The Xplor View - October 2008 - (Page 15)

How buying strategies have affected the way the industry sells Buyers of commercial print see it as a commodity item based on volume and price. On the face of it, it would seem that they place little value on quality and service. Digital print presents an opportunity for the industry to readdress this concept and for the relationship between printer and client to change, based on the nature of services being offered. However, print suppliers have suffered at the hands of experienced buyers for too long, with the cards stacked firmly in their favour. The tactics used by print buyers have had an effect on the industries salespeople and they have reacted by selling in a particular way. Let’s take a look at what impact the buying strategies of commercial print clients have had on the selling approach of print sales people. Buyers have a system—sales people do not How many meetings do you think a buyer has had with print supplier salespeople—more than five, ten, or twenty times? Whatever the exact number, it is a lot. Experienced buyers know exactly what to expect, in what order, and even the types of questions they will be asked. As a result, most buyers have developed an instinctive, very effective system to deal with salespeople. Its purpose is to protect them and keep them in control at every stage. Buyers often mislead salespeople about their intentions, how much they currently spend, who makes decisions, etc. The buyer’s system is designed to turn salespeople into ‘unpaid consultants.’ They lead them on until they have all of the information needed and then use their proposals to negotiate better deals with their current supplier or a competitor. Why do buyers do this? Quite simply—it works. It protects them from over zealous salespeople and they get what they want—the best solution at the best price—but without having to make any commitments. So how do most salespeople deal with the buyer’s system? Most play right into it. In doing so, they allow the prospect to take control of the sales process. Remember this rule: If you do not have a selling system of your own, you will default to the buyers system. Prospect: “We need 5,000 by the end of next week.” Salesperson: “Really, it sounds pretty urgent. What’s the reason for the deadline?” Prospect: “A new product is being launched and the mailing must go out then.” Salesperson: “Surely your existing supplier can do it, can’t they?” Prospect: “Don’t talk to me about them. They keep letting us down?” Salesperson: “Surely there have not been other times, have there?” Prospect: “Yes, it has happened several times before and it’s me that gets blamed.” Remember this rule: The amount of pain your prospect experiences, the more money they will be willing to spend. Prospects struggle to differentiate from different suppliers There have been many surveys conducted asking senior decision-makers about their experience when being sold to and they all tend to say the same thing: “Salespeople do not ask enough questions and take any time to really understand our business and our specific challenges.” If you asked a group of salespeople what the most important part of a prospect meeting is, they would probably say the presentation; whereas, most prospects could care less about the presentation. Ask three print suppliers to present and all three will sound more or less the same. It is almost impossible to differentiate between them and the only real difference becomes price. That is why salespeople struggle to get meetings with senior decision-makers, because they see little value in meeting with salespeople and why decisionmakers field ‘recommenders’ tasked with meeting suppliers instead. Remember this rule: Stop selling on just features and benefits. Salespeople rely on price to win business We know that buyers are focused on price, but it seems that salespeople are too. When they are asked “How much ……?” they are too willing to oblige and the focus of the conversation is all about the price. Winning business tends to be based on volume and discount. What salespeople forget is that when the phone rings and it is a new potential customer, they are ringing for a reason. Perhaps there is an issue with their current supplier or a deadline they cannot meet. However, if you ask a salesperson, notwithstanding price, why a prospect bought from them, they invariably will not know. Salespeople must become effective at asking questions and uncovering business problems, and then help the prospect understand how those issues are impacting their business. The prospect must experience some ‘pain;’ and when they do, they tend to become emotionally involved. When someone is emotionally involved, they never buy on just price. For example: Salespeople talk too much and do not listen Salespeople tend to talk too much, do not ask enough questions, and are not very good listeners. Consequently, in a meeting salespeople focus on getting their own agenda met, delivering their presentation, and getting all their points across. They will often end a meeting without really understanding anything about the prospects issues and why they are considering changing print supplier. Feature and benefit type selling is to blame. From the buyers’ point of view, everyone sounds the same and they have difficulty differentiating between different 15 Issue 6 October 2008 The VIEW Journal Xplor European Edition

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Xplor View - October 2008

The Xplor View -� October 2008 Contents TPE Master Class: Three Ways to Tame your Print-to-Mail Workflow Right Now Mission Impossible: Embracing Environmental Concerns TPE Master Class: Implementing a Lean Working Environment Improving Business Processes Yields Award-Winning Business Performance How Do� You Effectively Win New Business Writing a Marketing Plan to Win New Printing Clients How Buying Strategies Have Affected How the Industry Sells Let's Talk About Integrated Customer Communications Management:�Transpromo...It Takes a Village! Knowledge Management Part 3 XDU: Leading the Education Revolution Kodak plus Xplor equals XDU Around the World Xplor Europe News:�Short News Items for the Xplor UK�Programme and Europe News

The Xplor View - October 2008

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