The Well Informed Buyer: How to Sell to a Customer Who Knows Everything

Selling was relatively easier when there was no internet or smartphones. Today, every claim that a salesman makes can be instantly verified by the buyer. At the outset, this seems great because no one can trick the buyer into making a purchase any more. However, this also poses a challenge.

As any SDR will tell you, building trust is half the battle when it comes to making a sale. This can be difficult when a buyer tends to scrutinize every aspect of your pitch. Even if they are reasonable, a wrong claim, even one that is stated inadvertently, could disrupt the rapport you have built with them, and reduce your chances of making a sale.

So how do you go about engaging with a customer who tends to be well-informed? Here is a short guide.

Start with problem solving

One way to get around customer scrutiny is to avoid making any claims in the first place. Instead, approach your sales process from the customer’s perspective. Identify their problems and showcase your product’s approach towards solving this issue.

The advantage with this approach is that it does not require the SDR to make any claims that would invite scrutiny. From the buyer’s perspective too, this is better since the conversation revolves around their business and challenges rather than your business and product.

Turn to visuals

Seeing is believing. Skepticism only creeps in when your prospective customers are not sure if your words will match your (or your product’s) actions. By offering a visual demonstration, you let your product do the talking.

This preference for visuals can now also be seen in online commerce. A growing number of customers are today turning to visual search for their online buying. One eMarketer survey shows that the ability to search by visuals is in fact preferred by nearly 62% of buyers.

SDRs who provide buyers an ability to visually engage with the product are thus at a better advantage to win over the educated buyer.

Share testimonials from businesses they know

According to a recent survey, more than 70% of millennials trust online consumer reviews and opinions while making a purchase. To put this in another way, subjective opinions about your product is likely to influence buyer opinion a lot more than objective facts.

For instance, a well-informed buyer will be aware of the fact that your product does not have as many features as your competitor or has a higher downtime. These are objective facts that your SDR may find it difficult to challenge.

However, by seeking testimonials and reviews from prominent brands or from professionals in your customers’ network it is possible to swing the subjective opinion in your favor.

Conclusion

Salespeople tend to be wary of well-informed buyers since they do tend to form poor judgments and generalizations based on what they read and research. While it does change the typical buyer-seller dynamic, the process itself does not change. As long as you focus on delivering value and building relationships, making a sale should still be possible.