Everyone has lost customers. We've had sales that were "a done deal" that vanished at the last minute. Wonder why you're losing them just when they seem ready and anxious to buy? These "wild customers™" run away because they haven't completed their unique Buying Continuum™ process. Learn how it works and how to use it your advantage. First presented at ProductCamp9 in Austin, Texas, August 18, 2012.

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Catching the Wild
Customer
Presenter: Jan Triplett, Ph.D.
CEO, Business Success Center
Sales, Marketing & Financial Strategy
#PC9
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved. 1

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This is me.
• Business Success Center
• Sales, marketing, and financial
management strategy
• Focus on growing businesses
• Also prepares businesses for
sale or transfer.
• 30 years of successful results
• High tech to no tech firms
• Service & product businesses
• A-Z industries & professions
• Award-winning; internationally
recognized
• NCRC Professionally certified
• Proud to be green Who are you?
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Agenda
 Customer Stages from the Seller’s Point of View
 The Seller’s Sales Flow Process
 Why Sales Vanish
 The Customer’s Buying Continuum™
 Catching the Wild Customer: Do’s & Don’ts
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer Stage Identification
 Suspect
 Prospect
 Customer
 Platinum Profile Customer™
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer Stage Identification
Level 1: Suspect
 Suspect is not a Customer yet; can be a referral.
 Referrals are all Suspects until they are pre-qualified.
 Need to do some research & pre-qualify before directly
contacting a Suspect.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer Stage Identification
Level 2: Prospect
 At initial contact they become a Prospect.
 Present Prospect with an opportunity to buy.
 Prospect is not a customer until sold something.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer Stage Identification
Level 4: Customer
 Becomes a Customer when the sale is closed and money
exchanged.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer Stage Identification
Level 5: Platinum Profile Customer™ (Post Sale)
 Becomes a Platinum Profile Customer™ when the customer
adds more value than just dollars.
 Reinforce, Retain, Repurchase
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Sales Flow Process
Seller's Action Items
 Step 1: Pre-qualify (pre-contact)
 Step 2: Initial Contact (brand ID, awareness)
 Step 3: Marketing (objections/FAQ)
 Step 4: Merchandising (reduce risk/ give taste)
 Step 5: Close
 Step 6: Post Sale (reinforce sale, retain)
 Step 7: Resell or Upgrade
Keep or Cull at each step
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Why “Sure Fire” Prospects Vanish
 You rushed.
 They didn’t see what you saw as addressing their problems or
helping them take advantage of an opportunity. (Benefits &
Advantages vs. Features)
 You lost to “Ghost Competitors”.
 You didn’t address their problem space.
 They didn’t finish their Buyer’s Continuum™.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Purchasing Perspective
 Step 1: Determine need
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Perspective
 Step 2: Set goal
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Perspective
 Step 3: Identify inflexible constraints and set priorities.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Perspective
 Step 4: Gather info, evaluate options
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Perspective
 Step 5: Make Purchase
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Perspective
 Step 6: Feel remorse or rejoice
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Customer’s Buying Continuum™
Buyer's Perspective
 Step 7: Repurchase, upgrade or disappear
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

18. Catching the Wild Customer:
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Do’s & Don’ts
 Buyer can compress steps; but Seller cannot let Buyer skip
any.
 Some of the above steps can happen simultaneously.
 Seller’s and Buyer’s processes don’t mesh perfectly so allow
time for both.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Worth Reading
 Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim & Mauborgne
 The Magic of Change by Tom Britton & Kent Cummins
 Selling with Integrity by Sharon Drew Morgen
 Thinking Big, Staying Small by Crispin Ruiz, Dixie Shipp Evatt,
& Jan Triplett
 If you have questions on the content of this seminar or if you
would like to meet to discuss your “wild customers”, please
email me at triplett@ownersview.com.
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.

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Here’s to
your
success!
Jan Triplett
triplett@ownersview.com
Blog: http://www.ownersview.com
512-933-1983
#PC 2
©Business Success Center, Austin, TX 2012. All rights reserved.
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