Look at the Sales Cycle from Your Customer's Perspective

Originally posted on The Source:

http://community.scansource.com/Blogs/post/Look-at-the-Sales-Cycle-from-Your-Customer's-Perspective

A-B-C. A - Always, B - Be, C - Cycling....wait, what?

I was at a seminar recently that was about writing blogs to promote your business. There were a lot of interesting takeaways, but one thing really stood out. They talked about the sales cycle, the full sales cycle, from the customer’s point of view. They were speaking in terms of how to write a blog; I thought it would be a good refresher to talk about it in general.

There are six phases: awareness, consideration, intention, purchase, use, and advocacy. I have to admit, being in sales and getting into a daily grind, it’s easy to forget about some of those steps. So let’s break it down.

Awareness

Are your customers aware of your product or service? Sounds like a silly question, but what are you doing today to make them aware of you and how you stand out amongst your competition. Does your advertising accomplish this goal? Is your sales staff conveying the right message? In these tough economic times, maybe it’s time to revisit your brand and what you’re doing to make people know you’re there. Another interesting comment in this seminar was that a good sales person doesn’t just create the solution for you, but he/she discovers the problem you didn’t know you had. Something to ponder about as you rethink your “go-to-market” strategy.

Consideration

So now that your potential customers know you’re there, it’s time for them to consider buying your product/service. Why would anyone buy from anyone but you, right? Again, here’s where you need to uniquely position yourself. It’s easy to forget that you may offer something distinctly different from your competition because it’s so common to you that you assume everyone knows about it.

Intention

Some might look at this as the customer deciding they want to make the purchase. I think it may be partly that, but more so how they intend to use your product/service. Basically, they’re trying to make sure that what you’re offering them will solve their problem. This is where the good salesperson’s talent should shine.

Purchase

Finally, the sale. You’ve closed the deal. Congratulations for all your hard work. Onto the next job, right? Well, maybe you do move on to your next prospect, but from the customer’s perspective, the sales cycle isn’t quite over.

Use

Here’s where they finally use the product/service. It’s important to follow up with your customer to make sure everything is going well. Many frustrations by the customer can be avoided by simple follow-up calls to ensure there are no problems. I have found that people are a lot less angry with a product that isn’t working when they at least have a sense that they are being taken care of. This can go a long way towards controlling the outcome of the final (and maybe most important) phase.

Advocacy

It’s almost a cliché, but it really is true. Word of mouth advertising is the best form. If your product/service truly solves a problem for someone and they have a pleasant experience throughout the sale, then they will talk about it. Conversely, the opposite can be detrimental. Why do I say this may be the most important phase? Quite simply, we’re not here to make just one sale. We want a lot of sales. So ideally, when the entire sales cycle is completed correctly, it should generate more business for you.

When you step back and look at the complete sales cycle from a customer’s perspective, I think it can really help you figure out how to re-position your business, as well as generate new business. Whether it’s an impulse buy or a year-long project, every one of these phases should be considered. You can really see how each one is important and needs the previous phase to move forward. So I say, instead of “always be closing,” always be cycling. How do you work the sales cycle in your business?