Tips for working with people who use what you sell.

Last week we spoke about the different buying influences in an account. All organizations consist of four primary buying influences based on job type. They are users or workers, technical influences, coaches or champions, and the economic buyer, often referred to as the final decision-maker.

Our focus today is on the influence of the user or worker. We define the user influence as the person who uses or works directly with what you sell. If you sell equipment, users are the ones who use it. They are the ones pushing the buttons and twisting the knobs. If you sell a service, they are directly impacted by the implementation of that service on a daily basis. If they resell what you sell, they are the ones who have to account for that every day. In other words, users are directly impacted by what you sell and the choices that a company's leadership makes to buy from you.

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt run high. We must address this early in the process to reduce the risks and anxiety associated with change. While a user or worker influence may not have the authority to approve a sale, they can certainly block one. One of the six key pillars to closing business at any level is to have a consensus among all of an organization's influences. To win over the workers or users, we must ask questions to determine how they view the risks associated with our solution and then react accordingly. Here are some questions you might find useful when working with users or worker influences:

• How do you feel about making any changes right now?
• What would you like to see in the way of any upgrades or changes?
• What would you like to see changed about what you do on a daily basis?
• What would make things more comfortable for you?
• What type of training would you like to see to get up to speed with…
• What would you like in the way of support to make this process easier for you?
• What concerns do you have?
• How do you feel about our company?
• Have you ever worked with us before? If, yes... how was it?
• What would keep you from wanting to make any changes right now?