This week's situation is for "The Professor":
• Buyers want salespeople to "get to the point." • Time is a critical issue. • Did we mention that buyers want salespeople to get to the point?
Last month, I shared opinions from buyers about what salespeople do that buyers dislike. That column generated an avalanche of responses from salespeople who want to learn more (even though it may not be what they want to hear). So here's a few additional insights from my nonscientific survey.
An ongoing complaint of many buyers is salespeople who waste time, and time wasting seems to be reflected in each of the following comments.
The first has to do with PowerPoint presentations. Some buyers see them as the greatest time wasters of all. Those that mentioned this said they have no time for, or interest in, sitting through what they see as electronic "canned pitches." One person referred to such presentations as lectures. Another stated, "If you want to develop a relationship with me, talk to me, get to know my needs, ask me questions, but don't bore me with information that is not geared directly to meeting my needs. I do not have time to sit through a public relations production."
Another buyer said he was bothered by salespeople "not getting to the point or answering questions." He went on to say, "I may see from a long way off where they are going and want to cut to the chase. Why don't they just provide the `real story' in the first place and save us both much time and anxiety?" He appeared to echo the comments of a procurement director that I quoted last month, "Do not stay too long, 15 minutes is about all I have."
One frustrated buyer wonders, "Why do so many salespeople call on me who do not know my business? This is the age of the Internet, a time where there is so much information available that it is virtually impossible not to be informed to some extent about the basics of a company's operations."
Not surprisingly, a veteran salesperson said: "The reason buyers you surveyed said they don't want `courtesy calls' is because too many salespeople don't know how to do them without aggravating the prospect. They also don't pre-qualify the prospect. In the Internet age, that's easier than ever and absolutely essential to not wasting time."
So there you have it. Buyers in this small sample consider time wasting as the biggest annoyance of all. Does this mean that sales professionals should never use "small talk" (last month's column), make cold calls, or use PowerPoint? Not at all, but these activities should be used sparingly, and with careful attention to the responses from each member of the buying center.
THE ART
OF SELLING
