Understanding and

addressing buying
influences
Presented by Nick Thomas
March 2022
Welcome and Thankyou
Webinar format - 60 minutes including Q&A and polls

Slides and recording provided post-session

Nick Thomas
• Background in Insurance Broking Sector. Sales and Sales Leadership specialist
• Widely qualified coach and personal development specialist
• Coaching, training and consulting – Insurance M&A

Nick Thomas & Associates

• Up to the minute training solutions addressing the challenges of the modern
insurance professional
• Technical insurance; sales, business and soft skills; performance, resilience
and wellbeing; management and leadership

CONFIDENTIAL 2
 • Consider the different buying influences and the decision-

Objectives •
making structure at your client or prospect

Understand the importance of a structured approach to

identify and address these influences to maximise your
‘Begin with the end chances of success in account acquisition and retention

in mind’ • Understand different types of buyers and their position in

Stephen R. Covey,
the buying process

•
The 7 Habits of
Understand buyer types’ differing needs and drivers

Highly Effective • Key influences on modern B2B buyer behaviour and the
lessons for sellers
People’

CONFIDENTIAL 3
 Strategic Selling
Rejects manipulative selling tactics,
emphasizing selling as a process to
achieve ‘win-win’ results.
‘…both you and the buyer win. That is
you both come out of the sale feeling
satisfied’
Leads to:
• Satisfied customers
• Long-term relationships
• Repeat business
• Good referrals’
Strategic Selling, Miller Heiman

CONFIDENTIAL 4
 Buyer Types
In any [large/complex] sale, there will be
multiple buyer types (can be more than one of
each) – Economic, User, Technical, Coach
• Economic Buyer
• Holds the purse strings. Ultimately says
‘Yes’ or ‘No’
• Concerned with effect on their core
strategy – how will you help them
achieve this?
• Only ever one economic buyer in a sale

CONFIDENTIAL 5
 Buyer Types
In any [large/complex] sale, there will be multiple
buyer types (can be more than one of each) –
Economic, User, Technical, Coach
• User Buyer
• Uses/supervises the solution after purchase.
• Rarely the same person as economic buyer.
• Linked personally to your solution and judge
it based on the impact it will have on their
specific job performance.
• Often more than one User Buyer
• Examples – Insurance Manager, Claims
administrator?

CONFIDENTIAL 6
 Buyer Types
In any [large/complex] sale, there will be multiple buyer
types (can be more than one of each) – Economic, User,
Technical, Coach
• Technical Buyer
• Ensures the solution adheres to technical, regulatory
and compliance requirements. Purchasing manager?
• “Does this mean I’ll have more work to do?” “Are
there are other better options out there, even if I
don’t know them”
• They can’t say “yes,” but can only say “no”
• There may be more than one Technical Buying
Influence per sale

CONFIDENTIAL 7
 Buyer Types
In any [large/complex] sale, there will be multiple buyer
types (can be more than one of each) – Economic, User,
Technical, Coach
• Coach
• Wants you to win, and can provide insight to give
you inside track
• Can be any of the above or not directly involved

Take a moment: identify a current prospect and

jot down the names and positions for each of
the different buyer types. Is it possible there are
more buyers you have not identified? How will
you do this? Is there a coach who can help you?

CONFIDENTIAL 8
 Buyer Response Modes
‘…the next thing you need to know is how they feel about
your proposal. In Strategic Selling, you determine that by
identifying their current receptivity to change, specifically
the change to their business, that your proposal
represents’
‘Understanding their perceptions of change is what
helps you to predict their level of buyer receptivity’
‘There are always four possible reactions that a buyer
can have in a given selling situation. We call these
reactions response modes’
‘The New Strategic Selling’ Miller, Heiman and Tuleja

CONFIDENTIAL 9
 Buyer Response Modes
Response modes are determined by:
• Buyer’s perception of immediate business situation
• Buyer’s perception of how your proposal is likely to
change that situation
• Buyer’s perception of whether that change will close a
gap or discrepancy between what’s seen as the
current reality and the results needed.
• No matter how good the match between your proposal
and these needs, no buyer will be receptive to change
unless he/she first recognises the discrepancy

CONFIDENTIAL 10
 Buyer Response Modes
Four Response Modes should be defined for each of the
Buying Influences:
• Growth: wishes to improve on the current situation in
some way. Ready to invest in a solution that improves
this
• Trouble: have a problem that is causing results to
deteriorate and looking for a solution that will fix or
avoid a crisis.
• Even Keel: content with the current situation; does not
see a need for change.
• Overconfident: has an inaccurate understanding of the Take a moment:
current situation and therefore believes that results • Define the response modes for each of the
are even better than expectations. buyers you have identified
• What are the best buyer response modes for
a seller?

CONFIDENTIAL 11
 Win-Result
• Result – ‘the impact your product or service can
have on the buyer’s business processes’
• Win – personal gain that satisfies an individual
buyer’s perceived self-interest
• Win-Result – a result that gives one of your
individual buying influences a win
• To gain support of any Buying Influence, you
need to satisfy their needs as both a
representative of their company and as an
individual. Take a moment: to consider whether you are in
a position to satisfy the needs of each buyer you
have identified as a representative of their
company and as an individual. Will you achieve
a Win-Result in each case? If not, what do you
need to do?

CONFIDENTIAL 12
 Redflags
Redflags – hazards that can jeopardise the sale

Highlight obstacles to obtaining Win-Results for Buying

Influences. The use of Red Flags helps in tracking one’s
progress in working with the Buying Influences

Barbells – leveraging from strength. Highlight areas that

differentiate you from the competition as a way of
offsetting/minimising threats to strategic position

Analysing alternative strategic approaches – leverage from

strength and/or eliminate redflags [ideally both] Take a moment:
• Can you think of any Red Flags for the
Buying Influences you have identified?
• Consider how you might address these in
order to move that Buyer towards a win-
result

CONFIDENTIAL 13
 Review and Qualify
Dynamic Environment – businesses, their external
environment, decision makers and their needs and
attitudes, your competitors and their influence/strategy all
change constantly

Continually qualify [after every prospect interaction] and

update your strategy position

CONFIDENTIAL 14
 Influences on buyer behaviour
Emotional and rational buying • Rapport feeds intimacy…a feeling of
• People buy at the rational and emotional level closeness [intimacy + capability +
- when they work together, it is a powerful dependability + integrity = trust]
motivator for action • People engage with, buy from and
• …when they are at odds, the emotional side recommend people they trust.
typically wins
• Powerful consequences for sales – rapport ‘Rapport is the ultimate tool for producing
and trust have a significant affect on sales results…if you can develop rapport with the
success right people, you'll be able to fill their
needs, and they will be able to fill yours’
• Keys to Rapport – Empathy, Authenticity,
Tony Robbins
Collaboration, Similarity…
• People like people who are similar to them –
names, movement, interests, behaviours

CONFIDENTIAL 15
 Influences on modern buyer
behaviour
• B2B sales with multiple decision-making
influences – consensus hard to achieve
• Multiple providers and options – different
pros and cons
• Multiple stakeholders with different
needs and drivers as representative of
company , and as an individual
• ‘No decision’ - the most common result
• Factors influencing buyer behaviours –
decision paralysis, status quo bias, loss
aversion, early influence

CONFIDENTIAL 16
 Influences on modern buyer
behaviour
Decision Paralysis Implications:
• Rigourous analysis of thousands of B2B • Need to help the buying group achieve
consensus for change
customers to understand buying-group • Target ‘challenger’ [‘mobiliser’] customers not
consensus ‘friendly’ customers
• Greater the number of decision makers the
less chance of consensus – ‘no decision’ Mobiliser customers value new ideas for their business,
they’re skeptical and deeply supplier agnostic…they do
• Single decision maker – 80 % chance of value new direction for their business. Conversations
‘positive purchase decision’ with Mobiliser customers are difficult to say the least -
they push back, they ask hard questions, they play
• Six or more < 30% “Devil’s Advocate”. But these qualities are exactly what
• High value sales – number of decision gives the Mobilizer customer the credibility to inspire
change inside their organization. When they lock onto
makers rising. Average 5.8 an idea, their colleagues listen
‘The Challenger Customer – Are you targeting the right
decision maker’
‘The Challenger Customer’ – CEB [Gartner]

CONFIDENTIAL 17
 Influences on modern buyer
behaviour
Status Quo Bias - preferring one's
environment/situation remains as it already is
• ‘Status quo bias in decision-making’ Samuelson
and Zeckhauser 1988
• Can be explained by
• Sunk costs – the more resource an individual
invests in the status quo, the more likely they
will continue
• Cognitive dissonance – trying to avoid the
unpleasant effect of experiencing conflicting
thoughts
Implications:
• Mere exposure – the more we are exposed to • Change perceived to be risky
something, the more we like it • Need to show status quo to be risky – build
• Loss aversion… ‘outcome gap’ between cost of inactivity
and value of change [new reality]
• Perception of gap drives change

CONFIDENTIAL 18
 Influences on buyer behaviour
Loss Aversion
• Decision-makers 2-3 time more likely to take
decisive action in response to the threat of loss
than in response to the opportunity for gain
[Daniel Kahneman, behavioural economist]

Implications
• Selling benefits of your solution may not be
enough. Need to build buyer understanding
of seriousness of current threats/problems How do we achieve each of these?
• Introduce additional threats/problems of
current situation

CONFIDENTIAL 19
 Influences on modern buyer
behaviour
Early Influence
• Research by global consulting and research business,
Forrester, found that the Seller that does most to
shape the prospect's vision of a solution wins circa
75% of purchase decisions. Because
• They got in early – influenced at early stage
• Were able to reframe the prospect’s initial
perspective – drive the process

Implications:
• Focus on Ideal Client Profile business where you can bring
most value
• Nurture and engage the prospect on an ongoing basis well
before any formal review process
• Bring perspective and seek to influence prospect vision and
review process itself
• Importance of targeted marketing content

CONFIDENTIAL 20
Summing • Adopt a structured approach to identify and understand

Up •
ALL buyer types – don’t just focus on your contact

Ideally meet all buyers – first-hand understanding and

enables you to influence emotional buying
‘Tell the audience • Seek to address their needs/drivers at an individual level
what you’re going and as representative of the company

to say, say it; then • Be cognizant of the dynamic nature of decision-making and

tell them what

buyer influences – qualify and review strategy on ongoing
basis
you’ve said’ • Engage early with buyers, build influence and lead with
—Dale Carnegie perspective – don’t wait until formal review

• Focus on cost of inaction as much as your own solution –

major competitor is ‘no decision’

CONFIDENTIAL 21
Thankyou! Questions?
Contact:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 07767 647812

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-thomas-
64046113/

LinkedIn Company:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nick-thomas-
associates/

‘Up to the minute training solutions addressing the challenges

of the modern insurance professional’

CONFIDENTIAL 22