Consider This
If you were a real estate agent, what would you ask a buyer before showing them a house?
You’d likely discuss their desired location, budget, and family size. You would also want to get to know their personality, lifestyle, and hobbies. For example, if you learn that a client owns two Great Danes, you may look for houses with large, fenced-in yards. Or, if a client appreciates the arts, you could offer properties located near museums and theatres.
In short, selling starts with understanding. And that same principle applies whether you’re selling houses, medical equipment, software, or any other product or solution. In this lesson, you’ll learn seven things to know before you approach a potential buyer.
In this video, you’ll learn seven things to know about potential buyers so that you can tailor your sales strategy and increase your likelihood of closing the deal.
The most successful salespeople connect potential buyers with solutions that fit their unique values, wants, and needs.
Matching potential buyers with the correct solutions is no picnic if you don’t know anything about them.
Knowledge is power. The more you know about a potential buyer, the easier selling to them will be.
7 Things to Know About Potential Buyers
So, what information would be most helpful to know?
Expand the rows below to reveal the seven most important things to learn about potential buyers.
Who are they?
First, develop a basic understanding of the individual or company you’re targeting: Who are they and what do they do?
If you’re selling to individuals, gather relevant demographic information such as age, race, sex or gender expression, location, education, job title, household income, homeownership, and family status. You might also explore available information about their hobbies, personality, opinions, attitudes, and lifestyle.
If you’re selling to businesses, research the company’s mission, values, offerings, structure, key decision-makers, and size. How does the company make money and create value for its customers? You might also analyse the company’s competitors and market.
Why do they want to buy?
Figure out why the individual or company is searching for a solution in the first place. Understanding potential buyers’ needs and motivations empowers you to address them. Whether you’re selling to individuals or companies, ask yourself:
What problem or challenge is the potential buyer trying to resolve?
What outcome do they want to achieve? (For example, a company may want to reach more customers, or an individual may want to cook a meal quickly.)
What are their requirements and priorities for making a purchase? (For example, are there any must-have product features?)
What underlying values or emotions drive their decisions? (For example, a potential buyer may wish to impress their boss, feel confident about their appearance, or express a company value.)
What's their history with your company?
Be familiar with the potential buyer’s experience and history with your company. If your company uses a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, you should be able to access information about previous touchpoints.
For example, is the potential buyer a new or returning customer? Who else have they spoken with on your customer service or sales team? And what’s their experience been like interacting with the company so far?
Tip: Knowing these details can inform your sales strategy. If a potential buyer has had a negative experience with your company, for example, then you may need to focus on repairing the damage and building trust before you can move forward.
Where are they in the buying process?
On a similar note, you’ll also want to understand where the individual or company is in the buyer’s journey. Consult the following stages for reference:
Awareness. In the awareness stage, the potential buyer recognises they have a problem that needs to be solved. “Why does my knee hurt when I run?”
Consideration. In the consideration stage, the potential buyer explores different solutions. “Should I get shoe inserts, new shoes, or maybe a knee brace?”
Decision. In the decision stage, the potential buyer has chosen a solution and must now decide between options. “I’ve decided it’s time to upgrade my running shoes. Should I go with the X or Y pair?”
Tip: Providing the right information and support—at the right time—can propel a potential buyer forward in their journey.
How do they make purchasing decisions?
Another critical factor to consider: How does the individual or company make purchasing decisions? You can better understand a potential buyer’s purchasing process by answering these three questions:
Who is the decision-maker?
What is their budget?
What is their purchasing timeline?
When selling to companies: Larger companies and deals often involve more complex and bureaucratic buying processes. Research how purchases get approved and find out what each decision-maker needs to move forward.
Who is their current supplier? Or, what are their alternatives?
Knowing your potential buyers’ other options can be helpful. For example:
Do they have a current supplier? If so, ask what is or isn’t working well with their current product or service.
Are they considering purchasing from a competitor? What alternative options is your potential buyer considering? Why?
Tip: Don’t feel threatened or intimidated. Most potential buyers will research alternative options. Treat that process as an opportunity for you to communicate what sets your business or solution apart.
What are their objections?
Finally, uncover objections early. While some salespeople hesitate to draw attention to potential buyers’ objections, unaddressed objections can torpedo a deal.
Shedding light on objections allows you to directly address a prospective customer’s concerns, answer lingering questions or doubts, and redirect misunderstandings or misinformation.
Tip: Be direct. Don’t beat around the bush when soliciting objections. Ask the potential buyer a direct question such as, “What concerns do you have?” Another approach to try: “It sounds like you still have some reservations. Can we discuss them?”
Research and Ask Questions
To answer these seven questions about prospective customers, you’ll need to research in advance or ask targeted questions—sometimes both. Investigate individuals or companies by looking at their social media accounts or websites. When you meet a potential buyer, you can ask direct questions. For example, when trying to understand why an individual is looking to buy, you might simply ask, “What brings you here today?” Or, “What challenges are you facing?”
- Mine your CRM data. You can use your CRM system to find demographic information about potential buyers and see where they are in the buyer’s journey. Some systems allow you to track interactions with the company (such as links the prospective customer has clicked or emails they’ve opened).
Summary
You have to understand a prospective buyer before you can sell to them effectively. At the most basic level, you need to know who they are, why they’re buying, and how they make purchasing decisions. You can also benefit from understanding a prospective customer’s history with your company, where they are in the buyer’s journey, how you compare to competitors, and any reservations they have about your product or service.
In sales, knowledge really is power. Armed with the necessary information, you can connect potential buyers with the solutions that best fit their unique situation and needs.
- Prepare your questions. A handy list of common questions you can use to get to know prospective customers will help you remember what to ask when you’re talking with someone.
Now that you know what to ask click on “Check Your Understanding” in the space below.
Then, keep going to learn about three important figures you need to know how to work with as a salesperson in the next lesson.