Introduction to Know your buyer - sell more and sell better

Hi, I'm Karen Green, and I am here today to talk about how to know your buyer and to sell more and sell better. And I want to start by telling you a story of a very difficult time for me when about 12 years ago I was asked to join a company as commercial director based up in the Northeast who made frozen foods. And they had had a really tough time because prior to me joining, they'd had a fire and they had literally gone from this to rebuilding the factory, getting all the accreditations they needed to supply the likes of Tesco and Findus, and bringing it back to where it should be. And they brought me in to help grow the business and also, unfortunately, to deal with this, which was a massive spike in inflation. I know we've just been through one recently, but this was phenomenal, and it was very much focused on wheat and beef prices, which, as you may work out, are the key components in a beef lasagna. So we were supplying Tesco and Findus, and I went as a commercial director to ask for price increases. And I didn't know the buyer very well. I'd only met them once before on both cases, and I didn't do any research. I didn't find out about them. This is a while ago. And both of them went, forget it. We're not taking a price increase. Not interested. Not happening. And certainly one of the two, and they can remain nameless, threatened me and said, you can go back to your boss and I'll tell him what a bad commercial person he's taken on and how poor you are. And that was really, really hard for me. And unfortunately what happened was we didn't get the price increases because I had no idea how to get around and negotiate the solution. And so we lost the business. And as a result, unfortunately, the 150 people who had put all that effort in to bring that factory back to where it should be lost their jobs, were made redundant. And as you can imagine, as a commercial director, okay, I wasn't responsible for the purchasing. I wasn't responsible for the situation that they'd got themselves in before I joined. but I took a hell of a responsibility for it. And from that day on, I vowed there would never be another client of mine in this situation again. And there never has been. Because what I did was I went out and I read everything I could about selling well. I read everything there was to know about how to profile a buyer, how to convince them to understand what your unique selling point is, I learned how to negotiate. I did courses, I read books, I did the whole thing. And over the last 8, 9 years, I've been working with a number of different brands as an advisor and as a consultant, from Christmas puddings to turkeys to ready meals. Once again, I went back to frozen ready meals much more successfully this way. And in that timescale, I've generated over £150 million. of, of sales. So how have I managed to do it? What am I going to talk to you about today? There are 3 things that help you sell better. The first thing is to know your buyer, and I'm going to talk to you about that in some detail and talk to you about the buyerology matrix that I've devised, which will give you a structure for profiling your customer. Then we need to be a chameleon. We need to be able to tailor the message to each person that we're selling to. And it doesn't necessarily mean that you're selling products or services or lasagna. You could actually be selling an idea, you could be in an interview, and all of these principles work. And then the final piece is building rapport. So how do you actually go about building rapport with your buyer? Because there's an old adage, people buy from people they know, like, and trust. And how do we get there? We go up the triangle of rapport. So I'm going to talk to you about that today. If we kick off with getting to know your buyer, this is a fascinating fact: 95% of corporate buyers make decisions based on emotion. 95%. So when I was working to get those inflationary increases through, I was basing all of my presentation on logic. I wasn't thinking about what the buyer was feeling. I didn't think about what kind of person he was. All I was thinking was, well, this is very logical. We've got— we need a price increase. This is how we can implement it, and this is what it will mean for the customer. And of course it didn't work. So what could I have done differently? I've devised the Buyerology Matrix, and it looks at 3 different components. And I'm going to go from right to left because I want to focus in on the buyer. At the end, the one that we are probably most comfortable with doing is looking at the business, the corporation. And there are three elements within this. And as you'll notice on the left-hand side, there's a fixed and a flexible element. So the fixed elements for me are things that you probably can't influence. Things like missions and values. Sometimes you can if you're a big corporation and they're a big corporation. But generally, we're looking at understanding what their missions and values are and adapting. fitting our message to their needs. So looking at what we have and how there is a synergy between the two. And then the same for understanding the business goals and also the