This is the third part of a 3 part series on understanding buyer motivation in the business-to-business market place.

We live in an experiential society! One of the most powerful and effective ways to differentiate yourself is to serve others in a sincere and genuine fashion resulting in a positive and memorable experience. Isn't it a pleasure to experience a sales or service person that is truly there for you? A person who is passionate about serving others and is sincere and knowledgeable? From time to time we have the good fortune of having such an experience.

Unfortunately the frequency of these positive experiences seems to be less and less. The good news is this scarcity offers you a profound opportunity to differentiate yourself and stand out in the crowd!

Zig Zigler said "You can have anything you want if you will only help enough other people get what they want." The key to riches and happiness is to serve others. But for some reason the majority of sales and service people are not leveraging this opportunity to their benefit.

Here are a couple of effective actions to keep in mind:

• When you serve another by making the experience all about them it does not mean you are subservient or beneath them!
• Practice daily putting your worries, issues and desires on the backburner while you put the person you are serving in the spot light!
• Look people in the eye and listen to them. Paraphrase back to them what they told you to be sure you understand!

The bottom line is make it all about them! As grandma used to say: "A person might not remember exactly what you did or said. But they will never forget how you made them feel." Pause and think about this for a moment. This simple concept could quite possibly elevate your success to another level.

This is the second part of a 3 part series on understanding buyer motivation in the business to business market place.

If you survey successful business people you will find they are all so very different. Some like to vacation at the beach others prefer to camp out in the wilderness. Some are very outgoing and others are reserved. And so it goes.

One thing you will find common among them, however, is their ability to clearly express themselves. They have a strong command of their native language and the ability to describe an idea so clearly and vividly you can see it in your mind.

Buyers want you to have the ability to explain clearly to them how your product or service will ensure their problem will be solved. They demand to see the link!

Unfortunately most sales people don't satisfy the buyers need to understand! They attempt to use vague promises as their hook to get the buyer to say yes. Certainly buyers today are too savvy to be swayed with generalities.

To express yourself clearly and connect with your buyer give these a try:

• Take the time to craft relevant questions. Then listen intently to the prospects response. When you respond incorporate the words and phrases the prospect used.
• If we tell someone how great we are they doubt it. Use examples of other happy customers and explain briefly their situation and how they benefited from their relationship with you.
• Paraphrase. Feed back to the prospect what you just heard them say. Ask them if you understand.

Make it a life long goal to constantly improve your vocabulary and your ability to ask meaningful questions. Learn to cut to the chase and you will differentiate yourself from the competition!

This is the first part of a 3 part series on understanding buyer motivation in the business to business market place.

If you spend time thinking about how to crack the code on effective ways to capture the attention of today's buyers, you and I have something profound in common! This is the first of a three part series focusing on understanding buyer motivation in the business-to-business market place.

Over the last 12 months I have surveyed just over 100 buyers. These 100 business people I surveyed work in companies ranging from Fortune 500 down to small organizations doing just over one million dollars in annual revenue. Over 80% of the buyers I surveyed said they are flat out tired of dealing with "sales people". Instead they want to deal with "business people".

Buyers today want you to have depth. They want you to think and act like a business person and not a sales person. They do not have the time for a "sales pitch" but they do have time to learn. In fact leaders are under such pressure to deliver results in our current business climate you can count on the fact if you come forward with meaningful and relevant information that can help them accomplish one or two of their goals they will speak with you.

Focus on a couple of vertical markets and uncover the trends, issues, threats and opportunities companies face in those markets. Then call your buyer and have a business discussion around those issues.

Don't focus on "closing" the sale! Focus on understanding your buyer's situation. Don't focus on doing a "feature dump" boring your prospect to tears with what your product is! Focus on asking excellent questions that uncover your prospects goals, plans and objectives. If you take this approach you will differentiate yourself from your competition and you will earn your share of the business.

Have you ever found yourself with a large deal you were certain you had in the bag only to have the rug pulled out from under in the 11th hour? To receive an email saying "Sorry were going with the competition?"

I know I have, and man, oh man, it's painful! When doing a postmortem on these deals I have found, almost without exception, that I didn't involve the person with purchase authority and budget control (a.k.a. the PABC) in my sales process. You know who I'm talking about: the individual in the organization who can write a check without having to ask permission from anyone else.

There are many excuses why we don't get the PABC involved in our sale process, but there are really no good reasons! "I tried to get him or her on the phone but I just kept getting voice mail." "I got a PABC on the phone once and I didn't know what to say!" "I can't get past his or her personal assistant." "I started my sales cycle with one of their staff members. I can't toast my relationship with them by going over their head!"

When I ask sales people why they don't launch high in a prospect organization they usually admit they don't feel they have a right to. They say, "I'm only a sales person!" "They make so much more money than I do." "There is nothing I can say that they don't already know."

Wrong!!!!!

You must remember that our prospect has a thimble-full of knowledge when it comes to your specific product and solution. You, on the other hand, have a bucket- full. The other fact to keep in mind is that leaders of companies are paid the big bucks to see into the future. Their feet are held to the fire for results. Because of this, they are always on the lookout for ideas to accomplish 4 critical objectives:

• Increase top line revenue.
• Get more done in the same 8-hour period without adding payroll.
• Hold on to their precious base of clients.
• Reduce expenses.

Here's a guarantee for you. If your solution can help accomplish one of the above 4 objectives and you can "articulate" that fact to an executive, they will want to talk with you. They will talk with you!

So get out of your comfort zone! Prepare to launch high! Go for it! You'll be glad you did.