Business Development Tip: Understanding buying behaviours

Another sales call from someone using the "buy now or miss out forever" tactic! 

- Should I be flattered that when the advertising space came free, he thought of me?

- Should I be grateful for his concern that I could be about to lose out on the advertising opportunity of the decade?

Unfortunately, I'm not flattered or grateful, and salespeople who pressure me to buy now always get the same result - NO DEAL - because when it comes to buying, whatever it is, I'm a skeptic.

So what?

My skeptical nature means that as good as your product/service is, if you're going to sell to me, I want to consider it from every possible angle. I also want to review your organisation and be clear in my mind that in investing in you, my risk is minimised. If you try to rush this process, I'm out … regardless of how much I may have initially wanted what you had to offer.

But if you show due care and are prepared to work with my skeptical nature, I am likely to buy from you and look to create a long-term business relationship.

If I was a visionary buyer, I would be more likely to buy impulsively when wowed by a brilliant idea and once wowed, the need to check out all the variables is not such a pressing concern. In fact if you took the time to go through the variables with me, it might put me off and risk the deal.

Learning point? 

If your role involves business development, develop your awareness of the typical buying behaviours. Some thinkers argue that there are 8, others that there are 5 (controller, follower, visionary, skeptic, thinker), but it's worth taking the time to read-up on a few of the theories because people's buying behaviour may well differ from their 'every-day' personality.

You do not need to become a psychological genius and in many sales transactions, there isn't time to analyse your prospect in such detail. That said, when you are aware of the tell-tale signs of each buying behaviour, you can then use this knowledge to adapt your process and presentation skills to meet the individual needs of your buyer, something which will improve the return on your activity.

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I help people to achieve more by developing their resilience, influence and productivity:

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Business Development Tip - Repetition riles!

I had the pleasure of staying in a fantastic converted barn recently with my wife and family. It was a recently renovated guest house, completed to a very high standard, and well worth the money.

The owner was nervous because we were only her 4th customers and she was clearly keen to make a good impression as well as understand if there were any teething problems with her guest house/barn. Whilst her concerns were understandable it quickly got a bit irritating.

1) She mentioned her concerns about the boiler room 3 or 4 times. I went from feeling relaxed to concerned about her state of the art boiler room and how everything was so meticulously set.

2) She reiterated her desire to be informed of any problems so many times, that I started to wonder when all these problems would strike us!

3) Throughout our stay, she continued to check with me that everything was ok. It was ok at first, then it got irritating. She even apologised for checking so many times!

Her barn is a fantastic product which is priced well, but if she's to make the most of it, she will need to:

A) Improve her ability to manage her state: Her nerves are understandable, but her inability to manage them will cause her clients to become nervous, which is not good for business and anyway, it's not much fun being around nervous people!

B) Keep a check on her habit of repeating herself: The bad habits we display with our customers are often the habits we display in our personal lives, so it would be worth her while to recognise that she repeats herself (especially when nervous) and then work with those who are closest to her, in order to explore when she repeats herself in the other aspects of her life. Once she is aware, she can take simple steps to overcome her repetition habit.

When we buy something, whatever it is, we want to deal with people who are trustworthy, confident, clear and to the point. Ensure your behaviour and language score highly on each of these things.

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

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Leadership Howler 7 - The Blame Game

“These things shouldn’t have happened because we’d organised the players to be picking up the city targets who we’d singled out for attention. That’s why I’m extremely disappointed."

These are the words of Alex Mcleish, manager of Aston Villa Football Club during the 2011-2012 season, interviewed following his team's defeat to Manchester City. 

Under pressure from the media and the villa fans, Mcleish passed the blame for the defeat onto his players because in his opinion, he'd organised things properly at his end, but his players had failed him on the day. In the face of the pressure and disappointment, Mcleish was on a personal P.R. exercise.

Unsurprisingly, a lack of morale and team spirit characterised his team's performances throughout the season and at the end of their dismal campaign in 2011-2012, Aston Villa barely survived relegation and Mcleish was sacked. 

So what can business leaders learn from Alex Mcleish?

Inspirational leaders accept a share of the blame when things go wrong, something which weaker leaders could not possibly contemplate, ("Why should I take the blame for other people messing up?"). 

Inspirational leaders accept a share of the blame because they accept that the very act of leadership implicates them in the consequences of things going wrong, and they also understand that when they share the blame:

1) They take the heat off their team, which builds rapport and team spirit.  

2) They open up the opportunity for increased learning. When people experience set-backs, or they 'screw-up', there probably is something which the leader could have done differently in order to have influenced a better outcome. By seeking to learn rather than blame, inspirational leaders ask their team members questions like:

"What can I do as your leader/manager, to help you in future, so this doesn't happen again."

"Is there anything I could do, which I'm not currently doing, which would help you to do a better job in future?" 

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

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Business Development Tip: Follow up avoids mess up

I recently signed up to a three-month trial for a monthly magazine. The cost of the trial was only £1 and in return I would receive the monthly magazine for three months. After 3 months, the cost would increase considerably, at which point I had the opportunity to opt out.

I received the magazines (which were pretty good) but having had no contact from the company representative who signed me up, I opted out just before my 3 months was up when I was due to start paying a full subscription.

The representative should have put a note in his diary to call me at around 2 months, in order to check that I was receiving the magazines, to find out what I thought of them, and to learn more about my buying needs (pains and aims - see my earlier pains and aims blog). He didn't bother though and as a result, I made several assumptions:

1) He doesn't care: If he really cared about my business and his product, he would have contacted me to discuss it and if he doesn't care, is it a good idea for me to invest in the business he represents? Of course not!

2) He's lazy: How long does it take to pick up the phone? How much organisational skill does it take to put a note in your diary to follow up your prospect? The answer to both questions is 'not much'!

