WHEN CUSTOMERS HUNT IN PACKS

It is sometimes funny how changes that sweep the business world seem obvious in hindsight. Despite the large numbers of people who once claimed that computers, corporations, and even office buildings would never work out, we now recognize that each of them can help a company work more efficiently and profitably to the point that it is hard to imagine life without them. That is very close to the way I feel about buying groups.

It used to be that business purchasing decisions, even the big ones, usually came down to getting the signature of one very important person. The challenge, then, often was not in selling to that person, but finding and reaching them. Those problems still exist, but they have been multiplied by a factor of three or four. That is because companies big and small have woken up to something that seems obvious: that a group of men and women are less likely to overlook an important detail or make a blundering error than just one person working alone. With the stakes in business being higher than ever, it makes good sense to get a few different buyers involved.

Accordingly, it is getting more and more rare to sell to a single contact at a trade show. Instead, your customers are going to be hunting in packs – sending multiple decision-makers to comb the area and become product experts to secure the best solution at the best price. To close big sales, you are going to have to learn to identify and work with each of them, individually and as a team.

This can be a source of frustration for a lot of salespeople. They know they only have a limited amount of time to sell from their booth, and wasting precious hours trying to track down the final member of a buying team and make a strong presentation can seem like an unnecessary hassle. I recommend looking at things from the other side of the coin. It might be aggravating having to deal with multiple decision-makers, but the chances are good you would have had to track them down anyway. And at least at a trade show, they are likely to be on site and available for a live demo, rather than hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Another benefit is that you can make basic psychology work in your favor. Enthusiasm, like most emotions, is highly contagious. If you can get one of your prospects excited about your products, then they can often spread that feeling to the other people in their group. And usually, if you can persuade two or three, you will have a much easier time bringing the others around to your point of view. So, in this way, selling to groups can be a little bit easier than selling to a single person would be – especially if that lone decision-maker was feeling apprehensive about making a really big decision, and spending a big chunk of the company’s money, all by themselves.

There is also the distinct possibility that you could end up making an even bigger sale than the one you had set out for. Here is why: It is not just low-level managers and other run-of-the-mill decision-makers attending trade shows; you can be sure that owners and C-level executives are going to be making their way through the displays. If your presentation is strong enough, you might interest one of them right off the bat. Or, more likely, the enthusiasm you plant in your contacts might make their bosses curious and interested enough to stop by or approve a bigger purchase.

Think of what you would have to do to create that kind of impression in a regular sales setting. Not only do you have to find your prospect and win him or her over, but there is the added waiting while they seek funding or approval from higher up the chain to complete the purchase. At a trade show, however, those barriers are not just removed, but there is a good chance you can work vertically and sell to a much higher level. Why settle for making inroads into a department or facility when you could secure a contract for the whole company? With all the biggest decision-makers walking by your booth, and hearing from their staff about your presentation, you can create those kinds of results.

Of course, things can just as easily go the other way. Negativity spreads, too, and not every decision-maker is going to be enamored with the solutions you present. It might be that they have an existing relationship with another vendor, or simply feel that a different purchase would be better for their needs or department. Whatever the reason, one of your decision-makers might be pulling the rest of the group in a different direction.

What should you do in this situation? The best idea is to treat it like you would any other objection. Find out what the real issue is (and it is often something different than what is being said) and then point to the value you can provide. Try to show that person how your solution is going to make their life a little bit better but do it without losing the rest of the group. Often, by reinforcing the strongest points of your presentation, you can bring the other members of the buying team in to close the sale. Either way, though, the name of the game is still to step back from the objection, recognize it, and emphasize the benefits you can offer. Remember that in trade show selling we still have to follow the same steps; we're just trying to move through them a little more quickly.

To make big sales, at a trade show or otherwise, you are going to have to get comfortable selling to groups. Often, that means recognizing that different people are going to have competing interests and concerns; what is a big benefit to one is not always important to another. If you simply stick to your principles of selling, however, you quickly find that working with multiple decision-makers can be easier, since persuading one or two often has a "domino effect" that will help close the others quickly.

Pullout: Personality Styles in Buying Groups

Regular readers of my books and attendees of my seminars already know that one of the easiest ways to speed up the sales cycle and increase your closing ratio is by learning to identify and work with different personality styles. Understanding what is motivating your decision-makers, and how they like to make decisions, is a skill that is hard to match in value because it allows you to tailor your presentation to each person and “speak their language” – rather than work against their natural tendencies.

Things get a little bit tougher when you add more decision-makers into the mix, and for the same reason buying groups work well for clients – more people mean more perspectives. It is not just that your prospects are usually going to be coming from different departments with distinct needs, but they are also going to have varied backgrounds and ways of seeing the problems they face. Some, the aggressive executive types, are going to want to see the highlights and make quick decisions; others are more social or analytical, meaning that they are going to want to know you and/or your products thoroughly to make a commitment. Still a fourth group will be risk-averse, and simply afraid of choosing the wrong thing.

The best way to tackle this problem is usually with good information and insight. First, make sure you understand the different buying styles, what they mean, and how to recognize them. Go back and read the relevant chapter of The MODERN Selling System (www.modernsellingthebook.com) if you need a refresher in this area. It is also a good idea to find out about your own personality style, so that you are prepared and can recognize what parts of your selling personality are going to help you with certain types of buyers, along with tendencies that might hold you back.

From there, treat each decision-maker as a separate sale, at least in the beginning. Try to structure your presentations so that the big picture items are placed near the beginning, and then work on closing the details as you progress. Or better yet, try to cover the major points early, and then meet with different members of the buying team separately. From this tactic you get two strong benefits: First, you persuade the action-takers early without annoying them – and perhaps losing them – with the details; and secondly, you excite them first, so they can help you spread that enthusiasm to their colleagues. Having one or two of them pushing the others toward a close can accomplish more than you ever would on your own – especially given that most action-oriented professionals are in leadership positions.

Working with buying groups means dealing with different personality styles. Instead of being frustrated with that reality, embrace it and move each decision-maker along at his or her own speed. It might seem like an extra step at first, but you’ll probably speed up the sales process by making everyone comfortable and presenting in a way that makes the most sense to them.

Henry, Carl. Trade Show Selling: How to Make a Year's Worth of Sales in a Few Days or Less. Unknown. Kindle Edition.