Prospect's Buying Process

We have been talking about the importance of supporting the prospect's buying process to expedite a sale. Think about your own experiences. You have probably participated in more than one of the following types of buying processes.

• The impulse purchase - it "feels good"
• The repeat buy purchase - without thinking
• The deliberated purchase - considering alternatives
• The corporate purchase - multiple personalities/multiple agendas

The simple deliberated buying process offers us insight that is useful in all other purchases. Taking a closer look at the deliberated buying process, we can detail 8 stages.

1. Awareness of a need
2. Frame the need
3. Research the framed need
4. Define decision criteria
5. Narrow the alternatives
6. Choose an alternative to buy
7. Make the purchase
8. Reevaluate the purchase decision

To motivate a prospect through these stages, you must create persuasive momentum. Holes in sales and marketing's coverage of the buying process, either pauses or ends the momentum. Either one is detrimental to expediting a sale. For this reason, it is important to

1. Understand the prospect's buying process

We have created a tool to help your marketing and sales organizations learn more and start the discussion about your prospect's buying process.

Our eBook, Understanding the Buying Process: Building a Seamless Experience that Supports Your Buyers, defines and illustrates each buying process stage. It provides you with questions to help marketing and sales define their roles in creating the persuasive momentum experience.

Check out our two day Understanding the Buying Process Workshop where you can detail the buying process for a buyer persona.

2. Align sales and marketing activities to support the buying process

Learn more about sales and marketing alignment considerations for building persuasive momentum.