Leading with insights is a new way of selling. Instead of following traditional sales processes, you proactively connect with the buyer by sharing information and ideas they were not aware of and helps shining a new perspective on their situation and challenges. More and more sales organizations provide their sales force with Sales Enablement platforms where these insights are “pushed” to the sales execs so not too much time is lost in searching for them.
However, what many salespeople do not realize enough is that for two types of insights you don’t have to go to any Sales Enablement tool. Read on how you can use your own experience to find and share insights buyers are usually really keen to listen to.
FOMO: the Fear of Missing Out
Think of any sort of fashion trend or fad; ripped jeans of the ’90s, the hoodies culture, hair like Justin Bieber and more. These trends do not serve any actual value; they are not safer, warmer, or necessarily more efficient. Then why are humans driven to adopt them? The fear of missing out is universal and timeless and cuts across age, class, and race. From the rise of wearing perfumes during the Renaissance period to the popular idiom “keeping up with the Joneses,” the comparison of oneself to peers has been a recurring cultural marvel for centuries. Now, through the internet and social media, making comparisons has become easier and FOMO is an increasing phenomenon effecting many of us personally but also in business.  In particular businesses with smaller marketing research capabilities have a fear of missing out. They may not have found solutions to their challenges and hence they would like to know what “others” are doing. On one hand of the spectrum, everyone wants to be innovative but on the other hand, you also don’t want to be left behind.
FOWI: the Fear of What-If
You may think that selling has become more challenging, the latest research by Gartner suggests that from a buyer’s perspective their job has not become easier either. Information overflow makes it harder to track what is important, what is distracting and what should be focused on. Although buyers, in this day and age are progressing through their buying cycle more on their own without the help of a salesperson, there is a definite need from their side to validate if they are right with their findings.
Like sales processes, a buyer’s cycle is also not linear. There are just too many variables influencing final decision making. The many stakeholders involved may not agree on what the company’s main challenges are.  They may disagree on the scope and the solutions they should look into. Hence, businesses are looking more and more validating their findings with a sales person’s views. What if they have been wrong all of this time? What if the challenges they face can be solved in a different way? What if they have been looking at growth opportunities in the wrong markets?
FOMO and FOWI are powerful opportunities for sales executives to fill these buyers’ validation needs. Their initial interest is not if your products, services, and solutions will be a fit for what they think they need. No, they first would like to validate with you if you have seen similar changes in the market and industry like they did, or something different. After all, you as a sales executive are meeting with similar businesses in the same industry with similar challenges – so you are becoming another source for them to be up-to-date with the latest trends.
The world is complex. Staying ahead in business is complex. And every business wants to advance. Marketing teams are armed with the latest technology apps. Industry RSS feeds are constantly tracking what is the latest, what is coming up next. Competitors’ moves are followed on a daily basis. The companies that are likely to come out on the other side of the digital revolution are those that are most equipped to evolve and roll with the changes. Help your customers and potential customers through leading with FOMO and FOWI insights. Help them to adapt and take advantage of changes. You will see how much they appreciate your views.
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