I read an article recently that said buyers – especially younger ones – do not like dealing with salespeople… even more so than most people, in general. If the buying process is not easy… they’re moving on.
Buying, in general, has been trending in that direction for a while now. In one report I read, it stated that 70-80% of the buying process is done before the buyer ever talks to a sales rep. The fact is, buyers want to do most of the buying on their own.
Buyers also want something like an “Amazon buying experience”… where they can search on a number of options and find out what other buyers think of them (a la buyer comments and star ratings).
And all of that is fine if you’re selling coffee cups for office kitchens. But what if you’re selling high-dollar consulting services? That is, if the buyer’s goal is to have an easy buying experience that’s as salesman-less as possible, what’s a vendor to do?
There are, in fact, a number of things you can do and they fall into three buckets
- Your website
- Communications
Your Website
Your website is the first place a potential client will go to do their due diligence on you and start to get to know your firm a bit. So, to answer all of the buyers’ questions, your website needs to include the following:
- Details of all your products and services (of course). And where you can, write about them with the Feature – Benefit format. Feature: what a product is/what it does and Benefit: what the buyer gains by using it.
- Make sure your website is very easy to navigate. Use menu driven pages. Don’t bury key information several layers deep. If they can’t find what they’re looking for… they’re moving onto someone else.
- “Why hire us?” Include a section on how your firm is different and unique. There’s so much sameness in our industry that if you can show how you’re different than the competition, that’ll move you to the top of the list.
- Team bios. Most firms’ websites show their leadership team. But why not include most of the hands-on operations team, as well? Your buyers want to know who they’ll be working with, so provide photos and bios of everyone. And be sure to include everyone’s email and link to their LinkedIn profile.
- List of clients. Nothing proves that you can do what you say you can do more than a long list of clients. In lieu of that (I know many of you can’t do this because your MSAs say so), list the industries or markets you have experience in. You want potential clients to know that this “ain’t your first rodeo.“
- As part of their due diligence, a buyer will want to know that “you know what you’re talking about.” That you’re an expert at what you do. And one of the most effective ways to do that is by making resources available on your website. Resources that showcase your subject matter expertise and thought leadership. Your site should have:
- A blog
- Case studies
- White papers or e-books
- Videos and recordings of presentations
- Webinars they can register for
- That is, anything that proves your expertise
- In addition, beyond what content your firm makes available, as a sales rep or seller-doer, you want to create content, too. The buyer wants to know that they’re not only going to be working with a smart company… but with a smart salesperson, as well.
- While a potential buyer will most likely reach out to you because you’ve been recommended to them or they have some prior knowledge of your firm, sometimes they might go searching. To that end, make sure your website is optimized for both SEO (search engine optimization – for Google searches) and GEO (generative engine optimization – for searching with AI like ChatGPT) so that your firm shows up when they start looking for a new vendor.
Like your website, your LinkedIn profile(s) are also an important part of a buyer’s due diligence efforts. Complete profiles with well-thought-out content will complement your website and provide another ‘layer of credibility’ for you and your firm.
There are three key elements to an effective LinkedIn presence that you’ll need…
- Make sure your company profile is complete, thorough and up-to-date.
- As the sales rep, make sure your profile is also complete, thorough and up-to-date.
- And most importantly, be active… both as a company and an individual. Share ideas and resources. If a potential buyer has some interest in working with you, they very well may ‘follow’ you. And when they do, being active with good, non-salesy content ensures they’ll see you online often and that you’ll stay top of mind with them.
Communications
Once they’re done with their online due diligence, buyers will want to reach out to you for additional information and to fill in any blanks they still might have. And that reaching out is great news! It means you’ve made the shortlist.
To ensure there are no additional hurdles at this point, make communications easy. For example, list out all communication channels everywhere you can. Put your company phone number, email, website address, and link to LinkedIn on your website, inside your LinkedIn profile, in sales collateral, in white papers, on case studies, etc. You want it to be as easy as possible for buyers to reach out to you.
As the sales rep, in addition to listing all of the contact channels in your email signature, consider adding your personal cell phone number and setting up a Calendly link to make it easy to schedule time with you.
The Bottom Line
If buyers are doing 70-80% of their due diligence before ever talking with you… then you need to make available to them anything and everything they could want to help them make a decision that favors you and your firm.
Good luck and good selling.