I find it ironic that we often talk about customer buying cycles as if it's just a step-by-step process like assembling furniture, but we don't often try to understand why someone would want to buy anything in the first place. We never really talk about someone's motivation to start the sales process, which I think is the key element to making a sale.

There are two main reasons why people buy something:

1. They want change
2. They want a replacement to keep things the same way

(Gift buying is a different beast that I'll address in another post.)

Any customer has one of these two reasons in mind, consciously or subconsciously, when he starts the process. Frankly, unless the customer is open to change, there isn't much that can change his mind as to what he wants to do. If he wants a replacement – he'll get a replacement. If he can't find a replacement, he will change. A bit. Maybe. Or let it go. It depends.

Yes, purchases can be influenced to happen, but it is the customer who determines if it really will happen at all. The customer chooses to enter the process and chooses to exit when he wants.

Usually, all I need to hear from a sales person to get me to buy is: "This is the last one I have in stock."

Sure, that doesn't work for goods over $250. But for anything under that amount, it will encourage me to buy. I'll only do that because I'm open to a change in some way – getting a new item that will change my look in some way (and changing my look will somehow change my attitude and perspective on life).

If for some reason I don't have that $250 available, I won't buy no matter how much I want something and how much I want change. I'll just let it go. This is true of some friends as well – we won't buy something because something prevents us – money, fear of change, etc. – even if we want the object. We just aren't ready for everything that comes with that change (the bill, the maintenance, etc.). We can visualize all aspects of the change, and we discover during that visualization process that it's not right for us at that time.

A purchase experience doesn't really have much to do with you or your product. It has to do with how the customer feels about himself with the product. I know, this sounds like dating advice. And it is – buying anything is a lot like dating.  

So how does buying work for a customer?

• Looking for something new or a replacement. Someone may be looking for a change in how they do things or what they do. He may want to start a new hobby. Or invest more in a hobby. Or change his approach to laundry. In any case, someone wants something new. And he is looking for a change in himself in some minor or major way. If he wants just a replacement, there may be some opportunity for change, but don't bet on it.

• Exploring feelings about the new – painting a picture of what a new life would feel like. How do I feel with this new thing? How will it change my life? People need to have a picture painted for them about what life will be like with this new object/approach/piece of clothing – whatever it is. This phase can last minutes or weeks, usually depending on the cost or how desperate someone is in need of a replacement. The higher the cost, the more someone needs to visualize themselves with this new item and change. And if there is a higher cost, what will life look like while financing the object? (That's probably the biggest hurdle for high-ticket items – will someone now need to live on a budget? Or cut out other expenses?) What will life look like maintaining the object? Will that be expensive and require time?

• Buying it once. Most companies don't like to hear that one purchase doesn't necessarily mean a customer converted. I had a client long ago that didn't consider a customer converted unless he completed 2 purchases with them. The first purchase was a trial; the second was a customer conversion because he repeated the process and most likely, would buy again. I agreed with them. And I see it with myself. I may buy a shirt from a store, but I may not buy anything again because I liked only that one shirt in there – I didn't like anything else. I'm not converted.

• Buying again and again. A customer does this this because he likes the products. Or the store is convenient. Or the products are at the right price point. Whatever the reason, he converts to being a customer and regular shopper.

If the person doesn't think he has a true need, he won't buy. Same if he doesn't have money. Or if he isn't ready for whatever reason. He can be influenced, but he won't budget if he doesn't feel it.

Sure, in marketing and advertising we create needs and try to present a better, different way to do something. But this only works if someone is open to seeing what that need is and considering himself in that position. If the person isn't open minded and looking for change, then it won't be adopted.

For example, Bernays was hired by Lucky Strike to get women to smoke. Rather than having only an ad campaign, he hired suffregettes to smoke during a parade. The women watching the parade could visualize themselves participating in the parade, with these other "free" women. He associated freedom with smoking – helping the women visualize how they may feel if they smoked. However, women at that time took on smoking only because they were were looking for new ways of being and a change. Most women were desperately seeking freedom at the time. Freedom was the trend – so associating smoking with freedom was an easy visualization and sale. But if the women weren't looking for change, and suffrage wasn't embraced, this wouldn't have worked.

