ACTG Sales Management Blog

The Buyer Yesterday vs. The Buyer Today

Written by Jack Kasel | Thu, Jul 11, 2019

Today’s buyer isn’t your grandpa’s, or even your dad’s, buyer.  They are coming to you much deeper into the sales process, meaning they are much more aware and informed than ever before.

As a sales rep, if you discuss things they can find on your company's website or discover themselves, how valuable are you? 

Should you choose to believe it was the Department of Defense or Al Gore that invented the internet, let’s just suppose that the internet did not exist today.  What would your client need to do to get information about your product or service?

  1. Talk to a friend, family member, or co-worker
  2. Do some research in trade magazines
  3. OR talk to a salesperson

Should they choose option three, the salesperson could discuss the product’s Features, Benefits, and Advantages, along with price and service guarantees.  All the things salespeople like to discuss.  Sadly (or not) the internet does exist, so the question I have for my brothers and sisters in sales is this . . .

Why in the world would you waste time talking about things that your prospect can find on the internet?

Today’s Buyer isn’t your grandpa’s, or even your dad’s, buyer.  They are coming to you much deeper into the sales process, meaning they are much more aware and informed than ever before. We believe if you are talking about you, your company, or your products and services too early in the sales process, you’ve lost.  Guess what?   If they are interested in that “stuff”, they will look it up.  Here’s are two things every prospect or suspect is thinking about when you call on them:

  • The goals they want to accomplish
  • The challenges they face in overcoming those goals

If you discuss things they can find on a website or figure out themselves, how valuable are you?  How different are you?  How memorable are you?  Yesterday’s buyer would tolerate you telling them things because that was the only way they could learn. 

Today’s buyer needs much more from you.