SKILL
How to Pitch the Corporate Buyer TIM USSHER
Corporate buyers have the power to award multi- million-dollar contracts, yet salespeople may not be doing everything in their power to impress these highly influential decision makers.
Although there are lots of books, techniques, and studies from sales “experts and gurus” for how to reach the corporate buyer, the people we really need the advice from are the big corporate buyers themselves. So here are 10 tips for selling to the corporate buyer – from one who sat behind that desk for years as a parade of salespeople pitched to him.
10 | MAY 2016 SELLING POWER © 2016 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
1. ASK THIS SIMPLE QUESTION One of the most important questions to ask your buyer – probably mid-review, when you’re closing in on the prize – is simply, “What do I need to do to win this deal?” The buyer wants great sup- pliers and a great deal, so guiding firms toward their ideal outcome presents an opportunity for you to hear exactly what the gaps are. Maybe it’s 3 percent on price. Or maybe they don’t like the
account manager. Amazingly, I’ve only been asked this question a handful of times in 35 years.
2. INFORMATION IS POWER Buyers will do a lot of research into your products, company, competitors, market, cost breakdown, and low-cost sourcing, so make sure you know ev- erything about those subjects. It won’t impress the buyer at all if he or she knows more than you do; it’ll worry them – so you must be the expert.
3. UNDERSTAND WHAT DRIVES THE BUYER
Look up the buyer online. Finding out about their career – and reading their profiles and interviews – will give
RAWPIXEL.COM /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
buyers better
Help reps target corporate
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32