Change and purchases only happen when a customer is ready and open to it. And once he is open to it – he needs to see how his life will be different. If that doesn't happen – neither will the sale. 

More on this next post.

Or Part 2 of why people dodge sales calls.

No one is going to contact you about purchasing anything unless that person has a project in mind. The standard lead qualifiers – budget and timeline – need to be met. Without these key elements, you can call this person all you want, but there will be no sale. It will just be a waste of your time.

With that said, you must be wondering if marketing activities are a waste. They aren't. Those activities should be reaching new people, building awareness of your company's product and offerings. You are trying to find people who need what you sell. And often, you'll come across someone who is new who needs to buy something now. But more on this later.

Let's get back to how people need to have a project in mind when they call you to buy.

It really is as simple as that. Again, you can call phone numbers you get from a lead generation form, but if those individuals don't have a project, a budget and a timeline, the call is a waste of time.  

Prospects need to be enticed to have a conversation, similar to a girl at a bar by a potential suitor. There has to be a reason for conversation, and product features (or looks) will only go so far. From my experience, the best conversations in these situations have a strong non-committal aspect to them, or rather, an escape factor.

There always has to be a way for someone to leave right away if something goes bad – too much pressure, someone says something ridiculous, or someone does something unacceptable. There has to be a way to leave quickly, cleanly, and politely. No one likes to reject people on a first meeting. It feels weird and judgemental – and people generally don't like to think they are that way.

The same is true for prospects. If you want to talk to prospects, you need to remove the pressure.

There are 3 qualities that have to exist in the conversation and the medium where that conversation takes place for a successful prospect conversation:

• Escape path
• No expectations during the conversation
• Keeping it casual and conversational in tone

Like dating, these initial conversations are about getting to know someone and keeping it non-committal. The goal is to get to the date – not the phone number – so the more casual the better.

What are the 5 best ways to achieve this?

• Online chat. I love online chat and find it highly effective to generate solid leads. Even the word "chat" has a casual aspect to it. And if the conversation gets weird, you can always close the chat window. There have been many times that I have used chat to ask a few technical questions, only for the conversation to get too involved for chat, so I initiate a phone conversation. I'm sure others are similar. The conversation is about the prospect's needs – not a sales pitch. 

• Social media. I love Twitter and use it often for support and for questions during the very early stages of the sales process. It's very casual – notes are no more than 140 characters. It's quick, easy, and not very involved. And if you need more help – take it to email or phone. Same with Facebook. The beauty of social media is that it is very public – everyone can see your communication. This makes this all the more casual and keeps it "normal" – everyone can see a weird/pushy conversation, so they are typically avoided, and you can easily leave a conversation (ignore it or just get out and delete your thread). It meets all the criteria.

• Lead nurturing. Someone comes to your site to get a white paper. After a few weeks, you send him something else that may interest him. He reads it and wants more. And this continues for a while. He is an information junkie, but he may choose your product when ready to buy because you have given him so much free knowledge. Or he may refer your company and product to someone who is ready to buy. Nurturing a lead won't convince him to buy – he will only call when he wants to buy – but it will keep you at the top of his mind for that moment. 

• Sales call to talk about some related subject – NOT ABOUT BUYING PRODUCT. If you have experience with this working, let me know. I want to try this with a program, because I think it would work, at least it has with me in the past. Has a sales person ever called you – not to sell something, not to invite you to sales event, just to check-in and ask you what you thought about the products you purchased or a new announcement or something new happening? It's powerful. And it is multi-purposed: it's casual customer research (you are getting his opinion), it's a great way to keep in touch with customers (a reason to talk to them), and a great way to check in if someone will EVER buy. Yes – EVER buy. Just because someone downloads a bunch of white papers, there may be no project or budget in place. But you can confirm if it is nothing, or maybe something someday, or just customer insight. You can't lose!

• Trade shows. Yes, they may seem to be dying, but trade shows are fantastic places to meet prospects and get to know them. It's like a massive singles party – some are looking for a commitment, some just want a good time, some just like to watch people. It's the same for sales – some have a project, budget and timeline, some are just curious, and some just want to look around. It's all about conversations – and there may not be a sale there, but there is great awareness about what you sell for future reference and referrals. And yes – there is always an easy escape (always need to get a drink or food or run away), no expectations (the likelihood of selling anything on a show floor is slim), and casual – it's just knowledge sharing. 

