A few months ago, I had a conversation with Adam Zais. We were discussing the new state of sales, the empowered buyer, and inbound. Somewhere along the way Adam said, "A sales person's job is to help people buy." To which I added, "To help them buy the RIGHT way."

Here is what I meant.

During one of the group calls that I was on recently, one marketing agency owner shared the story of a marketing professional in a company who was trying to choose a design firm to redesign their website. There was a lot at stake professionally for this person, they had been trying to get their company to consider more inbound practices, and it had been an uphill battle. This redesign was a first step to get started with inbound.

Unfortunately it wasn't going to work out well because they didn't know how to buy it the right way. Their buying process was flawed. When I saw this image on Facebook, I laughed because I have been guilty of thinking it and it also applied to a lot of the people who try to hire inbound marketing agencies.

When Buyers Buy Wrong, It's Still the Sales Person's Fault

Whose the expert here anyway?

If a buyer comes to you and asks all the wrong questions, who is in the know? Some sales people will let them buy anyway and just move on. Some will only push back when it endangers their sale, or gives them a leg up on the competition.

No wonder buyers don't trust sales people. 

But wait- aren't the buyers the one in control and now have all this information at their finger tips to be well informed? Are we supposed to follow their buying process and let them drive the sales process?

Yes and no. (This is my husband's favorite answer to almost any question. It drives me nuts!)

Yes, we should let the buyer drive the sales process. Up until the point that they are about to drive into a tree that only you can see because you have been down this road many times before.

If the right process means that you aren't the right fit, better to know that now rather than later.

Do you help you buyers buy the right way? Are you not sure what that means and how it equals sales growth for you?