Video Transcript: The Business Buying Decision

Hello, welcome. We're going to be discussing the business buying decision five  stages of the business buying decision decision process. The business buying  decision process involves five distinct stages. At each stage, different decision  

makers may be involved, depending on the cost and strategic importance of the  purchase. To navigate the buying decision process successfully, you need to  provide the right type of information ensure that your sales representatives are  contacting the right decision makers. You can also strengthen your position by  offering customers advice and guidance at each stage, also known as  consultative selling. So awareness for your product. The process begins when a  company identifies a need for a purchase and may want to replace an existing  item, replenish stocks or buy a new product that is just available on the market.  You can almost you can also stimulate a need that the company may not be  aware of by advising them that of issues and challenges that other companies in their industry face, the buying team next works with the requesting department  to firm up the requirement your sales team can provide advice and guidance at  this stage by offering discussion papers or inviting decision makers to  workshops or seminars on the topic. So the salesperson, you need to be aware  of your challenges in the market to being a salesperson. So that's why you need to be able to be to communicate with department heads of the firm and discuss  options on how to develop better sales techniques for your product. When the  buying team has agreed requirements, it prepares a detailed specification that  sets out quantities, performance and technical requirements for a product, your  sales team can support this stage by advising the team that is buying on best  practice or collaborating with a buying team develop a specification. Buying  teams then use the specification to search for potential suppliers. They may  search the internet to find products or companies that provide a match to their  specification. So it's important that your website features keywords that match  your customers, product or service needs. So, you know, we're looking for a  specialized product. We're working for looking for a specific product. We need to be able to have our product out there that is being, you know featured on your  website that your customers can easily search and that they can find your  product and be able to click and easily find out all the information that they need. When the buying team has identified potential suppliers, it asks for detailed  proposals from the suppliers. The team may issue a formal document known as  a request for proposal, or it may outline requirements and invite potential  suppliers to make a presentation or submit a quotation. If the product or service  has a precise specification, the buying team may simply ask for Price  Quotations. If the price is more complex, it may ask for proposals and how a  supplies supplier would meet the need. So if I'm a buyer of these products or  these raw materials, I want a proposal or something in writing telling me how  they're going to benefit me by using them as my supplier. So then we're going to evaluate the suppliers proposal against criteria such as price performance and 

value for the money, as well as evaluating the product, they assess the supplier  on factors such as corporate reputation, financial stability, technical reputation  and reliability. You can influence decisions at this stage by providing company  information, case studies and independent reports that review your company  and product. So after the proposals made, we're going to sit down as a buying  team, and we want to make sure that their reputation, they're financially stable,  and they have a strong technical reputation, and they're a viable right, so that  we can do business with them long term, and they can be the one feeding us  our inputs for our our products. So before the buying team places an order with  the chosen supplier, they negotiate price discounts, finance arrangements and  payment terms, as well as confirming delivery dates and any other contractual  matters when the order is complete and delivered, the buying team may add a  further stage by reviewing the performance of the product and The supplier. This stage may include imposition of penalty charges if the product fails to meet the  agreed specification. So here they're going to negotiate the price, the discount  terms, the financing arrangements and the payment terms, right? So this is the  nitty gritty. Okay. How long are you going to supply us? When are you going to  supply us? What are the prices, what are the terms right? They're going to  review it, and they're going to review the performance of the product and the  supplier right. So this stage may also include penalty charges if the product fails  to meet the agreed specifications. So they want to make sure they're getting the  right quality for the right price on the right term.