93% of B2B purchases start with an online search, according to this survey. In practice, it means that, when they contact a company, most of the leads today have a sense of what they are doing.
This is the reason why far beyond being convinced, the leads want to be understood. As much as the goal of every salesperson is to close a sale, and at the end of the day it all boils down to convincing the potential customer, in practice it is necessary to adopt another approach to increase sales.
This approach is called Investigative Posture. Understand better below and see how it can make all the difference in sales.
What is the investigative posture?
The investigative posture is a sales approach that uses instigating questions to know the lead in depth. In practice, it means that instead of telling the potential customers what they need, the salesperson asks pointed questions to identify pain points, wants and needs.
As the name suggests, the investigative posture seeks to investigate leads. The goal is to collect information that can be used to direct the potential client to realize that the company’s solution or product can help him.
Therefore, this approach makes the sales team an aggregator of value to leads. For this, it is based on four pillars:
- Research
- Empathy
- Instigating questions
- Objectivity
We emphasize that in the investigative posture the seller has the role of helping the lead to make a reasoned purchase decision that helps him to succeed.
What benefits does it bring to the sales process?
The investigative posture can make a big difference in the sales process, as it has as the following benefits:
- Reduction of the sales process and customer acquisition cost: sellers make the leads move faster through the sales funnel, as they identify their needs and manage to be more assertive in approaches.
- Increase average ticket: sellers build relationships with buyers, which makes the customer more likely to close more deals with the company.
- Building trust between buyer and seller: by realizing that the seller is genuinely trying to help, the customer builds trust.
- Identification of new opportunities: once the seller knows the customer, he can offer new and better solutions to his problems.
- Increased revenue: as the customer base grows, more money enters the company’s cash flow.
- Churn rate reduction: customers who use solutions/products that really make their lives easier, solve problems and bring results have no reason to cancel the contracts.
How to implement it in my commercial?
The first goal of the salesperson who adopts the investigative posture is to establish a relationship of trust with the customer. The second is to sell the right product.
This often requires a change of attitude on the part of the commercial. These tips will help you and your team:
- Find out about the lead, the company they work for and the position they hold. From there, elaborate a script with probing questions to get more information.
- Be curious at every stage of the sales funnel. Only then is it possible to ask questions that bring quality answers (in other words, answers that are possible to identify bottlenecks in processes, needs and problems).
- Listen actively and carefully. Likewise, show that you are engaged in the conversation by going back to some of the prospect’s lines and reflecting on what he says. You can say: “you mentioned…”, “I am curious why…”, “the reason I am asking the next question is because you commented that…”.
- Diagnose your potential customer’s problem and lead them to the solution. To do this, describe the understanding of the lead’s business, highlight points covered in the conversation and show how to add value.
- Never promise what cannot be fulfilled.
- Put yourself as a person who is there to help and not to push a product or service.
- If you don’t have the answer to a question, be honest and promise that you will look for the information (please remember that: you promise, keep it).
- Offer value by sharing market studies, content, success stories, e-books, etc.
- Be patient and give the lead time to decide.
- Create a tailor-made commercial proposal, that is, one that meets the potential customer’s needs.
So, ready to adopt an investigative posture? For more tips on how to improve your sales, visit Prospecta’s Blog.