The 7 Step Client Buying Cycle - Peter Arthur

 Effective selling begins comes from understanding how, what and why your customers make purchasing decisions that creates value at each stage of their buying process. By understanding these stages and how to influence them, you’ll find it easier to form practical account strategies that move sales forward. 

What follows below is a look at the core stages of the seven step Buying Cycle from the buyer’s perspective and brief descriptions of the role of the broker at each stage. Paying close attention to a client’s buying cycle is critical when you now consider people refinance their home loans every two years.

1. Changes over Time:  

This is the stage in which prospects have not yet recognised a need for change. Brokers can help jump start the buying process by delivering provocative and compelling prospecting messages that help buyers appreciate potential challenges and opportunities.

2. Recognition of Needs:  

During this stage, customers become dissatisfied with their existing situation and begin to realize a need to solve a problem or exploit an opportunity. At this point, the role of the finance professional is to uncover the source of dissatisfaction and increase the customer’s perception of its intensity and urgency. 

3. Evaluation of Options:  

Once they’ve agreed on the need for change, customers then start considering alternatives for resolving their dissatisfaction. Here, the finance professional’s job is to help the customer understand how the recommendation can best meet their needs and theirs is the only option. 

4. Resolution of Concerns:  

In this stage, buyers tentatively select a vendor, but before signing the contract they will assess any associated risks and consequences. The finance professionals course of action now is to uncover buyer concerns or fears and help resolve them.

5. Decision:

At this point, the deal is agreed upon and the contract is signed.

6. Implementation:

Buyers expect to receive the value promised by the finance professional and endeavour to realise a return on their investment. The finance professional’s responsibility is to help the customer adopt the solution and overcome any implementation challenges.

7. Changes over Time:  

The cycle does not end just because the finance professional is implementing a solution. Inevitably, there will be changes in the customer and their on going needs. Each of these changes offers opportunities for the finance professional to strengthen the relationship by helping customers anticipate and address additional problems and opportunities.

Buying Cycles

One of the things you must remember with all your clients & prospects:People will never buy anything when they are being sold to. They make decisions in their own time at their own pace & want access to all the relevant information that can help them make better buying decisions especially when those decisions are based upon, or around the mortgage on the family home.

When the client is on his buying cycle, at some point he might make contact with you because he has a query. Problem can be -with most sales people-when you get general enquires at early stages being confronted by a mortgage broker that wants to give him the best rate right now -however the client could be literally months away from making their decision. Don’t scare them away.

However the one thing they all have in common is a timeline.In other words they all will buy at some designated point in the future. What’s important during their buying cycle- for them & you– personal phone contact (when needed) & email them a Newsletters or some information that would be relevant to what they’re doing & help the/guide them. You have a much better rate of these people doing business with you.

About Peter Arthur and MST Active

Peter’s company “MST Active” (MST = My Sales Team) has been making a significant impact to the revenue streams of many finance professionals since entering the finance industry in early 2000. Peter now coaches, mentors & consults to the breadth of the finance industry and with “MST’s", “Client for Life” approach, their bottom lined focused sales & marketing strategies are now in constant demand especially at this major time of change and shake out within the finance industry.

 In 2005 Peter began “MST Digital” as a direct result of finance professionals requiring a more “client centric” than “rate centric” business and then set about developing web based client contact programs such as “PALM”  & “Collabor8” which combine fully managed high-probability client acquisition and modern web technology to bring the ultimate online business development system. To learn more about MST Active, visit the website http://www.mstactive.com.au/