amount of resources that they have, because resources can be really important. You can sell something to somebody and they might absolutely love it, but if they don't have the time or the money to implement it, as has happened with a couple of my larger corporate clients who need a large amount of CapEx, Then it's just not gonna work. So understanding those first 3 are really important. The second 3 are about the buyer and the company. Now, a lot of sales models look at what's your unique selling point in relation to the company, and even some look at who is the buyer and doing some adaptive selling to the personality. But the bit a lot of models are missing is this piece about how is the buyer relating to their company? And again, I look at the different elements that relate to this from a fixed to a flexible point of view. So personal goals— what's the buyer actually trying to achieve? Have they been there a long time and they're very happy and they just want to toddle along? Are they new to the role and they want to stand out? Or do they have some other ulterior motives for, for buying from you or one of your competitors? What's the market challenges they're facing? How's, how's the business going? What's, again, how's the competition going? How can you help them solve their problem? And then the final one, which is probably the most flexible and we can influence the best, is worries about your business. So what are the main concerns? Buyers by their nature tend to be risk-averse. And so what we're trying to do when we're selling, we're adapting that method— sorry, that message is to say, well, you don't need to worry about us because of X, Y, and Z. And then the final one is the buyer themselves. And again, I split this into 3 elements, things that I think are more fixed, like personality. I know personalities can be plastic, but I don't think we are going to influence a personality at this stage. Then how are they feeling? So we all know when we've had a bad day, we've got to the office after the kids have been screaming, there was queues, you spilled your coffee, and you're feeling really tense and agitated. You are not going to be as receptive as when you've got up, you've had a nice session, you've walked to work, the sun is shining, and you're feeling great. Those 2 mentalities will actually change the way you will buy. And so what we're looking for is to help that buyer, and to some extent we can't influence what's happened to them before they come to you, but we want them to feel as good as possible. And then the final element is, do they like you? And as I was saying, this whole piece about know, like, and trust is really important, and it is something we can influence. It's not just, oh, people don't like me, or I don't get on with a certain kind of person. What I'm going to explain is why that might be and how we can overcome it. The second point I want to talk about is how to tailor your message, how to be that chameleon who, without actually sacrificing your own integrity and personality, you can make changes that will mean the buyer receives your message more easily. And this is very much focusing on the buyer. Okay, so we're going to be very much thinking about the buyer as a human being as opposed to a corporate animal. So let's think about who you're selling to. I discovered that there are now 5 generations in the workplace. It's the first time it's ever happened, and it's quite major, and I'm going to talk about why that matters to you in a minute. There are then 24 personality types. Now, depending which model you look at will depend on how many personality types. So for example, Myers-Briggs actually says there's 16 personality types. And with DiSC profiling, which is what I'm gonna talk about today, um, there could be up to 24 different permutations. And it's, it's very interesting, but what it means is there's a, there's a lot. basically. And then of course there's different learning styles, and we've got 3, 4 learning styles. And so you're looking at over 300 different types of personality. That's pretty phenomenal number. So let's start with the 5-generation workplace. And you know, there's a lot of talk about millennials and, and Gen Z and Gen X, but let's just look at each individual. You've got the traditionalists, who, who still form 10% of the population, maybe not 10% of the workforce. And they are going to be from a generation that's used to having been loyal to their company, maybe only worked for one company, job for life. My father, who sadly passed away a long time ago, but he would have been in this group. He, he stayed with the company, didn't really like it, but was heading towards retirement. Then you have the baby boomers, and these will be very much dedicated to work still, but optimistic rather than maybe the dedicated. They're committed, they're team orientated, they're a little bit more open to experiment, and a lot of them are retiring and becoming economically inactive, as, as the journalists like to call it. Then we have Gen X. I just fall into Gen X. So open-minded, appreciate the diversity, looking for a work-life balance. So not just, you know, thinking I'm gonna work until I retire. Competitive, and it's the start