The Importance of Understanding Your Buyer’s Journey

In sales basics, everyone learns about the “buyer’s journey,” the path a lead takes to become a client. Starting with the awareness stage, moving through the consideration stage, and ending with the decision stage.

But truly understanding the psychology behind the buyer’s journey can help your sales team send the right message at the right time to the right people, making better sales.

Awareness:

Beginning in the awareness stage, this is when the person becomes aware they have a need or problem worth solving. This is when they may also become aware of your business. Maybe they find your company in a Google search, or maybe they came across your ad or social media page and are intrigued.

This stage is often backed with skepticism and emotional responses. There is a need to be met and the goal is to appeal to that sense of emotion. Previously shared in our blog, “Selling With Psychology,” most sales begin with facts and data, an easy way to throw customers into a suspicious state of mind and put up walls.

When you begin your sales with an appeal to the emotional side, perhaps telling a story, you bypass the analytical walls of the brain and move closer to the part of the brain that makes decisions based in feeling, like trust, nostalgia, and joy.

Consideration:

In the consideration stage, the buyer has clearly outlined their goals and are actively seeking a resolution. The buyer is doing their research and searching for any possible option.

In this stage, it is important to consider where your buyer would be looking for information. What are their other options? How do they decide your company is right for them?

It is also important to build rapport with your buyer in this stage. People buy from companies they trust. Build trust by following up, offering useful information for the decision-making process, and maintaining open communication without bombarding them with information.

Appealing to a buyer’s perceived safety and trust can help you get a leg up on your competition and help build a connection with the person. In turn, this helps motivate a change and encourages them to make a decision in your favor.

Decision:

In the decision stage, the buyer is considering any viable options and making a final buying decision. They have already decided on a solution and are looking for the best company for the job.

Something to consider is what does your company have to offer that a buyer might like over your competitors. People often have a gut reaction about their final choice. This is created by offering memorable content and building a strong connection. A buyer is far more likely to make a decision if they remember your conversation, ad, content, etc.

Understanding the way your buyer thinks during their journey can help you build a strong sales pitch and nurturing sequence that converts. If you know how your prospects are thinking in each step, you can offer useful touchpoints and content to build your case for why they should choose you.

Interested in learning more about how buyers think? Click here to download our ebook, “The Secrets of the Buying Brain.”

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Industry Recognition

Grey Matter was recently recognized by Inc. as one of the most successful companies in America over a 3-year period. Only 5,000 companies make the Inc. 5000 list each year.

Grey Matter was also named the 4th fastest-growing business in the Greater Cincinnati area over a 2-year period across all business size categories by the Cincinnati Business Courier.

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