Here’s something that you might not think about all the time…but do you really know exactly who your buyer is?
Or, do you spend a lot of time focusing on just talking to anyone that will listen?
You might think that they are one in the same because in theory the people that you talk to can help you get to your buyer, but that is rarely the case.
Which goes back to the question: Do you really know your buyer?
We don’t mean the person that is the end user, but the person that is going to pay you for the product or service you provide.
The challenge is often figuring out the right person to speak with.
Here are a few tips to help get you there.
1. Find out who is going to benefit from the improvement that your product or service is going to deliver:
Follow the trail of results.
That will lead you to a buyer.
They are the people that are going to have responsibility for improved profits, improved performance, more customers…whatever the most important metric is.
2. Find out who has a budget:
Look for the money.
People with budget authority, they have the ability to buy from you.
They are also usually people that are responsible for results.
So follow the money.
3. Find out if there is someone that has the ability to authorize or push the buying decision:
Depending on the structure of a company, you may or may not find a situation where the buyer isn’t so clear. The buyer might be someone that can authorize a decision but doesn’t have the ability to sign off on something. Or, it might be something that happens because of a recommendation.
These can also be buyers.
The thing about buyers is that they can hide in plain sight. You will often have to do a lot of research and you will often have to ask and figure out who they are, but if you look at these 3 questions you will be on the right path.