develop a buyer’s guide to educate your startup’s sales team and customers
The Challenge of Selling Innovation
All organizations aspire to innovation, yet achieving it isn't without obstacles. A significant hurdle for companies in their early phases, particularly those disrupting existing markets or forging new ones, lies in effectively marketing a novel product to a customer base unfamiliar with such solutions.
This difficulty is amplified when the solution lacks established precedents and its value proposition isn't immediately apparent.
The Power of a Buyer’s Guide
A streamlined approach to guiding potential buyers is often the most effective strategy. For companies developing unique products within emerging markets, and aiming to accelerate sales cycles, a buyer’s guide is a valuable asset.
Essentially, a buyer’s guide functions as a clear, instructive document outlining the customer's purchasing journey. It addresses fundamental questions: What core functions does the product perform? What security measures are in place? How is the technology integrated? Does it supersede any existing systems?
The guide should be concise, easily understood, and utilize terminology familiar to the target audience. It also serves as a powerful tool for sales teams.
Utilizing the Guide for Sales Enablement
Especially within smaller startups, sales teams can leverage the buyer’s guide for continuous improvement. Regular quarterly reviews allow for analysis of its effectiveness, identifying areas for refinement as the company expands its market reach.
Constructing an Effective Buyer’s Guide
Here’s a breakdown of the process for creating a buyer’s guide, starting with the essential preparatory steps before writing begins.
- Define Your Ideal Customer: Thoroughly understand their pain points and objectives.
- Map the Buyer's Journey: Outline each stage of their decision-making process.
- Identify Key Questions: Anticipate the questions they will have throughout the process.
By addressing these points, you can create a buyer’s guide that effectively educates prospects and accelerates the sales cycle.
Understanding Your Target Audience
Initially, it's crucial to identify all individuals involved in your product's purchasing process. A common challenge for nascent companies is focusing solely on an enthusiastic initial contact – such as a Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, or Vice President of Product – while overlooking other essential stakeholders.
Furthermore, many organizations underestimate the broader impact of their product on teams they don't directly target with sales efforts.
For instance, proactively engage the security team early on, as they will likely be involved in evaluating your product. If your solution centers around integration, pinpoint the individuals within the buyer’s organization responsible for managing that integration.
Identifying Key Stakeholders
When marketing a martech solution, remember to consider the finance business partner for the marketing department. Consider not only the direct challenges your customers encounter, but also how other departments within their company are affected.
As the sales cycle progresses, additional decision-makers will naturally become involved. Incorporating all relevant stakeholders from the outset, beyond just the sponsor and primary contact, reduces potential roadblocks and accelerates the sales timeline.
Within your buyer’s guide, clearly define the stakeholders you, as a salesperson or founder/CEO, intend to engage with and share product information.
Benefits of Early Stakeholder Engagement
- Mitigates friction during the sales process.
- Shortens the overall sales cycle.
- Ensures comprehensive product evaluation.
Early engagement is key to a successful sales strategy.
Navigating Deployment, Security, and the Acquisition Process
Having already presented your solution and engaged in discussions with key stakeholders, a concise restatement of your offering’s value is beneficial within the buyer’s guide. Include specifics regarding deployment, detailing the anticipated outcomes and the quantifiable objectives for the initial proof of concept (PoC) stage.
These objectives should also be clearly articulated within the dedicated PoC section of the guide itself.
Prioritizing Security Considerations
The initial portion of the buyer’s guide should dedicate one to two pages to a comprehensive security overview of your product. This ensures alignment between your organization and the customer’s procurement team, primary contact, or referring party.
The aim isn't simply to present a standard security policy document, but rather a narrative that illustrates your company’s security ethos, identifies security leadership, details relevant certifications, and provides other crucial information.
Understanding the Acquisition Journey
Detail the complete buying process, from initial contact to completion. This section can be positioned at the beginning or later within the guide.
It should provide a high-level overview of what the customer can anticipate following the first interaction, outlining all necessary steps for a successful engagement.
Following the initial meeting, customers typically expect to receive security documentation, schedule a follow-up session for solution testing, and have their existing technology infrastructure assessed.
Engagement with additional stakeholders is also common. A well-defined buying process section within your guide empowers you to manage the conversation, even with highly motivated buyers.
Managing Expectations and Ensuring Due Diligence
Enthusiastic buyers seeking to accelerate the process may encounter obstacles if all key decision-makers haven’t been consulted.
Even executive-level authority can be tempered by the procurement team, who may raise legitimate concerns to mitigate potential risks to the organization.
Clearly outlining the buying process within your guide ensures transparency, keeps all parties informed of subsequent actions, and prevents premature advancement of the acquisition.
Proof of Concept, Customer Success, and Implementation
A comprehensive buyer’s guide should dedicate a section to outlining the Proof of Concept (PoC) phase within the sales cycle. The PoC functions as a trial period, enabling potential buyers to evaluate a product’s capabilities and observe its unique value and competitive advantages directly.
This summary should detail the technical prerequisites for the PoC, alongside the anticipated outcomes buyers should achieve during testing. For instance, consider an automated system designed for financial processing.
A primary objective for such a PoC might be to automate a specific percentage of transactions or events. Alternatively, the focus could be on reducing typical error rates or demonstrating the simplicity of deployment. It’s crucial to establish clear expectations from the outset.
Key Questions for Your PoC Document
- What is the scope of the PoC, and what is the expected duration?
- What system integrations are necessary for the PoC to function?
- Which personnel will participate in the PoC execution?
- What access permissions will be required?
- What communication protocols will be followed, and who will be involved?
- What are potential challenges or inaccuracies encountered in previous PoCs, and how can they be mitigated?
Following the PoC overview, address the ongoing aspects of customer success and the expected engagement frequency. Clearly define the responsibilities – and limitations – of the customer success team.
Detail a typical interaction between the team and the customer, the types of reports provided, and the timeframe for feature request reviews. Consider all relevant factors to ensure transparency.
Having a collection of reference case studies readily available is essential. While compiling these studies may resemble brochure creation, it ultimately enhances the information provided to prospects.
Actively encourage prospects to connect with existing customers who share similar characteristics. For example, suggest speaking with a customer of comparable size or one operating within the same industry.
Conclude the buyer’s guide with a detailed explanation of the implementation phase. Clarify the project timeline, identify key stakeholders, and outline resource planning requirements.
It’s common for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to overlook the logistical considerations following a software purchase, simply stating an intention to “buy a solution.” However, software administration typically falls to individuals already burdened with significant responsibilities.
Introducing new software without adequate preparation can substantially increase their workload. Proactive planning is vital to ensure a smooth and successful implementation.
The Power of Narrative in Buyer's Guides
A well-crafted buyer’s guide benefits all parties involved. Potential customers gain valuable insights, while startups can accelerate deal closures by proactively addressing potential questions regarding their product and sales methodology.
While the specific arrangement of sections can be adapted, certain elements are essential. These include identifying key stakeholders, articulating the value proposition of your solution, detailing deployment and security protocols, and outlining the entire buying journey.
Key Components of an Effective Guide
Furthermore, a comprehensive guide should clearly map out the Proof of Concept (PoC), customer success, and implementation phases.
It’s important to move beyond viewing the buyer’s guide as a mere document. Consider presenting the information as a compelling narrative or a series of visually engaging slides.
The overarching goal is to create a unified and coherent story that seamlessly connects all sections.
If you’ve reached this point, your capacity for effective storytelling may be as significant an asset as the product itself.
Leverage the buyer’s guide as an opportunity to showcase your narrative skills, simultaneously optimizing the route to a positive outcome.