Business Decisions Made Easy: Bringing Humanization to the Forefront of Sales

Humans make approximately 35,000 decisions a day. While many of these decisions are personal, a large portion are business-related. Decision-makers at businesses have to choose everything from where to open offices to what technologies employees will be using to do their job effectively and efficiently. Because there are so many decisions to make, decision-makers are constantly on the look-out for overt differentiators between the available options so that they can make the right decision and move on to the next one.

For decision-makers dealing with external products and services, salespeople have the responsibility to make the process of decision-making easy for these buyers. When there’s not a clear differentiator, sellers need take on the role of the differentiator and take advantage of their most powerful asset—themselves. Here are three ways that salespeople can stand out in a crowded landscape and make the decision-making process a breeze for buyers.

Break Through with Humanization
There are about 124.5 billion business emails sent and received every day. Inboxes are filled to the brim with email intros and follow-ups from salespeople. These emails are mostly automated—personalized only to the point of a prospect or customer’s first name. When marketing automation was first introduced this was exciting, but now it’s not enough to break through the clutter.

Sellers need to reintroduce humanization into their buyer communications. Humanization means that salespeople’s knowledge, personality and relationships are the running force behind their sales communication strategies. It’s those assets that got them hired in the first place anyway, right? Allowing buyers to experience the human behind the seller is a core differentiator in today’s world of marketing automation and personalization that’s far from personal.

Differentiate Beyond Price
Salespeople are competing in crowded landscapes, where their product or service likely mirrors the benefits and results of competing companies. Price point can very well be one of the biggest influencers for customers, but lowering prices can’t be the sole strategy. There comes a point where the lowest price can’t even compete anymore – because customers begin to question why it’s so low.

Instead of going right into a demo or pricing, have buyers experience the people of the company first. Sellers should hook them with personality, deep knowledge and 1:1 attention. Buyers are inundated with asks of demo after demo – imagine what a breath of fresh air a conversation with a human being will be. The sales team is the first introduction the buyer has to the company – and likely the last contact before they enter a deal—make every second count in building a strong relationship by starting it as soon as the first email is sent.

Make the Choice for Them
Decisions can be difficult when the options buyers are choosing are nearly identical. Take, for instance, a buyer choosing between products and services that provide the same benefits and results, with identical pricing models. How’s a company to choose when nothing stands out?

Make it easy for buyers. Ask them what they need, listen to what they need, give it to them, and be engaged and available every step of the way until their decision is made. This will create a stand out, human seller in a sea of impersonalized automation.

Decisions need to be backed by reasoning – but what’s the reasoning behind a decision when both options were nearly the same? How does a company even choose? Salespeople need to acknowledge that buyers are looking for a standout differentiator to make these tough decisions. Bringing humanization to the front of sales communications and building a relationship based on the needs of the buyer will make business decisions quite simple for a buyer.

Matt Singer is the CEO and Co-founder, Videolicious.