Beware: The Product Centric Buyer

Let me share an interesting number with you.

48%.

I’m sure you’re wondering, 48% of what? What does this number mean?

48% represents the percentage of buyers who purchased the wrong product because they didn’t understand the problem they were trying to solve.

Forty eight percent! (This number is from the “How Buyer’s Want to be Sold Report”, surveying over 1,200 buyers in the U.S. and Canada)

That’s almost half of all buyers have, at least once, purchased the wrong thing, because they didn’t understand the problem they were trying to solve.

Ask these same buyers, “How many times have you bought the wrong thing because the salesperson didn’t understand the problem you were trying to solve” and the number is smidge lower at 47%.  Again, almost half.

What this information is highlighting is that too often buyers are taking a product centric approach to the sale, aided by the salesperson, resulting in the wrong buying decision.

B2B Buyers are Purchasing the Wrong Solution

Buying the wrong product or solution can be catastrophic.  In spite of the investment spent to fix the problem, the time allocated to the sales process to find the right solution, the time spent implementation the solution, training on the solution, etc. the problem still exists and continuing to cost the company money.

Based on the data from the newly released buyer survey from A Sales Growth Company, How Buyers Want to be Sold, salespeople are not meeting buyers where they want to be met and therefore buyers are just taking over the sales process out of frustration, to their peril.

What does product centric buying look like?

Product centric buying is when a buyer takes control and asks for lots of information on what your product or service does, what features it has, who’s used it, etc. It’s when buyers create a checklist or matrix comparing all the features and functions of the competing vendors in and effort to pick the “product.”

The problem with product centric buying is it always lacks the context of a problem or set of problems.  In other words, the buyers don’t understand what problems they’re struggling with, what’s causing the problems and the impact the problems are having on their organization.

Without this information, they buying process is severely compromised.  Making matters worse, salespeople love talking about their products, so they willingly and excitedly go along, answering all the questions the buyer has about the sellers products and services.

In the beginning it feels like a love fest.  The buyer asks for info on the sellers products and services, the seller obliges, the buyer asks for more, the seller happily delivers and the dance has begun.

But like Cinderella at midnight, everything begins to unravel.

Why?

Because, in a product centric selling environment there is no context to determine what the right solution should look like. Why one solution is better than another.  Without a detailed understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve and the outcomes you’re looking for, it’s impossible to make a proper decision.

AND . . .

You Can’t Win in a Product Centric Buying Process

If the client not making the right buying decision for them isn’t motivation enough for you to avoid a product centric buying process, then knowing that you can’t win in this type of environment might.

Product centric buyers lack the context to properly compare your product or solution your competition.  Buyer’s lack the context to properly prioritize the features and benefits they are so diligently evaluating.  If they don’t know what problem they are solving, how do they know which features are better? How do they know what features to prioritize? How do they know what features are NOT important, etc. — They don’t!

In a product centric buying process, you have no control and no way of differentiating your product or solution. Therefore,  your chances of winning are low and you will NEVER be able to defend your price.

Problem Centric Buying Is Critical to Success

Buying requires a detailed and robust understanding of the existing problem. Without it, failure is highly likely.

Think about like this . . .

If the buyer doesn’t understand what problem they’re trying to solve, how do they know what features are most important?

If they buyer doesn’t understand the problem they are trying to solve, how do they know which solution is the best solution?

If they buyer doesn’t understand the problem they are trying to solve, how do they know what the decision criteria should be?

If the buyer doesn’t understand the problem they are trying to solve, how can they calculate the ROI?

If they buyer doesn’t understand the problem they are trying to solve, how do they know they even need to invest in solving it?

If the buyer doesn’t understand the outcome they’re trying to achieve, how can they measure success?

As is clear in the questions above, the problem is key to a healthy, productive, effective selling process, for both the buyer and the sellers. Therefore, every sales process should start with a healthy discovery process that uncovers the problem(s) the buyer is trying to solve, why those problems exist in the first place, the impact of the problems on the business and why the cost of inaction is greater than the cost of action.  Without getting that information in the first stage or two of the sales process, the sale is in jeopardy and the seller and buyer are now at risk.

As salespeople, we need to learn to take control of the selling process and help buyers properly understand the size and scope of the problem they are trying to solve before we start pushing our products. Buyers are desperate for this type of collaborative selling approach. By doing this, we increase the chances of making a much better recommendation an increasing the probability the buyer makes the right decision and achieves the goals they are looking to accomplish.

It’s a big win.

No one wins when the product is the center piece of the sale.  Start with the problem, and everything else falls into place.