If you want customers to contact you, you really need to meet 3 criteria – allow an escape, no expectations, and keep it casual. It's like dating – show you are a good conversationalist and could be a good friend, and that person will warm up to give you that date. Or for sales, give you a meeting for a sale if there is indeed an opportunity.

More on how to present your company to people to grab those opportunities in the next post. 

I was researching CMS options for a client. I asked my assistant to get a few white papers and brochures from a list of vendors I created, read through the materials to learn what each one offered, and then I’d work with him to create a feature matrix to compare the options and narrow down the list to 3-4 vendors. It was a fairly straightforward project.

Late one afternoon, I got a call from one of the vendors, asking for my assistant and wanting to discuss the white paper he downloaded. I said he was tied up and that this wasn’t his number – it was mine! Then I called him to find out what happened.

All he had to say: “I didn’t want sales to call me.”

He didn’t want to talk to sales (it was funny that he didn’t consider that I didn’t want these calls either). I didn’t want to talk to sales, either. We weren’t ready. But somehow, the companies he got content from weren’t convinced that we weren’t ready. They were tyring to make us ready, using the old model of sales guiding us through the sales process. But I didn’t want their help–I wanted to guide myself.

We have all heard the analogy before, but it is true – sales is like dating. A guy in a bar has the goal of getting a girl’s number and have her say yes to a date. It’s not just about getting the number, getting a number is easy. Anyone can collect a bunch of numbers without a lot of conversation. That doesn’t guarantee a date at all. It does guarantee a lot of potentially fake numbers.

Now a guy can have a conversation with a girl, build some rapport, find out what they have in common, buy the girl a drink and most likely – the guy will get a date. He has to show that he cares about who she is and what she’s all about just a little bit for her to definitely say yes.

I guess its about your goal. Is it the number or the date?

Back to sales…gating an asset and asking for a phone number doesn’t make a sale – it means you got a number. We wonder why these forms don’t perform sometimes; but if we go back to the dating analogy, offering a white paper after a form is like that “smooth talker” at a bar, who uses a bunch of pick-up lines and doesn’t seem to care who the girls are. And then he wonders why he constantly gets fake numbers! (As does the company that offers the white paper after a form, using them as a lead.)

Early in the process, most prospects aren’t looking to talk to sales. Sure, they may want a conversation, but most likely not. Today people want to research in silence and they will call when ready to buy.

I know it is hard for companies to hold back a little and let a customer get to know them. Letting a customer get to know your company doesn’t bring a phone number or a sale. It will – but not now. This is such a different paradigm for any lead generation team.

In the past without the Internet, prospects would realize that they had a need, and they would call a list of companies to have some conversations. Sales spent time helping people thru the pre-sales process, providing knowledge and information as needed. They typically helped the prospect figure out what he really wanted.

Today, people can do the research part online (most times coming to a company 60-90% through the sales process, at least according to Gartner). The challenge is that customers sometimes go too far in the research process to think, “I want THAT!” when in fact, they NEED something very different. But they avoid sales because, well, sales can be pushy.

And a pushy sales guy is like the grabby guy who tries to fondle the girl on date #1, when she clearly wants to go home. Icky!

Now that customers are doing this research and calling “when they are ready,” marketing and sales don’t feel that sales have as many contacts to call.

• First, sales always wants more people to call. Many times, they don’t call them, but they like having them around. It’s the thought that counts, I guess.

• Second, they have more targeted prospects if they wait until later in the process to get the lead – a better chance of a real “date,” or sale. If they wait a little, sometimes sales has people who are ready to dig into the details and be guided in the decision making process. Sure, they may be 50% through it, but they are ready – and it should go quickly.

Companies need to get beyond thinking that collecting a bunch of phone numbers or email addresses is an activity unto itself. It can be, but most of the numbers are typically trash – either fake or people who aren’t ready to do anything. A company is better off finding ways to get to know these prospects – find out what they are looking for, see if there is a way they can help them, and give them that info for free by posting it on the Web site and in PDFs.

Basically, get to know that girl in the bar buy her a drink.