of entrepreneurialism. So people who are of, of my age group are more likely to start, start businesses. Then we have Gen Y, they are much more around switching roles, being mobile. They're more socially vocal. They understand tech. It's all about now. It's not about, you know, jam tomorrow. It's not about I'm going to retire when I'm 55, 65, whatever. It's now. And then you have Gen Z who are probably where, where the idea of the snowflake comes from. So my daughter falls into Gen Z. They're critical, they're selective, probably career multitaskers. So, you know, they're, they're out there doing different jobs. Technology is just intuitive. They've grown up with computers, they've grown up with phones that do everything. Very high expectations, and they need to be coached, not managed. They are not— if you go back to the earlier sort of 2 and 3 segment where you could tell someone what to do, The Gen Z, it's very difficult to tell what to do. And what does this mean from a selling point of view? We have to be aware of this background and this age group because these will all have different cultural references, they'll have different approaches to work, and they'll have different approaches to buying. And it's a really good insight, and sometimes we forget about the generations, especially the older generations. How do you find out? Relatively easy. I'm a massive fan of LinkedIn, and this is where I am finding someone's age. You can't always get it completely right, but you know I went to university at age twenty, graduated in eighty-six. You can do the maths. You can work out that I'm Gen X, and this is probably what kind of person I'm gonna have be. Then, of course, we're gonna overlay it on some with something else, which is personality. Now I use disc profile to. To analyze personality, and you'll see why in a moment. And if you've not come across it before, it's a way of looking at different personality types. On the left-hand side, people are more task-focused. On the right-hand side, people are more people-focused. The colors change between different people who, who use the model. So this one's actually got green for dominant, but in some instances you'll find dominant is red. Anyway, don't worry about the colors, but as we go around them, so dominant people, self-assured, dynamic, not so bothered about people. I found that a lot of grocery retail buyers are actually dominant personalities. I have a strong dominant personality, and as you can see by the percentages underneath, not, not a huge number. Then as we go down around the circle, we've got influence. So these are your people people. These are the ones that want to be friends. They want to have a conversation. They want to build a relationship. They want to empathize. It's rare you find a high I in a buying role, to be honest. Then you have the steady people. So they are still people orientated, but they're probably more introverted. They're quite receptive, but they will be slower in making decisions. And then as you come round, you've got the compliant people who are much more detailed. You'll most likely find them in a quality assurance, a technical role, and also a procurement role. So buyers who are buying big contracts, negotiating big contracts, often have high C because they're very much into the detail, whereas the dominant Buyer in a grocery retailer environment are being more, needing to be more strategic, more fast-paced. And I think that's why we see the difference. But, you know, you can find buyers in all areas. And the other thing to say, because you're probably looking at it going, hmm, there's only 4, you're saying there's 24, you can have permutations of these. I actually have high D, a bit of I. I actually also have a little bit of S as well. So that's where you start to get these permutations, which is quite interesting. quite— makes it quite interesting. So how do you find out what the personality is? And I use a tool called Humantic, and if you want to have a look, there's a QR code on screen and you can sign up. It's a great tool, and basically what it does is it analyzes LinkedIn profiles. It will also analyze CVs and other information, but I use it purely for LinkedIn. It's— you don't have to be linked into the person. You can just profile any person. So that's really great. And this is me. And the other thing which I've circled there is that it will give you a confidence rating as to how good it is. So occasionally you'll find somebody who has very little on their profile, and it will actually come back and say not enough information. But for me, I'm on there a lot. So there it is, 100% confident. And as you can see, it's saying I'm a pioneer and they use the color red predominant. So I'm red. It also, and the best thing about, for me about Humanetics, is it tells you a little bit about that personality, but then more importantly, it goes through a lot of detail about how to speak to this person, whether you want to do a cold call, whether you're sending an email, whether you're making a presentation or negotiating. It's Gold Dust, and they are claiming about 85% accuracy, and I would say that's about right. So occasionally I have somebody and I go and it says, oh, I had somebody