Deep dive into buyer motivations

Chris offers a valuable tip from his early AE career: Interview buyers post-sale.

After closing a deal, interview your buyer with questions like:

• Why did they buy?

• What pain were they resolving?

• What were their secret objections?

• What was the turning point in their decision?

• What were their fears, frustrations, and doubts?

• What are their expectations, hopes, and dreams?

• How did they feel during the sales cycle?

Understanding your buyers deeply makes everything 2-3 times easier.

They are more open after the deal, sharing insights they might not reveal during the sales process. This practice is one of the best investments in your domain knowledge according to Chris.

12 tips for winning over B2B buyers

Gal shares insights from his experience buying nearly $2M in SaaS.

Here are 12 tips on understanding and winning over B2B buyers:

1. Decision timing: Buyers rarely decide during sales meetings. Support their internal meetings to double your influence.

2. Information overload: Buyers suffer from too much information. Be a sense maker, not just an information provider.

3. Engagement with materials: Buyers often ignore decks and case studies. Use shared spaces for decision resources.

4. C-level champions: C-level execs are poor champions. Target lower-level managers who handle details.

5. Decision makers: Buyers don't clearly define decision makers. Map out buying roles and influences.

6. Influence of lower-level buyers: Lower-level buyers can make or break deals. Hierarchies are flatter now.

7. Product interest: When buyers ask to see your product, they want to know why they should care. Address this first.

8. Spend and problem solving: Buyers’ spending is tied to the problems they believe you can solve. Focus on business transformations.

9. Business case: The process leads to a business case. Don’t leave this to your champion to figure out.

10. Buying process: Buyers don’t know how to buy from you. Make next steps a collaborative effort.

11. Non-linear process: Buyers' processes are not linear. Adapt to their steps, not just your CRM stages.

12. Sales approach: Buyers may ghost you or choose competitors based on how you sell, not what you sell.

Know your buyer

Anthony outlines his approach to making outbound sales work by meeting prospects where they are in their buyer's journey:

1. Identify buyer stages: Understand the stages of the buyer's journey:

   • Unaware: In your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) but don't know you.

   • Awareness: Know your brand/problem but not actively looking.

   • Consideration: Showing interest and learning more.

   • Decision: Actively engaging.

   • Vendor Talks: Actively talking to vendors.

2. Tailor your approach: When reaching out, instead of pushing for a meeting, understand how prospects are engaging with your brand.

3. Adjust messaging: Based on their engagement:

   • Some may be ready to learn about the problem you solve.

   • Some may need more content and nurturing.

   • Some may not be qualified yet.

4. Nurture relationships: Just because someone downloads an eBook doesn’t mean they are "sales ready." They may need more nurturing before being ready for a meeting. Avoid ruining the relationship by pushing too hard too soon.