About Your Buyer

OBJECTIVE

Understand how human nature affects your buyer’s behavior so you can be successful in connecting with them, helping them see your value, and inspiring them to take action.

CHALLENGES

Human nature is a force to contend with in every sales meeting. By definition, human nature is the sum of the characteristics shared by all people, including how we think, feel, and act. Your buyers are no exception; they are human after all.

We’ve studied buyers for over 30 years and have identified three behavioral traits that buyers consistently exhibit, albeit mostly unconsciously, each of which poses challenges for you:

1. Your buyer comes to the meeting with a lot of assumptions.

2. Your buyer has a short attention span.

3. Your buyer's memory is limited to 3-4 new pieces of information at a time.

1. Your buyer comes to the meeting with a lot of assumptions

85% of executives believe that sales meetings are a waste of time. There are two reasons. First, their experience is that sales meetings are not about them and their needs, but all about the sales team and their sales pitch. Second, they don't learn anything during the meeting that will make them smarter or help them solve their business challenges. They see this pattern time and again so they assume you will be no different.

The human brain is hardwired to look for patterns. Pattern recognition helps us make sense of the world around us, avoid danger, and see opportunity. Our pattern recognition is superior to all other species allowing us to adapt, make decisions, and thrive.

Our experiences reinforce patterns. Therefore, it is easy to understand why your buyer pegs you into the patterns they’ve seen from other presentations. They do this unconsciously. These patterns lead to assumptions they make about you, your product, and the path you will follow before you even start speaking! They think, “I’ve seen this movie before.”

When they assume to know what you will say and where you are going, they stop paying as much attention.

2. Your buyer has a short attention span

Research confirms that your buyer’s attention will peak twice during a meeting because they are using a part of their brain that controls the fight-or-flight instinct.

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• Their attention begins at zero because they are distracted. They are thinking about their last meeting, their next meeting, or perhaps a looming deadline on another project. You’ve spent hours or days preparing and you are ready to go! But their focus is not equal to yours when the meeting begins.
• Sometime during your opening, their attention spikes to 70% because they are deciding if the information you plan to share will be useful to them or if this is going to be like every other meeting.
• Their attention sags in the middle when you have only 20%, and, is highest at the end when you have 100%. They pay attention at the end because they know they are about to be set free.

Getting their attention and keeping it is a challenge. In fact, the average attention span of a person today is 8 seconds, a sharp decline from 12 seconds in 2000 when smartphones hit the market. Without exception, your buyer’s attention will drop in and out during the meeting — every meeting, every buyer.

3. Your buyer’s memory is limited to 3-4 new pieces of information at a time

Listening is draining, and the brain gets tired quickly. The longer you talk, the more information the listener tries to organize, comprehend, and remember. Carmine Gallo, author of Talk Like Ted, calls this “Cognitive Backlog”. The longer the presentation, the bigger the backlog. The effect of “Cognitive Backlog” on your buyer is counter-productive:

• Their anxiety increases and their frustration builds;
• They will remember only a fraction of what you told them;
• And, you unwittingly leave your message open to their interpretation.

This experience is less than desirable for everyone. It’s no wonder up to 60% of your buyers will choose to do nothing.

TECHNIQUES

There are techniques you can use to overcome the challenges posed by your buyer’s natural human traits. Let’s take a look.

A. Break the pattern they expect

1. Open the meeting by making it about THEM, not you. This will disrupt their expectations right from the beginning.

• After pleasantries and introductions, confirm how much time you have. This simple courtesy shows respect for the client and conveys that it is about them.
• Share the flow of the meeting as you’ve designed it, and ask for feedback to see if they have other expectations. This is a chance to start to engage the client in a dialogue and to learn more about them.

When you allow them to talk early on, you’ve set the stage for ongoing engagement. By asking for their input on the meeting flow, you are letting the client feel that they are in control. When they feel like they are in control, it builds trust, and they feel safe to share information, which ultimately makes them more open to your solutions.

Treat whatever information they share as gold because it will help you shape the rest of the conversation.

2. Once you’ve established the meeting flow, share a relevant, thought-provoking observation.

Use a data point, image, or headline to jolt them out of their preconceived notions about you and this meeting. Or, choose an observation that will get them thinking about the gravity of the business challenges they are facing.

Your goal is to get them to begin to buy into ‘why change’ because only then are they ready to listen to ‘why you’.

Inviting them to talk, making them think, and focusing this meeting on them, not you, creates a different and unexpected experience. They will pay far more attention to what you have to say because you broke the pattern they expected of you.

B. Engage them throughout the meeting

1. When their listening wanes, your job is to spike their attention by engaging them.

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Engagement reflects the level at which everyone is involved in a conversation. The buyer will only be engaged when one of these three things is happening:

• They are talking.
• You are talking about them.
• You are making them think.

2. Embrace the idea of buyers talking and asking questions.

Their engagement is a sign of interest on their part.

3. Seek to understand their situation.

Learn what they care about most. Only then can you guide them to where your solutions perfectly align with their challenges.

4. Ask the right questions at the right time.

Keep your questions open-ended. Questions make them think and get them to talk. Be curious and excited to learn more.

5. Listen with your full attention; free your mind of everything else.

Research has proven that how well you listen determines your success far more than how well you speak. Be patient and let them finish. Be comfortable with silence. Your silence gives them time to sort things out in their minds.

6. Ask follow-up questions to encourage the buyer to elaborate on what they just said.

The follow-up question demonstrates your empathy and increases your likability. Their response will likely surface insights that weren’t apparent to them before meeting you.

7. Check in with them to keep them tracking with you

Aim for a check-in every 10 minutes, inviting their input on whatever you are presenting.

8. Use ‘Verbal Grabbers’ to alert them that what you are about to say is very important.

A Verbal Grabber is a strong word or phrase that is used in conjunction with your voice inflection to let your client know that what you are about to say is important. It spikes their attention and gets them focused on what’s coming next.

Examples of verbal grabbers:

“One of the MOST important issues is…”
“One of the SIGNIFICANT keys to all of this is…”

C. Make it easy for them to understand your value and remember your message

1. Simplify your sales story.

Have 3 key messages that align your solution to their challenges.

2. Guide them.

Throughout the meeting, tell the buyer what’s coming, what you will be talking about, and at the end of each section, summarize what was just said.

3. Clear your slides.

Say what the purpose of the slide is before you go on to explain it in detail.

4. Answer the unspoken “So What?” question.

When you share information, the buyer is thinking “So What?”, either consciously or unconsciously, so tell them why they should care.

5. Use more visuals and tell stories.

We are six times more likely to remember something when we see visuals or hear stories. Stories transport us to where it is happening and make it feel real.

6. When you close, tell them (succinctly!) what you want them to take away.

Replay your 3 key messages in as few words as possible.

ADVANTAGES TO YOU

• Your buyer appreciates that the meeting is about them, not you.
• They appreciate that you are clearly different.
• They want to work with you because they like you, they believe that you “get them”, and they have confidence in your ability to solve their challenges.

ADVANTAGES TO THE BUYER

• Your buyer is able to pay attention because you engage them.
• They are able to remember your message because you spelled it out for them.
• They leave feeling positive about the experience and motivated to make a change.
• They understand the value you add and how you can help them meet their business goals.

Essentials of a Good Sales Meeting

Structuring a Sales Meeting

Available upon request at info@thebardgroupllc.com