Bridging the business buyer gap By Niels Wee // 30th of October 2024   One of my very first jobs was in telemarketing, selling ad space in themed newspapers. The daily grind was a numbers game where the mantra was A-B-C – Always Be Closing. Getting people to talk was central to our strategy, but only to create a false sense of commonality and sell ads at inflated prices – not to ensure buying from us would bring them value. Honestly, I don’t think I made a single happy customer there. It felt awful to sell like this, but I only now realize why. We did exactly what you shouldn’t do as salespeople – selling hard by creating urgency and using psychological tricks, rather than seeing the person in front of you, understanding their issue, and advising them on the best solution. There was a great divide between me as a salesperson and the clients’ needs and expectations. This is what I call the business buyer gap.        Unfortunately, there will always be a gap between the buyer’s needs and expectations on one hand, and you on the other. But it is your job to minimize the gap to pave the way for long-term client relationships. Failing to do so makes the prospect uncomfortable in the relationship because the gap prevents trust from forming between you. And whether you are aware of it or not, your organisation is suffering from it. This article will explain the business buyer gap, why it is important, and what you should do about it.   Let’s dive in. 🤿   What is the business buyer gap? For all the talk about being data-driven in your business, many companies seem to forget that they are dealing with real people with rich and complex lives – this is especially true on sales calls. I know. Being your charming best self at all times can be hard, though. You likely have way too much on your plate and you may be worried about hitting your OKRs and so on. I have been there. I get it. Nevertheless, there is still a clear expectation from the business buyer that you take the time to engage with them and understand them. They want to be treated as a person, not a number (and so do you); they want you to be an advisor on their issue and if you want their business you want to make sure that you understand their goals. The stats from Salesforce are clear about how important it is:     While few would admit they treat prospects as simple numbers, or that they don’t understand their goals and therefore can’t advise them, the experience from buyers is quite different. The majority don’t feel understood, but find sales to be impersonal.   This is exactly the issue that the business buyer gap describes: the lack of understanding of the client or prospect from the employee. It hurts not only the immediate sale but also the long-term relationship your organisation has with them and hence they might churn quicker, than if you took the time to establish the relationship of the long haul.   A lack of good and personal understanding of the buyer’s issue and unique situation, and seeing them as whole people, stands in the way of building rapport, empathy and trust with you as a representative and your organization. Use empathy and context as leverage   I wholeheartedly agree with Sean Ellis that empathy and truly getting where your customer is coming from, are overlooked opportunities for sales. Why? Only then can you show them exactly how your product is the missing piece to get the job done.   “…sustainable growth lies in something more fundamental: empathy. Truly understanding your customers’ context and needs enables you to deliver a solution that feels indispensable in their lives.” Sean Ellis Source In other words, if the person in front of you doesn’t feel seen, heard, and understood you are fighting a losing battle as a sales rep. Simply selling harder rarely works, but often results in a greater divide. If, on the contrary, you can put yourself in the shoes of the prospect (that is empathy), you can also navigate their reality, and show how your solution fits the bill. Saying yes to the deal all of a sudden becomes an easy decision.   You may be thinking that it takes too much time and effort to do right. Yes, it is correct, that closing the gap doesn’t come easy. But the sooner you get to a place of trust and understanding, the quicker you can reach an agreement or move on to a more promising conversation. Of course, that is not the reality for many reps, who tend to forget that people buy from people. However, if your team manages to create and sustain empathy and understand the reality of the client, you have an amazing leverage at your disposal.     But one thing is the sales aspect of the business buyer gap. Do other customer-facing teams, not to mention the organization as a whole, need to know about the client? Yes, if they’re interested in keeping them as customers. Surprising stats on sales professionals 1 in 5 of high-performing sales teams highly rank the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing. 70% of sales professionals say their sales + marketing teams are not strongly aligned. 82% of sales pros say building relationships + connecting with people is the most important and enjoyable part of selling. Source: Hubspot.com Importance of internal customer alignment Alright, so sales have done amazingly landing a big client after careful attention, countless meetings, and advising them based on their unique situation and pains. What then? The answer should be internal customer alignment, but all too often it is not.    Even sales reps who manage to get to a place of trust and common understanding tend to throw it away in the next instance. The reason? They