Salespeople who understand the buyer more, sell more. That is clear to see from our benchmarking data, as well as our direct experience. But an intellectual understanding of the buying decision is no longer enough. As this whitepaper shows; 'It is not just how much you know, but how much you care that sells'.

1. Retail Price: $9.99
Salespeople Need To Better Understand The Buyer Because:
To Sell More - Empathize More!
“…translate
Salespeople who understand the buyer more, sell more. That
is clear to see from our benchmarking data, as well as our
buyer
direct experience. But an intellectual understanding of the understanding
buying decision is no longer enough. into buyer
empathy…”
Salespeople who translate buyer understanding into buyer
empathy enjoy the greatest sales success.
As this whitepaper shows; ‘It is not just how much you know,
but how much you care that sells’.

2. Buyers: To Know ‘Em Is To Love ‘Em
Buyers – ‘to know 'em is to love 'em’, or more to the point; ‘to know
them is to sell to them’. That is to say a better understanding of how
buying decisions are made, as well as of those who make them can
significantly boost closing success.
However, simply knowing the buyer is not enough. The challenge for
sellers is not just to know more about the buyer's; role, background,
or their place in the organizational hierarchy. To be really effective
seller must go one step further.
An intellectual understanding of the buying decision is not enough. To
fully appreciate the buyer's motivations, challenges and concerns
requires that the seller steps into the buyer's shoes. In modern selling
it is not just how much you know, but how much you care that
matters.
Empathy Sells “Sellers must
fully appreciate
Sellers don't just need to develop their level of buyer understanding,
but their level of buyer empathy too. Only then can the seller
the complexity
appreciate the full complexity of modern buying and by extension the of modern
real opportunities and challenges they face in getting the sale.
buying…”
Now, you may be thinking ‘we have gone soft’. You may be thinking
that buyer empathy is ‘pie in the sky’ – a kind of sales Pollyanna. Rest
assured however - we haven't ‘gone soft’. Buyer empathy is
something that can have a real impact on sales success. In short
empathy sells!
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3. The Empathic Edge
Empathy is an advanced level of buyer knowledge and understanding.
It helps sellers to sell more, but that is not all. Salespeople who can
understand and relate to what the buyer is thinking and indeed feeling
have several advantages:
They enjoy preferential status among buyers. Sellers who take the
“It is the
time to understand what the buyer wants and show they care about antidote to
it, are naturally favoured among buyers. The result is deeper seller anxiety
relationships, with buyers being more likely to open up and to engage.
It is also key to developing a champion within the buying organization. and frustration”
They can gauge the buyer's reaction to their pitch, or proposal even
when the buyer says little. That allows them to intelligently adjust
their approach as required.
They can instinctively spot early warning signals and sense where the
buyer is facing internal resistance. That is because they have a real
appreciation of the buyer's challenges in navigating their internal
buying requirements and getting the purchase sanctioned.
They can more effectively alleviate the buyer's concerns, address
their challenges, and allay their fears. They can help the buyer to
achieve his/her goals – so as to achieve their own.
They face fewer shocks and surprises. A full understanding and
appreciation of the complexity of the buying decision enables the
seller to correctly identify and directly address obstacles to getting the
sale. It is typically associated with better forecast accuracy, improved
pre-qualification and all round better opportunity management. It
generally means improved account management and development as
well.
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4. They experience less stress. A greater appreciation and understanding
of the buyer makes selling easier. It is the antidote to increased seller
anxiety and frustration. For example:
In the event of a stalled buying decision, the seller can see behind
buyer intransigence to the real impediments to a decision being made.
Rather than getting irritable with the vacillating buyer, the seller can
appreciate the risk sensitivity of the buyer and directly address those
risks.
These are just some of the many ways by which a switch from enmity
to empathy can make sellers more effective.
The Widening Gap Between Buyers and Sellers
As a seller developing empathy with the buyer can be a challenge. The
rise of the competitive tender (and more bureaucratise buying in
general) has driven a wedge between buyers and sellers. It effectively
means that both sides are increasingly involved in a ‘them’ and ‘us’
stand-off. “Emotional
The fact that more buying decisions are being made behind closed
intelligence is
doors, means that salespeople are more likely to be perplexed, even essential to the
frustrated by the behaviour of the professional buyer. salesperson…”
Viewing procurement as an impediment to the sale, salespeople often
struggle to understand what motivates buyers, particularly the
bureaucratic ones. However, those salespeople who develop their
level of understanding and indeed empathy with the modern are
certain to enjoy greater success.
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5. Steps To Developing Buyer Empathy
Being able to understand and identify with the buyer - what he or she
is thinking and feeling is a form of emotional intelligence that is
essential to the salesperson doing his or her job effectively.
Of course, some salespeople are naturally better at empathising with
buyers (and people generally for that matter). Yet empathy is
something that, as salespeople, we all can and should develop.
There are 5 ways in which sellers can develop their level of
buyer empathy and boost sales success:
1. Learn About Buying
2. Pay Attention To What The Buyer Is Thinking &
Feeling
3. Demonstrate A Genuine Desire To Help
4. Step Into The Buyer's Shoes
5. Blur The Line Between Buyer & Seller.
Let's examine each of these in turn.
1. Learn About Buying
‘Seek first to understand, then to be understood’ is one of
Covey's ‘Seven Secrets Of Highly Effective Managers’. It
certainly applies to selling.
To understand and empathize with the buyer, sellers must
know the framework within which the buyer is operating. That
includes; steps of the buying decision, the information requirements,
the people involved, the sign-off level, and so on.
Most sellers know a lot more about selling, than they do about buying.
They will readily admit to gaps in their knowledge of the steps in the
buying decision, or the buying criteria in respect of key opportunities
being pursued.
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6. Sellers should spend more time getting to understand buying. In
particular, the key dimensions of buying rules and risks that causes
much seller frustration. They shouldn't just read sales books, but
books on buying too. “Sellers should
spend more
2. Pay Attention To What The Buyer Is Thinking & Feeling. time getting to
understand
The seller needs to know what the buyer is thinking and feeling.
More important still they need to show that they care about what the
buying.”
buyer thinks and feels.
Buyers don't wear their emotions on their sleeves; indeed they may
even deny that there is any emotional element to their decisions.
After all they are rational economic buyers!
The first step for the buyer is to pay more
attention to the buyer, more specifically to
pay attention to their words, thoughts and
actions. That is something that our slide
decks, sales process and sales proposal
won't do for us however.
There is typically little in the way of
emotional intelligence in the fact-finds
used by sellers in their engagements with
buyers, or the CRM systems used to record
prospect information. These tend to focus
on the detail (e.g. company information,
pre-qualification criterion, needs analysis,
etc.), rather than the context (e.g. the
motivations, aspirations, aversions, etc.) of
the buyer.
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7. That means they don't prompt the seller to answer more searching
questions such as:
What is the buyer really thinking?
How does the buyer really feel about this?
How will this make the buyer look to others?
What pressures/challenges does the buyer face?
What political/cultural issues confront the buyer?
What concerns does the buyer have?
What might the buyer be reluctant to say?
What hopes/aspirations does the buyer have and how does the
purchase impact on them?
How does the buyer imagine the future of his
team/department/business?
Buyers can be slow to open up to sellers and confess what they are
thinking. The seller must create an atmosphere of trust where the
buyer is willing to say what he/she is really thinking. “Buyers believe
that most
3. Demonstrate A Genuine Desire To Help salespeople are
only interested
Buyers need to feel that sellers understand and care about what is
important to them. This is not to be taken for granted however; as
in the sale.”
buyers believe that most salespeople are only interested in the sale.
The salesperson must demonstrate their concern for the buyer and
express it in a genuine desire to help. The degree to which the
salesperson cares is something that the buyer is likely to judge from
even the initial encounter. It is an assessment that is often
subconscious, but nonetheless can determine the future tone of any
relationship.
Now, there are many techniques to fast-track rapport building and to
fane empathy, but unless you are a good actor, we don't recommend
them. Buyers quickly see through false sincerity. Being yourself and
being genuinely interested is all that is required.
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8. Many traditional sales techniques are an impediment to a greater
closeness between buyer and seller. For example, nothing sends a
clearer signal to the buyer that you are just interested in getting the “Ask yourself:
sale than clumsy or premature attempts at closing. For this reason
showing you care requires: How would I
Slowing down to the pace of the buyer feel, think of act
Less talking and more listening
if I was the
More active engagement with the buyer
The joint exploration of needs and solutions buyer?”
A focus on buying process, rather than sales process
Being prepared to accept that your solution may not suit
everybody.
4. Step Into The Buyer’s Shoes
Buyers are not robots. Key to success in selling is the ability
of the sales person and by extension his or her proposition
to resonate with the buyer on an emotional level – that is
the level of the buyer's; hopes, fears and so on. But, how
can you know what the buyer is thinking and feeling?
Sellers who are keen to empathize with buyers ask the
question ‘how would I feel, think, or act if I was the buyer
in this situation?’ They ask a similar question of colleagues
who share the same job responsibilities, or functional
background of the buyer.
5. Blur The Line Between Buyer & Seller
Sellers must talk about the buyer's opportunities and challenges as if
they were their own. They must choose their language carefully,
avoiding language that reinforces a ‘them and us’, or ‘you and I’,
division. The seller must demonstrate that they own the buyer’s
problem, that their success and that of the buyer are intertwined.
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9. Focusing on developing a shared vision of the future – of what success
will look like is key to intertwining buyer and seller. This is effectively
what needs analysis and solution definition is about. However, take a
look at a typical sales proposal and you will likely find that it falls
considerably short of delivering a shared vision of future success.
Your Sales Gauge: Your Level Of Buyer Empathy
Take the Buyer Empathy Test below. Use it to gauge how attuned you
are to the buyer and the impact that address this issue could have on
your sales success.
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 'I understand what it must be like to be a professional buyer,
including the responsibilities, challenges and targets.'
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 'I understand the requirements of getting the purchase
sanctioned and the internal demands that it places on the
buyer.'
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 'I don't get frustrated by the buyer's rules and procedures
viewing them as a necessary element of modern buying.'
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 'I understand the mantra for today's buyers is ‘more for less’
and that pushing supplier costs down is one of the buyer's
main responsibilities.'
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10. Tick  If ‘Yes’
 'I can appreciate that buyers are slow to accept what
salespeople have to say. They are right to be cautious and even
cynical about vendor promises.'
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 I understand that the buyer often faces hidden complexities in
making the decision (e.g. conflicting priorities, competing
projects and internal politics).'
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 I am highly perceptive and can tell what the buyer is thinking,
even if he/she does not say much.
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 I think about how the purchase decision will impact on the
buyer and his, or her success.
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 Buyers regularly open up and share their motivations and fears
with me. They trust me.
Tick  If ‘Yes’
 Buyers clearly see me as having their best interests at heart.
They know that I care about what is important to them.
What Should You Do Next?
Use the checklist above to decide what you want to do next. In
particular, see how many items were you able to tick 'Yes'.
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11. If you ticked most, or all of them then you have the buyer's empathy
under control. So, you might like to navigate to some other aspect of
the Opportunities Stage, or elsewhere in the sales process.
If not, this area could be limiting your sales success. You can start
addressing it by tackling those items in the checklist that you could
not tick. For each make a note of specific actions you can take – you
will find space to write earlier in this paper.
The Science Behind This Paper
These insights and tools are based on extensive research under 3
headings:
1. Buyer Research – our ground-breaking research into how modern
buying decisions are made and the implications for sellers.
2. Best Practice Research – Over 1 million pages of best practice sales
case studies, books and research.
3. Common Practice Research – Our peer comparison benchmark of
1,000s of your competitors and peers.
The Sales Engine® and SellerNav are trademarks of The ASG Group.
The entire contents of this document are copyright of The ASG Group
and cannot be reproduced in any format without written permission.
Would you like help in tackling your sales challenges? Contact us at:
enquiries@theASGgroup.com
www.theASGgroup.com
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