We are an egocentric country. We always want the newest thing. The best products. And products that are going to improve our status, our career level or our monetary gain. Now this behavior is not limited to one area of our life, it is in everything that we do, from our homes to our office.
? The question is: How can we relate this to sales and marketing? ?
Well, think about the last time you talked to a co-worker or a friend about their business and they were genuinely interested in saving the company time or money when they did things? Now, helping the company may be a result of their behavior, but is that why they really do it? Think about yourself. When you do something, like purchase software for your company, do you buy it because it is going to help your company or help you? More often than not, it is because whatever you purchase will make your job easier, improve yourself or advance your career.
In B 2 B sales, the best thing that you can do to improve your chances is to know what the person you are talking to is looking for. Well, what are they looking for?
According to a poll done by a US Business Journal, they want to:
1. Be up to date
2. Be recognized authorities
3. Be first in things
4. Influence others
5. Improve themselves
6. Save Company time/money
7. Avoid worry
8. Satisfy curiosity
9. Advance their careers
10. Earn Praise from other’s
Notice the one that is highlighted in green…that is the ONLY one that has anything to do with the company. Everything else is a want to improve themselves or their standing. This means that when you are marketing to a customer, you need to market to how things will benefit for them, not how it will benefit the company.
So, think about your marketing. Do you market for what they really care about?
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