There's such a thing as being too close to a problem, and we see that as a frequent challenge when it comes to improving sales performance.
In our recent study of nearly 400 sellers and sales leaders, we asked sellers how challenging they find various selling skills/behaviors. For the 16 skills we asked about, less than 55% of sellers found each very challenging. And when we take out the two outliers (prospecting and winning large deals), that number drops to less than 38%.
Is it simply that these skills come easily to sellers? Are they so well trained that they're able to overcome obstacles and excel?
Not exactly.
When juxtaposed with buyer survey data, we see a significant gap between what sellers find challenging and how effective buyers believe they are.
If buyers don't think sellers are effective, especially in areas that influence their purchase decisions, they'll go with another seller. In other words, sellers lose deals while believing they did everything right.
So how can you find and focus on the right skills to win buyers over?
In this infographic, we share ideas for approaching 5 areas with big seller/buyer perception gaps and that highly influence buyer purchase decisions.
Click the infographic to enlarge.
Resources to Win Over Buyers:
- Communicating Value: How to Change the Buyer Conversation with Insight (toolkit)
- Bringing Ideas to Buyers: Bringing Insight Selling Alive: How to Tell a Convincing Story (article)
- Leading Thorough Needs Discoveries: 50 Powerful Sales Questions (guide)
- Negotiating Deals: Mastering Sales Negotiations (toolkit)
- Making the ROI Case: 4 Misconceptions of Making a Strong ROI Case (article)
Want to develop your team to master these skills? Get in touch with us.
