Be Provocative in 2012 As More Of Buyer’s Budgets Are Up for Grabs

Being provocative is a sales and marketing requirement in order to get your fair share of deals in 2012, this according to the annual B2B Buyer’s survey of Demand Creation Specialists (DCS). The latest research indicates that going into the 2012 budget cycle, only $1 out of every $4 in new project budgets are pre-allocated at the beginning of the year.

According to DCS analysts, the discretionary budget allocation this year is substantially higher as a percentage of new project spending than in years past, indicating that buyers are in a wait and see mode about the economy, allocating as little as possible up-front in order to remain more agile to capitalize on growth opportunities, efficiency improvements or competitive investments.

Because much of the new project budgets will remain up for grabs in 2012, there is a unique opportunity for sales and marketing to consultatively and proactively convince the buyer that:

1. A need exists and it is a priority,
2. If the need is solved, it could return tangible and significant financial and competitive reward,
3. The proposed solution, is viable and can deliver significant return on investment (ROI) and fast payback.

Proactively, buyers need to be convinced that the status-quo is not adequate, and that there is a cost-of-doing-nothing. With more of the budget being allocated on an on-going basis in 2012, a provocative sales and marketing approach can help the customer identify significant opportunities, while resulting in more sales opportunities and incremental revenue throughout the year.

Another significant trend revealed in the survey is that buyers are more empowered, skeptical and frugal than ever before, a condition called Frugalnomics. The survey reveals that buyers are:

1. Taking charge of the buying process, using more resources and spending more time to research opportunities and potential solutions,
2. Demanding more financial due diligence on each solution option, making sure it will deliver tangible return on investment, fast payback and superior competitive value,
3. Relying more on peers and live case studies to help validate their decisions.

The Frugalnomics trend means that sales and marketing needs to proactively:

1. Deliver content to help buyer’s adequately research opportunities and solutions,
2. Provide financial justification and business case tools to prove return on investment (ROI),
3. Provide live customer testimonials and advocate communities to help buyers learn from peers the best way to solve opportunities with the proposed solutions.

The Bottom Line

Although new project budgets have been squeezed, more of the budget is up for grabs in 2012 than ever before, representing a great opportunity for a provocative sales and marketing approach to help customers diagnose and prioritize needs and recommend high-value solutions.

With Frugalnomics in full effect, it is more important than ever to provide today’s more empowered, skeptical and frugal buyer with the research content, justification tools and peer advice to help facilitate purchase decisions.

You can learn more about the research and best practice recommendations from the recorded webinar conducted by DCS & Alinean entitled: The Best Content For Short Attention Span Theater.

For more information on Provocative Selling, click here.