What Drives Business Decisions?
What are the psychological drivers at work in the sales cycle?
My friends who preach the word of “SPIN selling” are very good at talking about uncovering and accentuating pain that individuals and businesses experience as a result of problems with systems, processes, products and services. Much time is dedicated to developing the best techniques and strategies to expedite and enhance cultivating interest in a solution. The strategies are even evolving as new twists are developed in the quest to be a top performing sales person. An article last year in the Harvard Business Review declared the “End of Solution Selling”, which simply meant that the old methods of asking people what causes them pain are becoming passe.
What I find interesting, is how little attention is paid to behaviors and the psychologies that apply to the entire process from initial discovery to closed deal. While spotlighting problems is essential to gain traction at an account, getting to a buying decision in your favor is more complicated than “Tell me your pain points.” In fact, were I a buyer, I would be at the point where I would want to slap anyone that asks me that question.
The discussion most commonly heard is around getting someone to decide that they will buy. Granted, this is critical given that the most fearsome competition that most sales professionals face is the decision to do nothing. But once you arrive at that magic place where the decision is made that something must be done to fix a problem, that might be the beginning of an entirely new process. Unless you offer a solution without any competition, many companies have developed policies that buyers must explore several options, leading to an RFQ (Request for Quote) process.
Savvy buyers frequently take this process seriously, and use it as an opportunity to evaluate the impact of a decision, not only on their company, but also on them personally. This leads to the less explored psychology behind deciding “from whom to buy”. Failing to recognize the drivers of behavior at this stage of developing an opportunity, can lead to a late failure to secure the business, which is the worst failure, because it comes after you have already invested your company’s time and resources in the pursuit.
Put simply, while the decision to buy is made to alleviate pain, deciding from whom to buy is made based on fear. Fear of a bad outcome or unforeseen negative consequences drives the selection process. This is the psychology that has led to the development of decision by committee, because it distributes the personal liability associated with the decision across a group of people. For the individual, a bad decision could lead to blame that tarnishes a persons stature in the company, hampers career development, or even leads to dismissal. Buyers must weigh the risk/reward scenario when the decision involves a change of vendor. A decision makers tolerance for risk might vary greatly and must be considered as you make your case.
Once you have gained agreement that you offer the solution that fixes the problem (the reward), you must transition to mitigating the fear. You must sell your company and yourself as highly reliable and adept and managing implementation or transition. You must personally win the trust of the decision maker and convince them that you are there to make the decision to go forward with your offering a success. You may want to explore the worst case scenarios and demonstrate that you are already prepared to address them should they arise. References and testimonials may be your friend.
In all things, fear is a powerful motivator. In fact, it is far more motivating than pain. No one wins a race by simply leading the first few laps. Managing and understanding the fear that influences a decision will get you to the finish line first.
By David Phillips
Connect to me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidlphillips
