Selling is all about connecting with prospects — understanding their pain points and serving their needs. TrustRadius, a community of professionals sharing software reviews, surveyed more than 600 B2B technology buyers to take a closer look at how vendors attempt to influence buyers and where that fails to connect with what buyers want.
Key disconnects:
Buyers don’t trust all vendor claims, nor do they expect to. Buyers say it is critical to get a complete picture of the product before they buy, and this means consulting sources beyond the vendor’s purview.
Users are an important resource for many buyers, yet vendors aren’t sufficiently leveraging their advocates. More than 75 percent are willing to do more to advocate for their vendors and share feedback with other buyers, yet less than one-quarter of buyers have served as a customer reference, provided a testimonial, or participated in a case study for the vendor they bought from.
Buyers are more influenced by vendors who are transparent and trustworthy. Nearly one-fourth (23 percent) of buyers said the vendors they bought from were very influential, and those vendors engaged with their buyers differently than the rest, suggesting that there are specific types of interaction that tend to lead to a bigger influence over buyers. Vendors that want to be more influential with their buyers should focus on cultivating authentic interactions during the buying process.
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