The 7 "Emotional Hooks" for B2B Selling

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  1

  Q4 Sales

  08/03/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Geoffrey,
  I don't think you missed any. I read a lot of Seth Godin's stuff, but didn't see this post. I've only been in B2B selling, but these reminders are terrific. The CEO of a company I've been working with (b2b in online scheduling) has shared wisdom like this and it really works. I like the first part of Hook #4. Serving others.
  Thanks for this short post.
  TJ
  http://www.shiftboard.com
  

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  2

  abarcelos

  08/03/09 | Report as spam

  Another one

  Hi Geoffrey, another "emotion" in B2B buyers is the need to have the latest adn greatest product compared to their competition. They want to be viewed as more savvy then their competitive B2B buyers.

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  3

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  08/03/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re Note 1:
  That wasn't Seth's post at all. It was my observations about B2B buyer motivations, presented so that Seth's remark made sense in a B2B buying concept.
  
  Re Note 2:
  That's only true if they're the ones who are going to use the products. If they're buying for somebody else, I don't think that emotion comes into play. Maybe a little, but not enough to make a difference.

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  4

  Q4 Sales

  08/03/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Thanks for the clarification Geoffrey. That's what I get for reading too fast. Either way, I still liked the Hooks!
  

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  5

  ndlicht1

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Its not emotion at all.
  
  In my previous business, I sold through dealers for 20 years. My product is ultimately installed by them.
  
  My differentiators that got me the sale and repeat sales are varied and depend on who I'm selling to:
  1. Owner, GM - Prove a better cost of ownership v competition in deployment, installation, service, support, delivering a better customer satisfaction v competition.
  2. Installation,tech, service - Prove it takes less time and if it needs service, can be done via web, phone and if needed by one, not two people. They are pressured to do more installations in a day and manage service calls very quickly and I can show them how my solutions accomplish that for that
  3. Sales - A clear differentiator for them as in less total cost and thats not price, faster installation for customer satisfaction, easier intuitive deployment by their customers, access to factory support and training, market supports, broader decision maker type appeals, clearly demonstratable value that the prospect can see and accept v competition.
  
  Additionally, never run the customer on auto pilot. Order takers are plentiful but true business "partners" are not. You become the go to person and you are going to have that account for life. Work as as if you were a team member and help them use and see the results. Do an ROI that backs up what you told them they would get.
  
  Remember, the reputation of the Business you are selling to is on the line, not yours.
  
  It really your job to help them improve and solidify that. Their income depends on reputation and their profit on overall cost v others and minimizing by design any followup calls.
  
  So, where is the emotion? Its perception of value isn't it, not emotion. Its still selling isn't it.

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  6

  E. L. Sullivan

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re: 5
  The go to guy for life, that sounds like "I love you man" to me.
  
  Thanks for the great post Geoffrey!

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  7

  ndlicht1

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Ed, it was Neil Licht's post, not Geoffrey's post and it works.
  
  I got 1500 net new B2B sales with a brand new product in one calander year via B2B - It works. Try posturing what you sell along my suggested lines and compare it to current sales and more inmportant, reorders and expanded product line sales.

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  8

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re Notes 5 and 7:
  These notes are a little silly, I think. The fact that there is an intellectual decision-making process doesn't negate the fact that emotions are playing a role. People aren't robots that react to economic stimulae in a vacuum. If there weren't SOME emotion somewhere, nobody would buy anything. They'd just exist, like a computer or an amoeba.
  
  Everyone who buys from Neil is a human being and therefore acting out of emotion. That being said, your value proposition need not emphasize that aspect of the decision-making nor will it necessarily be more effective if it does. For example, I think that messages like "it will improve your career prospects" are always best left unsaid.

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  9

  Sid Herron

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  RE: Note 8
  
  As the old saying goes, people make emotional buying decisions, and then rationalize those decisions intellectually. That's just as true in B2B sales as it is anywhere else.

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  10

  Mike296

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Love the post. We work almost exclusively in the B2B area. We find that all too frequently highly technically competent sales people get wildly enthusiastic about the functional elements of their solutions and completely fail to recognise the importance of the emotional elements. We have developed something we call the Value Triad to try and get people to recognise that there are three key things in B2B that people are buying, two objective and functional - cost reduction and revenue gain, and one subjective, which we call emotional appeal.
  The problem is that technical people can relate very easily, or more easily, to objective concepts like cost reduction and revenue gain, but struggle with emotional appeal. Within this we include things like trust, relationship, the perception of risk reduction (although that can soemtimes be calculated objectively), brand image, and also the very personal things - as in "The7". As you have pointed out, the emotional side can be hugely important in the final sale decision and emotion is always a factor.
  The only person I have come across who made decisions purely on the basis of logic was Spock in Star Trek, and I haven't found him working at any of my clients - yet!

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re Note 10:
  Here's how you explain it to technical folk:
  
  "If you wanted to sell a new warp drive to the USS Enterprise, you'd need agreement from Kirk, Spock and Scottie. Scottie wants to know HOW it works. Spock wants to know WHY it works. And Kirk wants to know will it get him laid."

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  12

  thecurvyjeweller

  08/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Another hook that I used to use when I was selling Laundry Tubs to male purchasers (and lets face it, do men know what a Laundry Tub is?) is a potential increase to their salary/bonus based on increased sales because of OUR COMPANIES state of the art new Laudry tub...!

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  13

  Ian P

  08/06/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re Note 8
  I think you were being a little hard on Neil. Serious professional buyers know as much if not more about sales techniques than the salesmen presenting to them and they work hard to take emotion and the perceived effects of some of the snake-oil sales techniques out of their decision making.
  I use post-pitch reviews and detailed analysis of the pitches to separate hard facts from marketing fluff. I buy, people don't sell to me.
  My guess is that in Neil's hard-headed world, real selling is much more important than the marketing flim-flam you are pushing in this post. Neil's market is a place where total cost of ownership / installation is king. I respect that and his success in it.

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  14

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  08/06/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re Note 13:
  "I buy, people don't sell to me."
  
  Yes, indeed... And I hereby salute the sales professionals who have worked so hard to make you believe that. Great job guys! Another one convinced!

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  15

  Ian P

  08/06/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re note 14
  Have you ever wondered why the buying community created and supported huge information tools such as Kelly's (Kellysearch.com in the US) and the like, while the sales community has never managed to get its act together? These tools were not created by salesmen to guide buyers, but by frustrated buyers irritated at the lack of sensible information coming from the sales world they necessarily interface with.
  Sales forces have never been able to act co-operatively over extended periods and most buyers frequently have to take the lead in establishing and even developing business relationships.
  I recently needed to source some specific exotic metal alloys and approached over thirty companies worldwide all of whom were supposedly selling those metals, a contract worth ?3M at current metal prices. Not one rep has turned up to date, three promised but failed to attend the meetings where they were going to sell to me.
  Eventually I turned to fellow buyers in competitor companies. Within 2 weeks I managed to source 35% of my needs from their surplus stock.
  And all this at a time when salesmen are desperate for business.
  I'll guarantee that buyers in all large companies have similar experiences of sales reps.
  Reps are often like English buses in wet weather - you don't see any - yet when the sun shines, four turn up at once and not one is going to your destination (IE they try to sell you something that you don't need and will not buy).
  So don't give me that crap.
  

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  08/06/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

  Re Note 15:
  Oh, Ian, stop being so cranky... We're all pals here.
  
  Along those lines, I can't imagine why a sales professional might not want to come sell to you, Mr. "I buy, people don't sell to me."

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  17

  E. L. Sullivan

  08/10/09 | Report as spam

  RE: The 7

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