Adapting The Sales Process To Different Customers

Customers will not all have the same needs and the same buying process, hence the sales process needs to be adapted to meet the needs of the different customer types or segments.

It is helpful to have a blueprint of the sales process in order to make the changes needed for the difference customer segments.

The more the differences are understood, the more effective the sales process can be. The differences may be in the decision making unit, in terms of those that influence the decision, the economic buyer, the user, the specifier and the evaluator; differences are also likely to occur in the level of knowledge or the problem or requirement and the possible solutions.

Attention also needs to be paid to the type of relationship favored by the buyer. Some buyers are seeking value for time; they wish to minimize the time spent in the buying cycle, as they have other priorities. Others will wish to minimize expenditure and will spend a lot of time investigating alternatives and finding the best or lowest price.

Most good sales people intuitively recognize these differences in their customers and adapt their behavior accordingly. However, the same sales people often find it very hard to explain what they do and how they do it, or are reluctant to pass on such knowledge. Dependency on the capabilities of specific sales people can be a risk, and hence it can be important to capture this knowledge when adapting the sales process to the needs of different customers.

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