The buying process is complex. If you think it is finished once they've answered the questions and delivered their proposal. In reality, that's when the prospect's internal selling process begins. Your contact now has to explain, defend, and justify your solution to people you've never met. If you don't understand how those decisions get made, you're leaving the outcome to chance.

In this episode of Purpose Under Pressure, host Bryan Lefelhoc, founder of Bryan Media Strategies, welcomes Tom Thon, Partner and Trainer at Sandler by the Ruby Group to talk about understanding and mapping out the buying process and the key players involved with making the decisions.

Tom shares practical strategies for identifying decision-makers without offending your contact, explains the difference between demand creation and demand fulfillment sales, and offers simple but powerful questions that reveal who influences a purchase

Purpose Under Pressure is brought to you in partnership with Sandler by the Ruby Group, serving sales professionals and sales organizations nationwide from their locations in Akron and Columbus, Ohio, in Capital Region, New York, and in Jacksonville, Florida

Key Takeaways:

— Your presentation is usually the beginning of your prospect's internal selling process.

— The person you're meeting with is frequently gathering information for someone else, making it essential to understand who really makes the final decision.

— Asking, "How does your company go about making these types of decisions?" opens the door to valuable insights without creating pressure.

— Great salespeople protect the prospect's "okayness" by respecting their role while still uncovering who else is involved.

— Understanding whether you're in a demand creation or demand fulfillment sale changes the questions you should ask.

— Moving from vendor to trusted advisor requires patience, curiosity, and a genuine desire to understand how your customer buys.

— A great question to ask your contact if not the decision maker: "Other than yourself, who will be involved in making this decision?"

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Helpful Links:

Tom Thon, Sandler by the Ruby Group: https://go.sandler.com/therubygroup/

Bryan Lefelhoc, Owner, Bryan Media Strategies: https://www.bryanmediastrategies.com/