There’s no such thing as a universal product that everyone wants. Every product has a market, and if you want to give your product the best chance of selling, you need to get specific on whom you are selling to.
That’s why tailoring your sales process to account for your buyer persona is a key pathway to success.
What is a sales process?
A sales process is the chain of events that starts from product inception and ends with the final sale. It incorporates marketing, stock, data analysis, and research to find the right audience to buy what you are selling. A major component of the sales process is understanding your buyer persona.
What are buyer personas?
Simply put, a buyer persona is a framework of the type of person you expect to buy your product or service. Who is this for? What would they use it for? Are they likely to be able to afford this product or service? Being clear on your buyer persona helps you focus your marketing strategy.
Why are buyer personas important?
You are selling to fulfill a consumer need—but not all consumers need the same things. You wouldn’t sell sawdust to a lumber mill, right? When you know who your buyer is, you can tailor your product and sales techniques to suit them, which helps your product stand out from the crowd.
Benefits of buyer personas
1. They help you target the right audience
Selling is all about addressing consumer pain points. Understanding what problem your product solves and who needs that solution helps you narrow in on your market.
2. They foster genuine connections with customers
When you know whom you are selling to, you can create niche marketing decisions that feel more personal to the plight of your audience, as they likely have shared pain points. This makes the customer feel like your company cares about them specifically.
3. They support meeting sales goals
When you find your audience, you increase the probability of making a sale. Sometimes it’s better to niche down to get more sales than to sell to everyone and get lost in the crowd.
What to consider when creating personas
1. Look through your contacts database to uncover trends
If your company is well established, it’s likely you have repeat customers who trust your products. And if you analyze the data closely, you’ll find common similarities between the majority of your clients. Use this to create a more detailed vision of your buyer persona.
2. Use form fields that capture important persona information
Guesswork and data analysis are great, but don’t be afraid to ask your customers who they are directly! Your customers are your best data point and by capturing firsthand buyer information, you take the uncertainty out of the process.
3. Consider your sales team's feedback
No matter how convinced you are that you know your audience, you won’t always hit the mark for everyone. Take note of what your customers are saying so you know what’s missing from the product to fully address their pain points.
4. Interview customers and prospects
Hold a focus group to discuss your product. Your customers and prospects will highlight what they like and dislike about the product, giving you the information you need to tailor your marketing strategy.
Improving your sales process with personas
Outline the buyer’s journey for your target persona
You can have the best product on the market, but if your customers are having to jump through hoops to get it, they’ll be quickly turned off. Consider where your audience hangs out (especially online) so you can create easy links that get your audience from discovery to buying as painlessly as possible.
Get feedback from current customers about their experience going through your sales process
It’s difficult to see holes in your system when you’re so close to it. While your sales journey may make perfect sense to you, it might not be as simple for your customers. The only way to know if you’re getting it right is to ask.
Identify points of friction
Broken links, hidden pages, and poorly planned websites can all sink a stellar product. Use the data to see where you are losing conversion opportunities and then work on fixing them.
Consider aspects such as how your customer likes to shop and their tech skills.
How to align your sales content with your buyer personas
Speak to your persona’s pain points and goals
Product specifications don’t drive sales—benefits do. No one cares that your pen has a 0.7mm nib; they care that it writes smoothly. Think about what your customers want from your product and market it to those goals.
Provide specific, actionable information
If your customer doesn’t know how to buy your product, they won’t. Keep it short and sweet. And make sure your most important information comes first—people tend to skim read!
Align your prospect’s pain to your solutions
"Do you have trouble finding wide-fitting shoes that are stylish? Our shoes are designed by Givenchy."
"Do you struggle to stop scrolling on your phone before bed? Our app locks your social media at bedtime."
Every customer struggles with something. Find out what they struggle with and tell them how you’re going to solve it. It creates instant trust and increases your chance of converting the sale.
Key Takeaways
When you know whom your product is tailored to, you give your company the best chance of turning the biggest profit.
You have many resources at your disposal, including talking directly to your customers to gain key insights into their shopping preferences, so use them!
