{"id":308002,"date":"2025-11-21T06:20:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T06:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/why-sales-cannot-afford-to-ignore-the-early-part-of-the-buying-cycle-selling-power\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T06:20:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T06:20:02","slug":"why-sales-cannot-afford-to-ignore-the-early-part-of-the-buying-cycle-selling-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=308002","title":{"rendered":"Why Sales Cannot Afford to Ignore the Early Part of the Buying Cycle \u2013 Selling Power"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Jeff Kalter<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a statistic you\u2019ve probably heard before: \u201c57% of the purchase decision is complete before a customer even calls a supplier,\u201d (<\/span>CEB<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

One Statistic Should Not Drive Your Sales Model<\/b><\/p>\n

Marketing automation platforms, content marketers, and more cite this stat from CEB because it offers a strong rationale for using their marketing platforms and services. After all, marketing automation and content marketing both help in the early phase of the buying cycle (and beyond). They do the hard work of capturing leads, warming them up with email nurturing, and scoring leads. Once a contact accumulates a high lead score, it\u2019s finally time for sales to take action.<\/span><\/p>\n

But is that too late? <\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, it may be. By then, the decision maker is well entrenched in the buying cycle \u2013 maybe even with a preferred vendor in mind. As the research says, 57 percent of the purchase decision has been made.<\/span><\/p>\n

This number that is behind many of today\u2019s sales and marketing strategies, however, may not be everything it appears to be. Apparently, the study that delivered this factoid was not as all-encompassing as you might think. While the research was based on responses from <\/span>1,500 decision makers<\/span><\/a>, these people represented only 22 large companies. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your buyer may be entirely different from the <\/span>average<\/span><\/i> buyers working at this small sample of companies. In fact, according to <\/span>Forrester<\/span><\/a>, buying behavior varies substantially by industry. For example, their research shows that, in the early part of the buying cycle, the sales rep\u2019s influence is much lower for \u201cmobile devices, apps, platforms, and management software\u201d than it is for \u201cbusiness intelligence and analytics.\u201d For the former, sales is the fifth most influential channel. For the latter, the sales rep is the most influential. Channels include sales representatives, peers, technical Websites, technical analysts, vendor Websites, IT forums, technical publications, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, the <\/span>SiriusDecisions<\/span><\/a> 2017 Buying Study of 868 buyers from 15 different industries provides an insight that puts into question today\u2019s tendency to minimize sales efforts early in the buying cycle. They say, \u201c<\/span>In the first educational phase of the buying process, where people spend one-third of their time, we found that more than 60 percent of buyers received information from the sales representative of the winning provider.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Conclusion? The winning vendors meet with prospects when the starting gates open for the buying cycle!<\/span><\/p>\n

Zig While Others Zag<\/b><\/p>\n

What does that mean for you? <\/span><\/p>\n

If your competition has adopted a strategy of waiting until late in the buying cycle for sales involvement, there may be an opportunity to differentiate your company by doing the opposite. <\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard about <\/span>first mover advantage<\/span><\/a> in the marketplace, where the company that enters a market first is likely to win more market share than its competitors. The same first-mover advantage may apply in your sales cycle. The salesperson who starts working with a buying team first is more likely to succeed than those who wait for the request for proposal (RFP). In fact, a company may put out an RFP just to determine whether their preferred supplier (the one they met first) is offering a reasonable price. It\u2019s just a final check before they move forward. If they are a little higher than you, so be it. As long as they are in the ballpark, they will likely win the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

So you may be better off having your business development reps enter into the buying cycle early. When they do, they can help the buyer frame the problem and present a solution that highlights your product\u2019s advantages. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, they have to approach early entry the right way. Here are some tips:<\/span><\/p>\n