As we look at our customers’ problem solving/buying processes, a key question both we and they must consider is, “How important is this project?”
Some of you may be scratching your heads, thinking, “If they are in a committed buying effort, why wouldn’t it be important to them?” We know the foundational qualifying principles is, “The pain of doing nothing must be greater than the pain of change.” They must understand the consequences of not implementing the solution by the date they have targeted. Without this, it isn’t a qualified opportunity, and we are pushing a rope up a very steep hill trying to get them to buy.
But just because the buying effort may be important to the buying group, it doesn’t mean it’s important to the rest of the organization. And that lack of support can, and often does, crater many buying efforts.
Buyers are often blindsided, when others in their organization don’t express the same enthusiasm they have, or when senior executives decide against the recommendations of the buying groups. While the decision they are making may be important to them, if it’s not important to others in the organization, they will not be successful.
You would think buyers understand this, but too often they don’t, they see themselves as doing their jobs, but fail to recognize they have to “sell” their ideas and gain support within the organization. (I’ve often found it is far more difficult to sell within an organization than it is to sell to a customer.). They don’t know how to, or may find the concept of “selling” distasteful—after all they are striving for rep free buying processes because they don’t like being sold.
But if they don’t, they will fail to get what they want and may, desperately, need.
Sellers can be very helpful in this process. Too often, however, our natural reactions are to do the wrong thing. While we work with the buying group, we tend to look for the “decisionmaker,” directly influencing them. While we might have some influence, in complex B2B buying processes, there is seldom a single decisionmaker. But the decisionmakers rely on the advice/recommendations of the buying team, that is what they are holding them accountable for.
But just because the buying team may be, with high urgency, making a recommendation, there are many reasons that decision will be derailed by that executive. If the team hasn’t gained the support of the rest of the organization, particularly those that will be impacted by the change, this lack of support will derail any buying group recommendation.
More importantly, these senior executives are rarely just considering this one issue or change. They are usually evaluating a number of different priorities, deciding on those that are most impactful or important. Particularly, as we look at the current economy, they can’t approve everything, but will make tough and limited choices. These executives may understand and support the recommendation of the buying team, but there is something more important they will choose instead.
Just like we face competition, buying teams face competition within their own organization. That competition is indirect, it may be in a completely different area, but that area may be perceived as more important by the executives than the recommendation of the buying group.
While this may seem strange, some years ago, I saw a situation where the buying group had recommended implementing a major enterprise software solution. It had s strong business case and the buying group argued fervently for approval. Instead, the executives chose a major facilities upgrade–more parking, cafeterias, improvements to offices, and so forth. Completely different decisions and issues, yet the executives had to choose where they wanted to invest the funds and they couldn’t do both.
Another area that may cause buyer group recommendations to be overruled, even if funding is available, is the decision may not be aligned with corporate strategic objectives/goals. Some years ago, a client had worked diligently with a large division of a major company. They won the business, the division president approved it and had the $50M funding in the budget. But when the executive presented the decision to the corporate management committee, it was rejected. The sole reason was they didn’t see the project contributing to the corporation’s strategic priorities. (We later went back, directly connecting the project to two of the three strategic priorities and the project was approved.)
There are lots of reason, good and bad, that people outside the buying group will decide against the buying group recommendations. Buying groups should know this, after all, the same issues apply to any project, regardless of whether they involve buying. But too often, they fail to do this, or do it poorly.
This is an area where sellers can help, but seldom to. Great sellers help the buying team gain and maintain support for their project within the organization. They recognize the buying group has to sell as hard or harder, than the seller has to sell to them. Sellers should have great expertise in this and can create great value in helping the buying group manage the expectations of others in the organization.
Afterword: Continued thanks to Hank Barnes. His work on Confidence Eroders is profound and provokes my thinking on these issues.
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