And if the girl feels like there is a bit of a match, she will say yes to the date. Just like a prospects will say yes to call if it seems that the company can help them.

My next post will go into ways to make this happen. Stay tuned for more!

We reminisce about our childhoods and the corner store. The owners knew you and your parents. They knew your favorite candy, soda, sandwich – whatever you liked to snack on. They didn’t give you a hard time about anything – well, unless you did something to upset the store owners (not like I would know…I was a little goody-two-shoes). And you didn’t need to always buy anything – sometimes they just liked it when you stopped in to say “hi.” There was a balance between shopping, buying and relationship building.

(Unlocking the Mysteries of Your Customer Relationships at HBR addresses raises this point as well).

The town where I grew up had a small grocery store, Angelo’s. It was a small chain store, but the charm of it was that the employees talked to the customers. I remember my mom talking to the Store Manager, Assistant Store Manager, Cashiers and stock boys all the time. I remember being very sad when the Assistant Store Manager, Joanie, left – I was only a little kid, but I used to admire everything about her. And yes, she even worked her way up from being a cashier to a manager – and was getting her own store to manage.

As time marched on, supermarkets and big stores just weren’t the same. Being a customer meant you were an anonymous being in the store only with the purpose to buy something. Rarely did anyone there know who you are, never mind your parents. I don’t think some of the people working in the stores cared to know you. But you got a great price and there was a lot more variety to choose from, so what could you really complain about, right?

Let’s start with lousy service.

When a store – or any company – encourages its employees not to get to know its customers, a silent, transparent yet very thick wall is built. This wall creates an us/them relationship between company and customers. The company provides “things” to the customers and the customers provide money to the company.

But how do you know what “things” the customers really want if you don’t talk to them? 

The only narrative, the only thing in the whole universe that truly matters is the product we build for our users.

—The Problem with Founders, TechCrunch

For a store, the product isn’t a tangible item – it’s the experience of buying that item. Some shoppers want to find what they are looking for right away. Others want a discovery process – where they find something “by accident” or they are introduced to something new. Some want to get a great deal. Some want to find the best quality. Some want a story. Some are simply researching what’s out there to buy. Some like the experience of shopping – with no intention of buying. And the list goes on…

With online shopping, we want the best of both worlds. We want the anonymity to explore a store without someone helping us, but we want built in guidance to lead us to what we want. We want tools to search inventory. We want sites to recommend what we may want. We want email notifications to tell us about sales, bargains, and inventory updates.

We want the online store to know us based on the data we enter into the browser, but not know us THAT well. We don’t want to feel like someone is following us. We don’t want them to remember sensitive information.

Basically, we want to avoid being stalked. And just looking to “convert” a customer as a lead or a sale without building that relationship is stalking.

There is a boundary between friendly, relationship building behavior and stalker, in the same way there is a boundary between making recommendations and showing new items “just because” and only looking to “convert” someone to purchase. We miss the charm of the corner store, where the owners knew that balance and lived it. We almost need to go back to those stores, watch what happens, and find a way to recreate that experience – or rebuild it from our memories. We don’t need to always be selling; sometimes we need to just get to know our customers.

I believe in the Law of Attraction – "like attracts like," or rather the universe provides you with what you ask for. This includes "bad" customers. This is why people tell you to carefully choose your words – it's up to you to ask for what you really want.

I got inspired to write this after reading an article by John Jantsch, Customer Loyalty Is Mostly About Choosing the Right Customers. What he wrote that got me thinking about this more:

Now, you may not exactly love the clients you’ve attracted, but that’s because you don’t realize the power you wield when it comes to “choosing” your clients. Far too many business owners feel powerless in this regard and subject themselves to serving “anyone with money” or worse “anyone they hope will pay.”

Just following money won't give you the customers you need. Sure, it helps you pay the bills, and that's important, but it's not you creating something you love and a business that will grow. You shouldn't be afraid to ask for what you really want – in fact, creating a business plan forces you to do just that.

Business 101: choose a target market for your product or service. In some ways, creating a business plan and getting a business started is basically asking the universe for something. 

You determine what you want to sell, refine your ideas, create a plan to get customers, get an appealing logo for your company and start emailing, promoting, and selling. You do your marketing and get the word out there. You believe that you are well on your way to get the customers you think you want.

