Understand Your Clients’ Motivations – Part 2

Earlier this week, I created the first part of this two-part series called Understand Your Clients’ Motivations – Part 1, on this blog site, Sales Aerobics for Engineers Blog. Part 1 focused on how we all make assumptions about the business development and sales process that we shouldn’t be making.

Part 2 of this series focuses on whether you are selling based on facts and observations versus assumptions and poor (or absent) client information.

Understanding client motivations starts by doing your homework. If you don’t do your homework, you will not have a fighting chance on accurately assessing client motivations to buy. If you have other people doing your homework for you, and assume that their homework is accurate and relevant, you leave the door open to short selling yourself and under-representing what you bring to your clients’ tables.

What have your own experiences been when it comes to accurately “reading” and understanding your clients’ motivations? How often have you gotten burned because you were making subjective assumptions rather than being objective and observant?

The assumptions we make lead us to pitch, present and propose solutions which often are not appropriate or long-lasting. If we do not keep track of the post-sale use of these often over-sold solutions, there’s a big surprise when that contract is not renewed.

Then there is the complex selling scenario when selling on assumption can stall or derail a sale. There is no room for assumption of client motivations in a complex selling environment. There are too many moving pieces and inter-relationships that can jeopardize the sales process.

Time to go back to the drawing board?

Babette N. Ten Haken, Founder & President of Sales Aerobics for Engineers®, LLC, brings entrepreneurial mojo and business- and revenue-producing collaboration and communication tools to small and mid-sized businesses and startups. She was named one of the Top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencers 2013-2016. Her book, Do YOU Mean Business? focuses on technical / non-technical collaboration strategies and tools.