Customers Who Want More Information Are Not Always Buyers
Ever have potential customers who want more information before they can make a buying decision? Their request may simply be a delaying tactic or to satisfy another stakeholder who wants to know how your product would address their specific needs. Legitimate or not, according to research by Gartner, providing more information may make buying from you more difficult. Our solution selling training participants tell us that this is counter intuitive. Here is how to handle customers who want more information.
On the face of it, one would think that being responsive to an ideal target client’s request would facilitate the buying decision. However, after interviews with hundreds of B2B buyers, Gartner found that customers who want more information and get it can make it 18% harder for the customer to make a buying decision. What’s going on?
The Reason?
Too much information can complicate and forestall the sales process. We know that there are many more involved in buying decisions these days and everyone wants input. But satisfying all actors can not only delay but completely block buying decisions. The path forward has too many detours, buyers risk losing sight of the benefits of the purchase, and for you as the salesperson the sale is placed in jeopardy
The Better Answer to Customers Who Want More Information
Of course, you need to do thorough groundwork initially. We will assume you know and practice the tenets of business sales training — customer knowledge, effective communication, and business expertise. You have dug deep during the discovery stage so that you have a comprehensive understanding of your customer’s needs. And finally, you firmly believe that your unique value proposition is in your customer’s best interest.
The key is to respond to their request for more information not as a slavish follower but as an expert and trusted advisor.
Lead, Not Follow
Those new to sales avoid saying “no” to their client. But sales leaders know to change the conversation when your client is headed in the wrong direction. Top solution sellers know that guiding a customer away from a move that will harm them, gains customer loyalty. Customers understand and trust that your motive is genuine: to help them succeed and only secondarily to make the sale.
For customers who want more information, help, not hinder, the sales process by:
- Sifting through the flood of information to select what is unique and specific to the customer situation
- Coaching your contact on how to effectively address concerns of other stakeholders
- Providing buyer options like financing, training, delivery, and maintenance contracts that fit the customer and smooth the path to deal closure
The Bottom Line
If you’ve properly set the stage for the sale through thorough discovery and honest conviction that your solution fits the client situation, have the confidence to lead the buyer away from extraneous, confusing, and unnecessary information and lead toward a prescriptive solution. Your preparation and expertise have earned you the right to act as a trusted advisor.
To learn more about how to handle customers who want more information, download The 30 Effective Sales Questions that Matter Most