As a customer, I don't like dealing with salespeople who I believe to be lazy. I want them to be interested in me and make me feel like they value my business, whether it is a £5 purchase or a £1000 purchase.

3) Marketing trick: I assumed he wanted me to forget about how the 3 month trial at £1, would then move to the full subscription, and that's partly why he didn't call me. It appeared that the whole thing was a bit like a gym membership you keep for a year, but you barely use or think about, until after a year, you realised you've wasted a lot of money!


Outcome: My experience of the publisher was entirely forgettable, they learned nothing about me and I unsubscribed just in time. Coincidentally, the company representative I dealt with has since launched his own business and for some reason, he has me on his mailing list ... but guess what ... I'm not interested and have unsubscribed! 

Tip: Every potential customer who shows an interest in your product must be systematically followed up with a friendly phone call which is non-scripted and is focused solely on the customer's needs and experience ... because no news is not good news. No news generally means no business ... which is definitely bad news!

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

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Business Development Tip: How to avoid the mistakes of Toby Carvery marketing

I was recently listening to Heart radio station (not my normal channel I hasten to add) when up popped an advertisment from Toby Carvery. If it had been April 1st, I would have thought it was a prank, but it wasn't April 1st.

• Toby Carvery claims to do the 'best roast dinner you'll ever have'.

• Toby Carvery then describes each part of the roast dinner in detail including 'succulent meats', 'fluffy, 7 centimetre high yorkshire puddings', 'crunchy roast potatoes' and 'famous gravy'.

Am I the only person for whom the above statements and Toby Carvery simply don't go together?

My memory of the Toby Carvery is of over-cooked meat, potatoes as tough as old shoes, yorkshire puddings which are either too soggy or too dry and as for the famous gravy, I'd rather take my own!

So what's this got to do with your business?

When you deliver your message to your customers:

1) Play to your strengths: Focus on delivering a message which genuinely draws out your unique selling points but which also balances integrity and a compelling reason to buy.

If the Toby Carvery focused less on things they don't deliver and more on the things they do really well, such as:

A) Low-cost roasts (which are decent enough and good value for the price - with a bit of english flair, this feature can still be effectively articulated without compromising the truth)
B) Large portions (for most of the meal, you serve yourself)
C) Consistency (you know what you'll get whether you go to a Toby Carvery in Scunthorpe or Birmingham)

... they would deliver a message which is still impressive, but which also paints a realistic picture of what the Toby Carvery experience is really like.

2) Be careful with your promises: If I'd never been to the Toby Carvey, but I now tried it out on the strength of that radio advert, I'd be mightily disappointed. I'd probably write something about it on Facebook and Trip Advisor and I'd never go back - why do Toby Carvery want that? The truth is they don't and they could easily avoid such a scenario if they played to their true strengths.

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

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Learn what makes you successful

I recently worked with a sales account manager who's sharp, enthusiastic and commercially astute ... I'll call him Paul for reasons of confidentiality!

He told me that one of his best customers had advised him that they'd been looking to use only two suppliers, but that having reviewed the options, they decided they would only use Paul. Paul was so pleased with this outcome that he forgot to ask why they'd made this decision.

Problem 1) 

Without knowing why, Paul has missed a golden opportunity to learn what to avoid doing for this particular client and it's therefore possible that he could make the same mistakes in future that his competitors clearly made.

Problem 2) 

He won't have learned what his customers view to be his greatest strengths ... so playing to them is merely guess work!


When we secure business, whoever it is, whatever the business and however we feel, we must remember to ask why.

Why did the customer choose to do business with us?

What do they like about us?

What do they dislike about our competitors?

It may seem like an obvious point to make, but in the heat of the moment, and particularly when we're winning lots of contracts, it's easy to forget. Furthermore, of the last purchases I have made on behalf of my business, none of the suppliers have asked me why I chose them. If they had, they might have learned something!

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
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Business Development: What NOT to do (4 cardinal sins)

I recently received a cold-call from a saleswoman, trying to sell me advertising space in a yearly book, which is distributed throughout the N.H.S (a key client for me). Her product was of interest to me, it has some useful 'add-on features', and the pricing is right.

But the positives end there ...

1) She talked too much

She talked SO much, that I was able to walk to the post-office, purchase some stamps, post the letters and walk back and she was still talking... and I'd barely said anything!

2) She repeated herself

What she did say could have been whittled down into a sharp introduction of a few minutes, rather than the lengthy preamble, in which she repeated herself on several points.

3) She didn't pick up on my buying personality or timing

When I was finally able to say something, it should have been obvious that my buying personality is skeptical, particularly with cold-callers. As a result of my buying personality, I will need convincing from various angles and not just on the phone. I will want to review the company, talk with some of my existing contacts to ensure that they really do receive this annual book, and also check out the social media presence of the publisher.

With regards to timing, I am at my capacity and until I've launched my new products 'Clockwise' and 'Mind Matters', I'm not in a position to sanction more funding for a random magazine, however good it may be. It would be better for her to understand my restrictions and keep in gentle contact with me, before securing my business for next years' edition.

4) Poor note-taking 

She promised (eventually) to send me an email with some information and we agreed she'd call me back next week. But she called me back a few days later rather than next week, something which irritated me.

To make matters worse, her organisation publishes hand-books for different parts of the public sector and she'd forgotten that she'd been talking to me about the N.H.S. When she started trying to sell me her book for eduction contacts, I had to remind her that we'd been talking about the N.H.S.!

Outcome:

She has a good product which was of interest to me and which is generally affordable. But because she was so focused on selling to me, she didn't stop talking, eroded my trust and increased my levels of skepticism towards her,  something which will make her job far harder if she approaches me again.

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk