Why Buyer Enablement is a better strategy than Sales Enablement?

So, we agree that “The buyer is the king” in today’s experience driven economy. And that’s why it’s important for companies to position this concept at the heart of their sales strategy and processes.

Today's B2B companies are excited about Sales Enablement but I think the important question we need to ask is: “Should we plan our strategy around how the seller wants to sell...or how the buyer wants to buy?”

I mean the buyer may not be always right or they may not even understand the problem they’re tasked with solving in the first place, but the fact remains: Buyers (and their preferences) dictate how — and what — they buy. So, let’s think about Buyer Enablement instead of Sales Enablement.

So, what do I mean by Buyer Enablement?

Buyer enablement is the process of providing buyers with the information they need, when they need it, so they can understand the full scope of their business problem and how your solution will help them.

Why is buyer enablement so important for your sales process?

Today's buyers spend almost 55 percent of their time researching solutions independently & they don't like to speak with Sales Reps when they are early in their process. So the easier you make it for buyers to learn about their problem, discover your solution as an option, and advocate to decision-makers at their company, the faster they will move through the buying process and become your customers. 

So how do we engage buyers?

To engage buyers, I suggest you follow these steps:

1.  Carefully evaluate your prospects buying process.

2.  Reduce Friction

3.  Communicate with buyers on their terms, not yours. 

4.  Help your buyers understand their problem through educational content instead of product focused content.

So, let’s understand the steps a little better:

1. Evaluating your prospects buying process 

You may already have a sales enablement strategy in place or at least documenting your sales process. Before taking steps to enable your buyers, you’ll need to document and evaluate your prospects buying process, which starts when a buyer begins thinking about their problem. 

To get a better understanding of your buyers’ journey, just speak with your recent customers. You may ask these questions:

• How did they frame the problem prior to interacting with your business? 
• What resources ( Online or Offline) did they use to begin framing the problem? When they were online, what did they type into search? How many different resources did they use?
• What about your content that helped them grasp and define their problem? 
• Did they engage with your sales team? If so, did this engagement make it easier for them to take the next step?

2. Reduce Friction

We are living in an experience based economy so points of friction are experiences that make it difficult for your buyer to find the information they want and manage their own buying experience. 

Common points of friction include not offering demos on demand, manufacturing companies only talking about material specifications and not applications, or professional services companies that offer solutions but fail to provide an indication of price (not even a range or starting price). 

Some companies fall into the trap of thinking a friction is part of their strategy, hoping it will encourage buyers to talk to sales. But this doesn’t happen.

Buyers who fail to get the information they need simply leave your website to another that provides them the answer they originally sought to find. Solve this friction by making it simple for your buyers to use a tool that allows your prospect to follow a link and simply pick a time that works for them. 

3. Communicate with Buyers on their terms & not yours.

This point of friction is especially important because it’s so often overlooked. This can result in wasted time and resources. You need to determine the channels through which your buyer may want to communicate with you. For.e.g If your buyers want quick answers while on your website, yet their only option is to call or send a form, they will leave your website for the one who offers a Chat feature that provides instantaneous answers. But on the other hand , if you do enable chat on your site and then use it to ask dozens of questions, before offering value, he will leave you too.  

So when you outline the buyer's journey, take the time to also learn all the different communication channels your buyer would like to use and make them available. And when your buyer reaches out to talk to sales, make sure you ask the question about what channels are most convenient for them. 

4. Help your buyers understand their Problem Through Educational Content Not Salesy Product-Focused Content

B2B companies we work with know their solutions inside and out. It’s quite tempting to immediately show a buyer how their service can solve their business problem; the reality usually is that your solution solves part of their problem. 

Think about the buyer’s problem in the larger context of their business. For example, buyers who are concerned about lead generation and they can solve their problem in various ways -- your solution is just one of them. So it’s important to create content that helps the buyer understand the broader implication of their problem and educates them regarding their options. 

Following these steps will position you as a thought leader and a helpful resource, and you will begin to build genuine relationship early in the buying process. In fact, research has shown that when companies do this, customers are three times more likely to buy a bigger deal.

Hope you liked this article. Feel free to get in touch with me if you want to build powerful systems and profitable relationships with hard to reach, high value prospects.