Published February 2005

Align your selling process
to buying process

Last month, I challenged the traditional marketing sequence of putting creative development ahead of media planning (see January’s column). That being said, even a well-designed communications strategy won’t produce results unless your selling process is coupled to the consumers’ purchasing process.

In other words, you need to understand the drivers of consumption in your industry. Like in the product development process, a consumer goes through various stages and gates in their buying process — stages being investigating and validating; gates being a “go” or “no go” decision.

World-class marketing won’t pay the light bill until you sell something. Marketers who align their selling process to the stages a buyer goes though in making a purchase are far more successful than those who just walk through the traditional sales steps.

There are several different sales programs — four-, five-, even six-step systems. The basics, however, are: identify, qualify, demonstrate and convert (close). But as John Kypriotakis, president of Lysis International (a sales consultancy group in Cleveland), puts it, “Buyers have no interest in your selling process. Their only interest is to meet a need or solve a problem.”

Kypriotakis goes on to say, “Don’t use your sales cycle to manage the purchase your customer is about to make. Instead, recognize the existence of and learn all about your customers’ buying cycle.”

You can begin this alignment process by studying the stages your consumers go through during their buying process, which usually involves: need recognition, information search, evaluate/compare and purchase decision. Here are five questions you should consider.

• What information does the buyer need before making a decision? Do they absorb the information all at once or bit by bit? What are the frequently asked questions? How complex is your product or service?
• How does the buyer consume information? What channels do they typically explore: Web sites, product sheets, brochures, reviews, demonstration? Would a third-party endorsement be meaningful to the buyer?
• What are the buyers’ potential risk sensitivities? Most “perceived” risks result from one of two categories: lack of product knowledge or they have been burned before. Both are barriers to making a purchase decision.
• What alternatives (competitively speaking) does the buyer have? Are you in a highly competitive business category? Who are the key players, and how do their offerings and selling process compare to yours?
• Who or what may influence the decision maker? Are there people or external market forces that can impact your consumers’ buying process? What weight does the buyer place on those influence factors?

Other dynamics play into the equation, such as the larger the purchase — or the longer the sales cycle — the more judicious consumers become in their buying process. In these product and service categories, it is even more imperative to align the selling and buying processes.

Unless you are selling a highly consumable product such as food staples or impulse items, use the buying process to drive your selling process — then it will be easier to pay the light bill.

Andrew Ballard, president of Marketing Solutions Inc. in Edmonds, develops brand leadership strategies for businesses and teaches strategic marketing through Edmonds Community College. He can be reached at 425-672-7218 or online at www.mktg-solutions.com.

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