The sales reps looked really uncomfortable. No, it wasn’t the furniture, the room temperature, or environmental things. It was the topic. We were training them to use a Sequence of Events with their buyers. Their sales manager was ready to tear his hair out because he requires them to use this tool and update him about how each deal is progressing. And yet, his team was very reluctant.

What was fueling the resistance?

They were worried. Two themes emerged in the conversation. The first was that the buyers would be scared off by the perception that this is extra work. The second concern was buyers changing their minds too much to set up a tentative schedule.

Desire for certainty

People like to feel confident. Things will work out. It will be okay. We all want certainty. Despite knowing that there is little that is certain, we still go looking for it and want to believe that there is a sure path with foregone outcomes. Robert Burton, neurologist and author of On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not, explains, “At bottom, we are pattern recognizers who seek escape from ambiguity and indecision.” This was going on for the salespeople we were training. They wanted to be certain that this tool would make a difference in the sales cycle. The part they missed was that their buyers want to know what is likely to happen and when it will happen in the buying cycle.

And it’s not just our observation that buyers want to know what is likely to happen

MarketBridge recently conducted a survey asking sales and marketing executives what they notice in the buying cycle. It turns out that one of the trends is that buyers are looking for more simplicity. They wrote, “By prescribing specific actions to your sellers, streamlining workflows and compressing the number of decisions required for the buyer, you will see better deal flow, better close rates and significant sales productivity improvements.” It is no secret that buyers have far more access to information and other data than before, more people are involved, and other resources are often limited.

A Sequence of Events provides more than simplicity

Setting up a schedule that includes expectations and specific tasks also answers that basic need for certainty. Understanding what your buyers think and feel makes you a stronger salesperson. By creating some certainty in the beginning, you can adapt expectations and tasks with the buyer as you go along. Complications and ambiguity make people distrustful. Keep it as certain as you can and definitely simple!

When you think about sales effectiveness at your organization, does it seem like you are close but just missing those unique elements that give you that competitive edge? Looking for a way to understand how your buyer thinks, decides, and reveals information? At The Nova Consulting Group, we believe that professional selling is a craft. With the Advanced Sales Conversation©, you have those missing elements that move your salespeople from competency to mastery. With our deep understanding of what makes and sustains high-performance organizations, we provide integrated solutions that do not replace your sales methodology and yet advance a progressive selling mindset. Be bolder, more insightful, and get results. To learn more about how to master the craft of sales and encourage sustainable high performance, call  (617) 933-7249 or email info@novaconsultinggrp.com.

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