If you’re still running your process, independent of where the buyer is in their journey, then you’re already at a disadvantage.
Most sellers still show up armed with a deck, a script, and the urge to “close.” That’s a problem. Buyers don’t live in that world anymore. By the time they engage a salesperson, today’s buying teams are typically three-quarters of the way through their internal purchasing journey!
So ... stop pitching! You can’t expect to win by walking people through a generic, one-size-fits all slide deck. You’ve got to meet them where they are—listen—then guide them forward with profound situational empathy and agility.
Sales agility is no longer optional. It’s a cost of entry, as is an understanding of the four phases of the modern buyer’s journey.
Phase One, Engagement: Spot the Breadcrumbs
Early on, buyers are searching, downloading, figuring out what they think the problem is. Your job: Use technology to spot as many breadcrumbs as you can, then follow them wherever they lead. The mistake here is going in with a hard pitch or solution. Instead, you simply want to earn the right to take part in, and help shape, the conversation.
Say things like: “That’s awesome—you’ve done a lot of research. Can we take ten minutes to go back in time so I can understand how you concluded that was the problem -- and what, if anything, you have done to try to solve it?” This acknowledges their work. You're going to address their agenda topic while opening the door to uncover deeper issues. Think about how a doctor interacts with a patient. If the patient comes into the office and says, “I have appendicitis, please schedule me for surgery,” what's going to happen? No sane doctor would schedule that operation without first conducting a diagnosis and asking some questions!
Your aim in Engagement is to widen their field of vision, not to push them into your funnel. Help them explore possibilities they may not even have thought of.
Phase Two, Consideration: Be the Advisor
Now the buyer is weighing options. Internally? Externally? Do nothing? This is where most sellers blow it by attempting to force the close. Don’t.
Instead, offer “foot in the door” value. Run a workshop or a pilot program. Help them test assumptions. Even help draft their RFP. The point is to be indispensable in their exploration.
You might try saying something like this: “As you can imagine, I've done this many times; I'd be happy to facilitate a brainstorming session covering X, Y, and Z to give you some clarity on the issues, and to evaluate some options that can help you decide whether this needs an internal or an external solution.” You’re positioning yourself as a facilitator with experience, not a vendor with an agenda.
Sometimes the best move is to tactfully surface the risks of going the internal route, and let people draw their own conclusions. “Could your team realistically pull this off—and if so, what’s the cost of their time?” These are questions they may not be asking themselves.
Phase Three, Decision: Co-Create, Don’t Surprise
In the Decision phase, the real test begins: Do they pick you, a competitor, do it themselves, or do nothing at all? The Decision phase is where generic presentations kill deals. Every word must map directly to their pain. If it’s not unique to this problem, not based directly on what you’ve heard from these buyers and these influencers, don’t put it in the proposal!
Ask questions designed to determine the upstream causes and impacts. This will usually expand the number of people you need to be in front of. That’s a good thing. Remember: buyers buy in teams!
Fingerprint your solution with them along the way so the final presentation isn’t a reveal—it’s a confirmation. Use lines like: “Here’s what we’ve shaped together—does this still reflect what you need?” That turns it into “our” solution, not “my” pitch. Fingerprinting means they sell for you, even when you’re not present for internal meetings.
Differentiate subtly by planting competitor traps: “What we’ve found is that without X, Y, and Z, most rollouts fail.” The buyer will ask each competitor if they do X, Y, and Z, and of course, you know what the answer to that question is going to be! Use this for things that only you do, or that you know you do better than others.One warning like this can shift the ground underneath your rival.
You’ll also want to be sure to validate the impact in financial terms: “If this pain costs you two million dollars a year, what does solving it unlock for your team? Is it even worth the time and energy to solve this?” Make sure your value discussion connects directly to dollars and people!
Phase Four, Advocacy: Keep and Grow
Too many sellers disappear after the deal. That’s shortsighted. Advocacy is where you earn expansion and referrals.
Never leave the handoff to chance. Once the sale is made, your work isn’t done. To create raving fans, you will want to conduct a live handoff between sales and delivery. This has much more impact than sending an email! By making this a real-time discussion, you ensure that everything of importance is addressed ... and you lay the groundwork for a smoother relationship. This one simple move turns a client into an advocate.
Continue by supporting the relationship over time, anchoring on what mattered most during the sale: “Back in January, you told us these three things were critical—how are we delivering against those?” That kind of simple check-in builds trust.
You will also probably want to listen for problems that surfaced earlier but weren’t urgent at the time. Drop seeds in follow-up conversations: “When you mentioned X during our early talks, is that becoming more of a priority now?”
The New Non-Negotiable
Agility is the common requirement across all four of these phases, the non-negotiable skill of modern selling. We don’t march blindly through our process. We pivot with the buyer’s, acknowledging where they are, honoring the work they’ve done, and then—step by step—helping them forward.
When we do that, we stop pitching. We start collaborating. We don’t just win deals—we create customers who champion our organization.
For more help on meeting buyers and influencers where they are, drop us a line.
