The 3 Stages in the Buyers Journey
The first step in transforming into an inbound sales model is to understand the way your customers buy your product or service.
This is known as the buyers journey. The buyers journey is the active research process someone goes through leading up to a purchase.
This process consists of 3 stages:
- The Awareness Stage.
- The Consideration Stage.
- The Decision Stage.
1. Awareness Stage
Buyers find the challenges they are experiencing or an opportunity they want to pursue.
Ask Yourself:
- How do buyers describe their goals or challenge?
- How do buyers educate themselves on these goals or challenges?
- What are the consequences of inaction by the buyer?
- Are there common misconceptions buyers have about address the goal or challenge?
- How do buyers decide whether the goal or challenge should be prioritized?
2. Consideration Stage
Buyers clearly identified their goal or challenge and committed to addressing it. Buyers have evaluated the different approaches and methods available to solve their challenge or capitalize on their opportunity.
Ask Yourself:
- What categories of solutions do buyers investigate?
- How do buyers educate themselves on the various categories?
- How do buyers perceive the pros and cons of each category?
- How do buyers decide which category is right for them?
3. Decision Stage:
Buyers have already decided on a solution category and in their solution category, they might have listed offerings of interest that best meets their needs or a solution they found first.
Ask Yourself:
- What criteria do buyers use to evaluate the available offerings?
- What do buyers like about your offering compared to alternatives?
- What common concerns do buyers have with your offering?
- Who needs to be involved in the decision? How does each person’s perspective on the decision differ?
- Do buyers want to try your offering before they purchase it?
- Outside of purchasing, do buyers need to make additional preparations, such as implementation plans or training strategies?
Conclusion
The buyers want to be educated, supported, and guided through their buying process. A key component of an inbound sales strategy is connecting with the buyers before they enter the decision stage. You want to guide them to making a decision and not just waiting around for them to make up their minds.
