Imagine if a few magic words or signs could tell you whether or not a potential customer is likely to buy. Your sales and marketing departments would know exactly who to target. There are, in fact, such signs.
They're known as "buying signals," and recognising them is crucial to providing a better buying experience for prospects and increasing the efficiency of your sales process.
Buying signals are critical to recognise irrespective of whether you're in sales or marketing. Some of these signals are subtle, while others are more obvious.
At different stages of the selling process, each prospect you deal with will display different buying signals, and it's your job to figure out how to spot them so you can get closer to closing the deal.
Buying signals aren't always obvious, but they all indicate a desire to make a purchase, which can help you figure out how to proceed with a prospect or reach out to them when an opportunity arises. Knowing what they are will enable you to concentrate on the right prospects and accounts, allowing you to close more deals quickly.
They engage with your pre-sales emails
Keeping track of how leads interact with your onboarding and pre-sales emails is a good idea. If they read your emails, respond to them or click on links within them, this can be considered good engagement. You can then determine intent, combine this method with other data points and act accordingly.
Good email engagement can be considered a strong signal in this day and age of mass emails, where people have become desensitised to them.
They tell you about their pain points
Some of the prospects you speak with have a clear idea of what they want solved and are willing to share it with you in the hopes that you can help them. Others may not even be aware that they have a problem and will only give you vague answers out of fear of disclosing too much information about themselves.
When a prospect tells you about their pain and is willing to discuss it with you further, it creates urgency and motivates them to want to solve the problem. The more they describe a specific pain point, whether they already know it or you have to discover it, the more likely they are to buy from you.
They want to find out more about your offering
Some of your prospects want to see your demo and your offering right away, and they want to know your prices as soon as possible. Do not be misled, because it doesn’t always mean that they will go ahead with the purchase. However, if a prospect wants to see or engage with your offering after you've gone through the sales process and given the presentation, that's usually a good buying signal. It’s better to focus your energy on a prospect that wants the details regarding the know-how of your product or service rather than someone who is
overly eager to learn your pricing or receive a free proposal.
They ask about payment plans and discounts
When a prospect inquires about payment plans, it indicates that they are interested in purchasing and simply need to plan their cash flow accordingly.
In most cases, the prospect will be satisfied with your solution, terms and conditions, and price, so they may inquire about payment plans as a means of easing their financial burden and figuring out what might be the most convenient way for them to make the purchase.
If a prospect inquires about discounts at any point during the buying process, it may indicate an interest in purchasing from you. Discounts are usually discussed after the demo call and after an offer has been presented to them.
They question your terms and conditions
When a potential customer inquires about your terms and conditions, it means they've already decided to buy from you. You can be sure they are happy with your solution and just want to refine or clarify a few things in the contract by asking about the fine details and legality of the deal.
If they bring up the terms and conditions to ask a question or negotiate, it's most likely about minor changes that won't affect their decision to buy from you.
They want to speak to your current customers
If the deal is large or the prospect still has reservations, asking to speak with your customers is a sign that they want to move forward but need a little more assurance.
Because your customers have already gone through the same process and are now using your solution, some prospects may want to hear from them about how satisfied they are with the post-sales service and the results they are seeing.
In general, a prospect wants to speak with one of your customers to confirm that what they've been promised is accurate and that the company will follow through.
Final Thoughts: Pay attention to buying signals and close more deals
Knowing when a prospect is ready to buy doesn't require a crystal ball or a sixth sense. The buying signals they emit contain all the clues. It's possible to notice and act on these signals by paying attention to detail and gathering a mix of data interpreted by lead generation softwares.
