In the buyerBuyer A buyer is an individual or organizational entity that purchases a product or subscribes to a service.’s journey, once investigation is complete, the buyer next enters the phase of being a Prospect. They are definitely interested in your offering and are checking it out further.
This is where, as a sales rep, you’ll have your first real contact with the buyer.
At this stage, they will have completed much of their online research and know things about your productProduct Product refers to anything (an idea, item, service, process or information) that meets a need or a desire and is offered to a market, usually but not always at a price. or service. They will look to you to gain further insight—and your skill in providing it will make or break this sale.
2-Way Street
Buyer’s have many questions as to how the product would impact their company; you must honestly and transparently answer each and every one.
Up until now, it’s been kind of a 1-way street: the buyer has been investigating and gathering dataData Data is a set of quantitative and qualitative facts that can be used as reference or inputs for computations, analyses, descriptions, predictions, reasoning and planning., even if you’ve been helping them.
Now, however, it becomes a 2-way street. This is why—as you can see in the Pipeliner Selling System graphic – the corresponding stage for the seller is Engage. You’ll learn from the prospect the reasons for their interest, and provide sound data showing that your product satisfies those reasons. They’ll have many questions as to how the product would impact their company; you must honestly and transparently answer each and every one.
Details, Details
At this stage, details become important. The prospect has researched details about your product, and you have gathered (and will continue to gather) details about their company, their pain points, their needs, and their buying patterns. They’ll expect you to retain and utilize that data—and if you expect to make a sale, you’d better.
Pipeliner, of course, with its completely visual and intuitive functionality, is of great assistance in the retention of such details—not only for the rep on the job but for anyone else that must step in and deal with this prospect for any reason.
So here you are engaging the prospect. If you skillfully and professionally do so, your buyer moves into the next stage of being an Evaluator.