yesterday, they're a blue, and I'm talking to them and I'm like, you're not just blue, there's some I in there as well. So you can't entirely rely on this, but it is very, very useful, and it means that you can think about what you want to say to the person And you can tailor it. So the way you speak, the way you present the detail, all based on the personality. And then the final piece of the puzzle for me is the learning styles. We are very used to watching videos now, so we are used to being visual. Um, we are used to listening, but we are very used to listening while we're watching. People are becoming, especially the younger generations, less used to reading and writing, but that is another style where people learn. And then kinesthetic is actually learning by doing or touching. And you can work out what type of person is by listening to what they say. So if I said, I see what you're saying, then I'm probably going to be more visual, which I am. If it's auditory, I hear what you say. And kinesthetic is around the feelings. It's worth having this extra layer on top of the generation, the personality, and the learning style so that you can actually think about, well, how am I going to deliver this to, to the individual? And then what you can do with your buyer is you start to build a personality persona. So you're digging into, as I say, what generation, what's their DiSC profile, what's their learning style. And then you can fatten that up with other information that you might have found in your search. What's their interests and hobbies? Because we're going to need that when we get onto the next section for building rapport. What's their work history? If you can understand where they've got to in their career, that might help you to think about how they're relating to the corporation and how you might adapt your presentation. What challenges are they facing? And if you're lucky enough to find out, What's the KPIs that they're working to? So you've got a really good understanding of who the individual is, which means you can build rapport, which is my first— third point. Building rapport is all about know, like, and trust. And we've all been with somebody who's overshared and they've just told you that they've just split up from their boyfriend or they're desperately upset or something like that. So when we're building rapport, you have to go through these different levels. So we start with polite conversation and clichés. So, how are you? If you're British, we talk about the weather. That's where weather comes in. Oh, it's raining today. Where are you today? Oh, is it sunny? Is it— polite conversation. Very, very British. Then we can start to share facts and information. This suits me very well because I love statistics, so I might be saying, oh, did you know, you know, that as I say, 95% of buyers make decisions on emotion, and carry on the conversation from there. So we're starting with that basic facts. Then you can start to have opinions and share ideas. So, you know, there's kind of the saying that you never discuss politics and religion at a, at a dinner, and maybe this is not where we, we share the political opinions, but opinions about the industry that you're in, ideas about what might be going on, how you might work with a company. Then and only then will we talk about feelings and emotions. And this does vary from a cultural point of view. I do a lot of work with North Europe and the UK, and it's very interesting to see the differences between mainland Europe and the British approach to feelings and emotions. But you can start to talk about feelings, start to talk open— more openly about yourself. Then you start to build that authenticity, and you start to have the congruence, and you start to go, oh yeah, that person's like me, or they understand me, and we have things in common. That's what we're trying to do when we build rapport. is to find similarities. And that's when the rapport kicks in. And as you can see along the side, we also have that trust that starts to build. So as we go up the rapport triangle, the trust grows and we get that know, like, and trust. And that's the holy grail. And the reason that I go through the process in this way is we need to really thoroughly know the buyer. Before we can do this, so the basis of how to sell more and how to sell better is know your buyer, tailor your message to that individual, thinking about all the elements that we've spoken about, such as personality, generation, learning style, background, and and also all the tangible things that you would normally do, like the corporation and how your service. Goods or services fit. And then we need to build rapport, which is all about building that know, like, and trust. That goes back to understanding who your buyer is, tailoring the message, and then going up the trust triangle. And then let me leave you with the thought process. The buyer is human. And I think we've got to remember that. And if we go back to the man who refused my price increase for lasagna, I'm sure he was human. And if I'd done my research, we would have had a much different result. And I hope that you can use this information to make sure that you sell more and sell better. Thank you.