A Buyer’s Journey

The modern buyer has more information than ever.

And this is the reason the buyer has the power over the sales rep in sales conversations.

Meaning pushy sales tactics wont work like they used to.

But to be a successful sales reps you have to:

• Focus more on helping than selling
• Know who the buyer is
• Know the buyer’s journey towards making a purchase

So in this article we will learn about the buyer’s journey.

Let’s dive right in.

What’s the Buyer’s Journey?

The buyer’s journey is the path a buyer’s path takes before they make a purchase.

Basically before they decide to purchase a product or service:

• They become aware of it
• Consider it
• Evaluate their decision

And in sales, if you understand:

• The buyer’s journey
• The buyers pains and problems on that journey
• The factors that influence their thinking

This helps to better:

• Empathise with buyers
• Position your product or service on their path

Buyer’s Journey Stages

The buyer’s journey has three different stages of moving towards a purchase:

• The awareness stage
• The consideration stage
• The decision stage

Each Buyer Journey stage:

• Awareness Stage: The buyer is aware they have a problem
• Consideration Stage: The buyer knows their problem and thinks about solving it
• Decision Stage: The buyer decides on the right vendor to solve their problem

The buyer in the awareness stage

The buyer has a problem or a pain and they want to get rid of it.

So they look for resources of information to understand their problem, like:

• Why do my feet hurt all the time?

The buyer in the consideration stage

The buyer understands their problem and are researching how to solve it, like:

• How do you treat arch pain?

The buyer in the decision stage

The buyer has decided on a solution.

Now they will make a list of vendors and make a purchase decision, like:

• Where can I get custom orthotics?
• How much will they cost?

Without understanding your buyers, you can’t map out the buyer’s journey and this won’t help your sales.

So interview customers, prospects and salespeople to understand the buyer’s journey.

Tailoring Your Sales Process to the Buyer’s Journey

Remember when buyers aren’t ready, they don’t want prospecting, demoing or closing.

When this is done at the wrong time, it doesn’t help the buyer.

Instead, the sales rep should give buyers more information about your product they can’t find online.

Awareness Stage

Buyers are finding their problem and deciding if solving it is important.

Questions to ask:

• How buyers describe their problems in relation to your business?
• How buyers are educating themselves on these problems?
• What happens if the buyer doesn’t take action?
• What are the misconceptions buyers have about solving their problems?
• How do buyers prioritise problems?

Actions to take:

• Creating information that educates them on their path to purchase
• Give resources that helps them know their problem better
• Be helpful

Consideration Stage

Buyers have found their problem and want to solve it.

And are thinking about different ways to solve it.

Questions to ask:

• What solutions do buyers research?
• How buyers learn about solutions?
• How buyers see the pros and cons of each solution?
• How buyers decide which solution is right?

Actions to take:

• Understand how your product or service solves their problems compared to competitors
• Think about how competitors are seen in the market and how they influence this
• Give the buyer resources that help them decide the right solution

Decision Stage

Buyers have decided how they want to solve their problem and are thinking about who can solve it for them.

For example, writing the pros and cons of offers to decide which best meets their needs.

Questions to ask:

• How buyers decide on the available offers?
• How do buyers like your offers compared to others? What don’t they like?
• Who needs to be involved in the decision? How do they see the decision differently?
• What do buyers expect about trying the offer before they buy?
• Do buyers need extra preparations, like implementation plans or training strategies?

Actions to take:

• Understand buyers objections before the sales process so you can handle them
• Have a unique selling proposition that gives buyers value and helps you stand out from competitors

Conclusion

Now you are closer to understanding your buyer’s journey.

Knowing how your buyers make purchase decisions is important when creating or improving your sales process.

Doing so will help you:

• Empathise with prospects
• Handle objections
• Give the right information at the right time

And if done right, will help you close more deals and get more business.

Now it’s over to you.

Tell me about the steps you take when trying to better understand your buyer’s journey?

Let me know in the comment section below.