Early on, at the first sign of pain, or the potential for gain, buyers of all types (technologists, executives, users) think about finding a potential “product” (a tangible entity that can be seen and felt) to fix a problem or make their life better. A little naively, buyers are hoping for a silver bullet (e.g., if only we had good CRM software or new imaging equipment or robotics, etc. then life would be good). An important rule of human nature takes place here—even though we “know better,” we hope and look for a simple answer to complex issues.

Therefore, and assuming that basic capabilities are in place, to make it to the short list of potential suppliers, you have to be seen as having “one of the best” product offerings in order to make it to the dance, to participate in the bake-off, to audition for the beauty contest. This means that during the initial stage in the buying process, the selling process should focus on the attributes of the product in order to get the prospect interested.

But as I’ve written in the past, the best sellers know that the product is only one part of a successful solution and that many other factors will eventually influence success. The very best salespeople always try to persuade the customer to perform an assessment early on, both to gain the information they need and to help elicit a deeper understanding from the customer.**

As the customer starts to understand the complexity of the situation and the limitations of the “product” component, their thinking evolves to the next phase of clarity and interest, and thus the selling emphasis must change.

As hard, cold reality steps in, the buyer realizes that there really is no silver bullet, and getting results may be a little more difficult than initially hoped. This realization is quickly followed by a growing anxiety about the risk of addressing this complex, ambiguous problem and the potential downside if things don’t go as planned--goals may not be achieved, costs my be overrun, people may be blamed.

Here the buying rules of the game change. Buyers feel that with very few exceptions (Apple, for example) the products of top suppliers are pretty similar. Notice that I used the word “feel.” Sure, I understand that your product is different and better, and I’m sure that if I cared, you could tell me why. However valuable a dialogue about product features and benefits may have been early on in the buying cycle, it is not important now! If you insist on telling your prospect about product features and benefits (something he or she doesn’t care about), you will be participating in a monologue. Unless you have Jay Leno’s skills or Bob Hope’s capabilities, your prospect will not be amused and will immediately classify you as a vendor and eliminate you from the hunt. At this stage, the customer wants to know potential supplier quality control and fail-safe capabilities--that you have the processes and the people to make things work. They want to know about your technical support and your commitment to uptime, and they want case studies and testimonials from others they respect in order to overcome their fear and minimize their risk.

Once the prospect has confidence in your ability to make the product work and keep it running, their thinking evolves again--it goes back to their real reason for buying, which is to make their operation perform better. Now they stop to consider how the tangible product can impact an operation or improve a process or add value to the business. Only services can make this happen, and thus the value proposition migrates again. Your professional services capability to implement or install or commission a product tailored to their unique situation is what they want to hear. Top sellers are listening for the clues to shift focus one more time, and then clearly articulate the benefits of your advanced services, your consulting ability to customize answers, and the results other clients have achieved.

So, do you need adequate products? Of course! Should you understand and follow the customer’s buying process? Certainly! But brilliant influencers know when to shift the emphasis on their capabilities and offerings to match the natural shift in the needs and wants of the buyers of important, complex solutions.

* Atkinson, Tom and Ron Koprowski. July-August 2006. “Finding the Weak Links.” Harvard Business Review.
**“Alexander, James. Brilliant Influencing--Always Start with an Assessment.”