I had a couple of questions from b2b sales people asking me about how to deal with the b2b buyers who seem to already have all the answers about their products and services. They wanted to know how to best respond to these types of b2b buyers.
Welcome to the world of the Internet and instant product knowledge research. This is becoming a hot topic these days for this very reason – b2b buyers know more about your products and the competitors products than every before.
The best method of dealing with this type of b2b buyer is to show your depth of knowledge and understanding by the use of better questions. Let’s call them the buyer acknowledgment questions.
The way these questions work is you are assuming the buyer has done their homework about your product. By the way, you will know this when the buyer begins asking you detail questions about specifications and/or implementation issues.
Your role moves from being a b2b sales person wanting to sell something, to being a guide or counselor to the buyer to assist them in making the right choice. (Yes, most of the time it is about choosing your solution.)
As part of this role you begin to ask questions beginning with phrases such as…
- Have you thought about “X”?
- What have you done in the past for this …?
- What are you currently doing to solve …?
- Have you planned for…?
As you can see from the examples above, you are showing the b2b buyer you have been down this road before and have the necessary experience and knowledge to make this a smooth transition for them. Remember, safe and secure are more important to the major account buyer in the long run. Show your expertise and guide them to the right choice.
Voss Graham
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