Being Buyer Centric to Close Deals Faster

Does being buyer-centric help when you’re in the trenches trying to close a deal? Can an individual contributor be buyer-centric on their own or is it an all-or-nothing initiative across the entire organization?

The short answer is YES.

A simple first step for an individual contributor is to lead with value when interacting with your prospective buyers.

That starts by offering insights to get the first meeting, then using your knowledge to help them solve their problems.

Of course, you’ll be doing that with your solution; after all, as Don Barzini said, we are not communists.

Let’s take a look at the five steps to get from a cold call to trusted advisor 

  1. Lead with Insights
  2. Explore the Impacts
  3. Commit to Change
  4. Agree to Collaborate
  5. Win Consensus

1. Lead With Insights

As a buyer-centric seller, you want to lead with value. But first you have to get the meeting. An offer of insights stands out from the other sales calls because instead of blindly asking “What’s keeping you up at night”, you can say “I know what should be keeping you up at night. Let’s talk.”

It might seem hard to tell someone about the job they do 8 hours a day, but remember you have a huge advantage: you and your team talk to hundreds of that person’s peers.

So while they’re heads down, totally oblivious to the sea-changes that are headed their way, you can give them the heads up, putting you one step closer to being their trusted advisor.

2. Explore Business Impacts

Once you’ve asked for 20 minutes of someone’s time, you have to deliver 20 minutes worth of value.

With your insights (combined with your deep inner conviction that your product could really help them have a better future), that should be easy.

But people don’t engage with numbers. We want to hear stories.

So take those insights and wrap them up so they can connect to what you’re saying. You’ll stand out better, and if you’re authentic, they’re much more likely to listen, learn and open up as you explore the impacts facing their job.

Want to hear more? You’ll have to come to a Pipeline Social.