities will move prospects your way. It is the new version of a referral network.
3. I totally disagree with “Customers begin their buying process with a need and a set of questions. Note that the need already exists”. The author contends that sales people are now there to do nothing more than answer prospects’ questions during the sales process. I hope my competition takes this approach. Great sales people do not wait for a customer to realize they have a problem. Instead, a great salesperson utilizes a consultative sales approach to uncover “pain” that the customer does not realize is there or attributes to something else. It is solution selling 101. Buyers begin the buying process when they realize a gap between where they are and where they want to be. Many times, this gap is identified by the sales person. The customer then moves through their buying process, does research, compares a variety of solutions, validates the findings, makes a decision, implements it, is happy and then at some point becomes un-happy and the whole thing starts over again. The sales person must navigate through this process alongside the client. Not in the passive role of just answering questions as the author suggest, but rather in a consultative role. The sales person must take an active role in the process and alter his or her approach as the customer progresses through the process.
4. Lastly, the author seems to discount hunter sales reps and instead prefers nurturer sales reps. Think about Apple. They are the gold standard of developing something new and then creating the market for it. Did they wait for customers to come up with a need for an IPOD or IPAD? No, they invented it and created the market to drive it. They in essence knew what customers wanted before the customers did. Hunters and Nuterers each have their place and the truly great sales people are a blend of both. I suppose it depends on the industry you are in, but for many B2B industries hunters are essential. Who else is going to go out and break into new clients? Are you supposed to sit back and wait for them to come to you? I would only wish that my competition would adopt that strategy. A nurturer can do very well in an established industry with established customers. What if you are selling new technology with a market that is not yet well defined? You need an aggressive hunter, who knows your value proposition and will go find customers for it.
5. For me, the big takeaway is that sales leadership and companies need to understand the changing buyer behavior and adapt to it. They must train their sales force to adapt and SELL in the ever changing landscape.

12/13/1112:16 PM

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