EBlog

What does your buyer want?  Dissecting the complex B2B sale.  Part 5: Purchasing.

September 3, 2008 | Posted by: Lee

A series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale.  Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.

PHASE 5: PURCHASING.

Who's involved? 

The decision maker leads the charge, but influencers weigh in.

Typically at this stage the decision maker is leading the charge.  They will, however solicit the opinions of influencers such as the product manager (or key researcher). 

The user may also be brought back in to evaluate features, but they tend to have less impact on the purchasing decision than the influencer.

What do they want?

Details vary by company.

Because every company had different needs, the specifics on what individual companies are looking for varies.  Typically, however, they're looking to nail down details in terms of:

• pricing,
• features,
• implementation, and
  
• customer service.

Additionally, if there's more than one company still in the mix, they'll want to compare you to others on a point-by-point basis.

Where do they go?

Personal interactions key.

During the final stage, buyers are looking for face-to-face meetings with prospective vendors.  This is where people in your organization play a key role.  Buyers are sizing you and your solution up against all the information they’ve gathered in the buying cycle.  

Third party validation and your web site still play a role.

In addition to meeting and getting to know your company on a personal basis, purchasers are continuing to reach out to social network sites for 3rd party validation about what you're saying.  It's a "trust but verify" mentality.

What does this mean for me?

Help vendors compare apples to apples.

Today's buyer is more informed than ever before.  They often have specifics about pricing, implementation, and more information about your competitor that you might expect.  Just like in the research phase, the more you can do to help the buyer answer their remaining questions the better. 

Since you know they're comparing you to others, come to meetings prepared to share point-by-point comparisons with other vendors.

Additionally, since many purchasers are soliciting opinions from others online, it's important that you're aware of what people are saying about your products and services, as well as your competitors, on other sites.  Monitor the most popular social networking site and forums related to your industry and be prepared to address issues or comments about your company and it's solutions that appear on those sites.