And then the type of customers you thought you were going to get don't show up. Why?

As Jantsch writes in his article, if you re-evaluate your plans, you may realize that you are actually targeting the type of customer you want based on the experience you designed. And you realize that what you designed will not get the type of customer you originally wanted. (Read about the kids and the dance company – that's a great example of this.) 

However, looking at the customers you are getting – you did, in fact, get the customers you asked for.

I've often witnessed a company believing that they know the target customer, but the logo, Web site, messaging, etc. just aren't where they need to be to attract the type of customer desired- it is attracting someone different. Sometimes, the collateral attracts someone like the owners or manager because they are making decisions based on their own preferences rather than what is best for the business. Sometimes there are other factors involved – cost efficiencies, shaving schedules, and more.

Remember, most customers get over 5,000 marketing messages per day. They don't have the patience to absorb another message or the time to try to figure out what your message is. Keep it simple and direct. But like everything – the devil is in the details.

Here are some subtleties that I observed over the years that can subconsciously change someone's perspective about your product or service for the better.

Make sure what you are selling comes is easily communicated on your Web site, marketing collateral, messaging, logo – the works! It sounds simple – but it isn't.

• Your logo should connect to what the company does. It's subtle, but it confuses customers when they don't understand how your logo represents what you do and your company's name. Most customers subconsciously connect a logo with what a company does. If the logo doesn't do this, people won't understand what you are doing or why – they will be confused at a subconscious level and just leave. The price you pay for being vague in hope of greater opportunity may be high – no opportunity.

• Be clear and specific about what your company does. How many times have you gone to a Web site to learn about what a company does and all you learn is – well, you don't quite learn anything. There is no product or service list. There is no executive summary paragraph. That's because the company doesn't want to risk losing out on your business. But to a customer – he doesn't see the company as reliable or responsible because it can't simply explain what it does. This should be easy enough. Confusion can cost you opportunity and dollars.

• Do you dress nicely to visit customers? If you do then you need snappy marketing collateral. Even the best players in the word-of-mouth world need a great Web site and business cards. Your marketing materials are like clothes for your company. If your clothes don't look nice, people won't take you seriously. Investing $500 on a decent logo will shift the perception people have of your company. They will take you seriously and be more open to work with you. That $500 investment suddenly is invaluable. It's like a good suit – and who complains about buying a great suit for work?

• You have a professional business – have professionally designed logo. Sure, you may not have budget to get a great logo, Web site, or a brochure. But at the same time, someone could be subconsciously driven away because they think you have a hobby company that is only open on the weekends or crazy hours. Or they may assume that you don't take your own business seriously enough to invest to get a half-way decent professional logo done.  (See the suit example – employers sometimes think this during interviews). There are a number of do-it-yourself sites out there (Wix, Squarespace, Site2you, Homestead) that you can use to create a professional looking site. There aren't a lot of excuses for this anymore.

Give your customers what they need to be successful when they work with you – not what you think they need. 

• Make your contact information easy to find. My pet peeve – companies that hide their phone numbers on their site.  When I can't find a company's phone number to call them about a product or service, I figure that it doesn't want new customers. I also figure that it doesn't value its existing customers – they just don't want anyone to reach them. Your message to them is loud and clear – don't call us. 

• Respect your customer's time – organize your Web site and store so that it is easy to navigate. No one wants to waste a bunch of time trying to figure out your business and how you work. Doing this makes it clear that your business is about you – and who wants to work with that? Look at this from a customer's perspective – if a site or store is complicated and confusing, what would it be like to do business with you? Customers do think about such things. 

• Ask your customers how you can help them  so you can serve them better. Asking customers how you can help them – either in your store or online or through surveys – make them feel like they are part of your business. You care enough to get their opinions, and it builds a relationship with them. The best feedback comes from customers you have "wronged" so to speak. Take that as an opportunity to improve. This is the only way to know if you are truly serving them and that they are happy. Otherwise, you can only assume, and we know where assumptions get us.

These are just a few ideas for taking your business more seriously so that you get the customers you want. If you communicate clearly to customers what you are offering, most likely, the customers you truly want will find their way to you. 

How have you found the customers you wanted? I look forward to hearing your stories!