The Bonus B2B QuestionHow do I know I won’t be blamed?This is the super and super-secret question. If you look at them all together, you’ll see that the other 10 questions add up to this 11th question.In B2B, you’re not spending your own money.In your own life as someone who buys things, hey, we’ve all bought things we regretted. But those failures are usually private. Maybe your family knows. But not your work colleagues. Not your boss. So in B2C, the biggest fear during purchasing is that we’ll end up with buyer’s regret.In B2B, the stakes are a lot higher. So B2B buyers are trying to avoid blame.Take someone making 75,000 dollars a year. If they wasted five thousand dollars this year in their personal life, they lose five thousand dollars. That hurts a lot.If they lose five thousand dollars of their employer’s money, that could cost them all 75,000 dollars this year because they might lose their job.I used to hear a phrase when I dealt with government agencies on projects. For every decision, they wanted lots of fingerprints on the gun. Finding someone who would make a decision, and stand by it alone, was rare. There was a culture of blaming people who made mistakes. The Private sector is pretty much the same. Except it’s easier to fire people, so the personal stakes are even higher.So if you’re trying to get a B2B buyer to buy from you, you’re really trying to let them know that this is safe for them. Doing the next step with you is safe. Spending time with you is safe. Agreeing to another meeting, or a discovery call, or a technical discussion, is safe.Why is this different?What’s in it for us?What’s kept us from getting what we want?How will this help us get what we want?These all really mean how do I know I won’t get blamed for wasting the company’s time?How do I know I can trust you?How do I know this is real?Why now?How does it work?What’s the risk of doing nothing?What’s the next step?These are all ways of asking how do I know I won’t be blamed for wasting the company’s money?It doesn’t matter what you sell. It doesn’t matter what your business model is. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is. You can always convey that the audience won’t be blamed for performing your call to action. And in B2B, you better do that.
The Bonus B2B Question
How do I know I won’t be blamed?
This is the super and super-secret question. If you look at them all together, you’ll see that the other 10 questions add up to this 11th question.
In B2B, you’re not spending your own money.
In your own life as someone who buys things, hey, we’ve all bought things we regretted. But those failures are usually private. Maybe your family knows. But not your work colleagues. Not your boss. So in B2C, the biggest fear during purchasing is that we’ll end up with buyer’s regret.
In B2B, the stakes are a lot higher. So B2B buyers are trying to avoid blame.
Take someone making 75,000 dollars a year. If they wasted five thousand dollars this year in their personal life, they lose five thousand dollars. That hurts a lot.
If they lose five thousand dollars of their employer’s money, that could cost them all 75,000 dollars this year because they might lose their job.
I used to hear a phrase when I dealt with government agencies on projects. For every decision, they wanted lots of fingerprints on the gun. Finding someone who would make a decision, and stand by it alone, was rare. There was a culture of blaming people who made mistakes. The Private sector is pretty much the same. Except it’s easier to fire people, so the personal stakes are even higher.
So if you’re trying to get a B2B buyer to buy from you, you’re really trying to let them know that this is safe for them. Doing the next step with you is safe. Spending time with you is safe. Agreeing to another meeting, or a discovery call, or a technical discussion, is safe.
Why is this different?
What’s in it for us?
What’s kept us from getting what we want?
How will this help us get what we want?
These all really mean how do I know I won’t get blamed for wasting the company’s time?
How do I know I can trust you?
How do I know this is real?
Why now?
How does it work?
What’s the risk of doing nothing?
What’s the next step?
These are all ways of asking how do I know I won’t be blamed for wasting the company’s money?
It doesn’t matter what you sell. It doesn’t matter what your business model is. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is. You can always convey that the audience won’t be blamed for performing your call to action. And in B2B, you better do that.