It doesn’t matter how great your sales pitch is. It doesn’t matter how great your content is.
When it comes down to it, a buyer fears what you have to offer because it means change. And that fear will render even the best, no-brainer sales pitch or content worthless.
Even if you can clearly show the pains that your buyers are feeling today and prove the value that my solution will bring, buyers can seem afraid of making their work lives better/easier.
In her recent post, Nancy Nardin, president of Smart Selling Tools, discussed the seemingly unreasonable fears that can cause buyers to unexpectedly veto a sale:
“Organizations rarely consider a new path if their current situation isn’t causing them significant trouble. Doing nothing is almost always less risky than making a change. Even when there is a clear pain in the organization, and even when people realize that change is needed, you can still be a long way from an internal buy-in for change.”
No matter how clearly you communicate the benefits of your solution, there will always be an element of risk that escalates buyer fears. As much as we tend to focus on the bottom line of improved ROI or increased efficiency, the fear of damaging one’s own reputation, social standing, or career advancement can nullify all of those perfectly good reasons. (See CEB research on this here.)
So how can Sales react to this challenge? First, acknowledge that it exists. Second, start considering how you can reduce that perception of risk for your buyer. Perhaps you can focus more on helping the buyer to build unity and support with other stakeholders. When buyers know that others in their organization also back your solution, it removes the risk and they are more likely to advocate for it themselves.
To learn how Consensus helps buying groups unify around a purchasing decision, click on the orange “Watch Demo” button below.
