Question

What three types of buying situations may the B2B buyer be in when contacted by a salesperson? Describe a strategy or tactic the salesperson might employ for one of the situations.

Answer 1

Three types of buying situations:

A buyer may have different buying situations depends upon the preferences, price, payment approach, relationship, and role of the buyer in the organization. But in any case, the buyer would have any of the following three buying situations.

1. New Buy: This is the buying situation where the buyer organization and seller organizations are dealing for the first time. So both the parties are unaware of the stated needs and actual needs. In this case, both organizations follow the formal buying process.

2. Modified rebuy: This is the buying situation, where the buyer organization and seller organization have worked together in the past. But now the buyer wants changes in the specifications such as price, quality level, customer service level, or any other specifications.

3. Straight Rebuy: This is the buying situation, where the buyer organization purchases the same products with the same specifications of earlier purchases.

Strategies, a salesperson can employ for a new buy:

As modified rebuy and straight rebuy are the situations where a salesperson has no major role to play. The salesperson has to employ a strategic approach for the buyer who is going to buy for the first time.

The salesperson can use the solution selling strategy. Using this strategy, the salesperson can identify the real needs of the buyer and provide them the solution in terms of the best suitable product. The salesperson should ask the situation questions to collect the facts about the product requirements, problem questions to identify the problem of the buyer for which the buyer organization is seeking solution, implication questions to identify the impact of the product in the buyer organization, and expected payoff from the products to provide the best product to the buyer.