Last month, I had the pleasure of keynoting in Washington, D.C. at Alan Weiss‘s Million Dollar Consulting® Convention.
Lisa Larter, who hosted a session at the event, recently shared a blog post and quoted some of the critical points from my keynote. The theme and key message was this: The buying process has changed and, in today’s world, you can’t assume it starts with you.
I’ve included an excerpt from Lisa’s blog so you can gain some of the same ideas I shared with the audience in April, plus Lisa’s insights on your “silent” sales partner:
I recently spoke at Alan Weiss’s Million Dollar Consulting® Convention and sales expert, Colleen Francis, was also one of the speakers. Colleen shared some vital and eye-opening stats on the percentage of buyers who make purchasing decisions before they ever have a conversation with you.
The important message was this:
The buying process has changed and it now starts without you!
The statistics that Colleen shared are as follows:
- 75% of the buying process is completed without the seller being involved.
- 84% of senior executives and 75% of B2B buyers make purchasing decisions based on social media.
- Sellers who are active on social media receive 10x the leads and 12x the sales as sellers who are not.
- Your leads are doing research online to learn more about you and your business before ever making contact.
94% of all B2B buyers do research online before anything else which means if you’re not online, they can’t research you.
Your buyers are pre-qualifying you and your business before you even hear from them. Your social media will lead them to your website, and…
Your website is your silent sales partner.
That couldn’t be any truer than it is today.
There are a few things that you need to keep in mind if you want to create a positive online experience for your potential buyer.
You’re either going to impress your next customer or lose them, so this is important.
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