{"id":3168,"date":"2016-05-06T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T05:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gtm360.com\/blog\/?p=3168"},"modified":"2021-11-29T13:39:41","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T08:09:41","slug":"just-because-customers-can-find-their-own-solutions-doesnt-mean-they-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtm360.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/06\/just-because-customers-can-find-their-own-solutions-doesnt-mean-they-will\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Because Customers Can Find Their Own Solutions Doesn\u2019t Mean They Will"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hbr-quote\"<\/a>There\u2019s lot of data in the public domain. Buyer 2.0 is Internet-savvy. So they will help themselves to all that information and find solutions to their pain areas by themselves. Ergo salespersons should stop trying to sell solutions to potential customers.<\/p>\n

This is the sum of essence of one prevailing school of thought in B2B sales (cf. this LinkedIn Discussion Thread<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n

We beg to differ with this advice. It can be catastrophic, at least in our field of B2B technology with $$$$$ ticket sizes.<\/p>\n

We don’t deny that there\u2019s lot of data in the public domain about pain areas, solutions and individual vendor offerings, along with ratings, reviews and social proof. Nor do we claim that buyers are Luddites. But\u00a0most\u00a0B2B technology buyers expect – and gladly\u00a0accept – external assistance\u00a0to figure out how all this information applies to their specific circumstances.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons for this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Research is not free<\/li>\n
  2. Self-Service is painful<\/li>\n
  3. Can’t find my<\/em> solution<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let’s elaborate on each one of these reasons.<\/p>\n

    #1. Research Is Not Free<\/strong><\/p>\n

    There\u2019s a huge amount of effort required to compile and analyze the information available on the Internet. This costs a lot of time and \/ or money. If vendors clamor to do this for free, why should prospects decline the help?<\/p>\n

    \n

    Until solutions appear on Google 1st page, customers will consult vendors about their pain areas. https:\/\/t.co\/VMhmgJyyRs<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Ketharaman Swaminathan (@s_ketharaman) November 18, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n