Understanding and Addressing Client Buying Influences

How often do we lose an existing account, or fail to win a sales pitch despite having what we think is clearly the best proposition? We may have developed trusted advisor status with our client, understood their needs and developed tailored solutions in line with their business objectives. Our contact at the client may also love our proposition. But we still lose the business. The most common reason that this happens is that we fail to identify, understand, and address the decision making dynamic and wider buying influences at our prospect or client.
This session demonstrates a step-by-step methodology to make sure you cover all the bases and are not left scratching your head after another unexplained failure.

• Consider the different buying influences and the decision making structure at your client or prospect
• Understand the importance of a structured approach to identify and address these influences to maximise your chances of success in account acquisition and retention
• Understand different types of buyers and their position in the buying process
• Understand buyer types’ differing needs and drivers
• Key influences on modern B2B buyer behaviour and the lessons for sellers

• Miller Heiman Strategic Selling - types of buyers and their roles in the decision-making process
• Response modes – assessing buyers’ attitude to change to predict their responsiveness to your proposal
• The concept of ‘win-results’ – establishing and addressing buyer needs as individual and representative of company
• ‘Redflags’ and ‘Barbells’ – obstacles to achieving win-results and leveraging from strength
• Psychological factors affecting modern B2B buying behaviours and how to adapt our sales approach accordingly

Nick offers a unique combination of skills in the UK insurance training sector – an industry sales specialist and a professional coach and trainer. Nick is an Economics graduate with over 25 years corporate insurance broking experience. He was a highly successful sales producer in the UK broking market before progressing into regional and then national sales leadership roles. As National Development Director at HSBC, Nick was one of only 40 people from a global workforce of 265,000 selected as part of the STARS programme to recognise exceptional performance. He is a highly trained consultative sales specialist, and his experience includes a secondment with a major management consultant to design a best practice sales process.

In the mid-2000s, Nick developed a chronic health condition; his journey to recovery fostered a new range of interests, and a passion for health, and performance. He studied widely, qualifying as a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), obtaining a Diploma in Life Coaching, before going on to study Corporate/Business Coaching with The Coaching Academy. Nick is also a qualified Holistic Lifestyle Coach and Advanced Exercise Coach.

In the last two years Nick has worked in a self-employed capacity in training, coaching, and consulting. He works with a specialist adviser in Insurance sector M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions), and through Nick Thomas & Associates.