15 Questions to Ask Sales For Better Buyers Personas

When was the last time you bought a gift for someone – perhaps for a relative, a friend, or your kid?

I bet you had a mental list of what this recipient likes.

While it might sound easier to simply grab any item in the store, put it inside a nice gift wrapper and give it to that person, nothing is more special and authentic than a gift that really speaks to the recipient.

And you can say the same about selling and marketing products.

People buy only things that satisfy their interests, preferences, needs, or personalities.

That's why we shake our heads when we learn about quirky gift ideas on the internet.

Things like:

• Bacon soaps
• Geek mugs
• Aquarium backpacks
• Beer Briefcases

Because as strange as it may sound, they sell!

And since we know that there's always a demand for your product, the next question you might want to ask is:

"Who are my customers?"

In this regard, there's no better source of fail-proof answers than your sales team. These people go to the field, reach out to prospects, and have an in-depth profile of your customers, or what we call a "buyer persona."

However, there's a roadblock. The obvious problem is knowing that each salesperson on your team has their own set of buyer profiles, which in the long run might hurt your company for two basic reasons:

1. High-performing salespeople have a clearer, more in-depth buyer persona than their colleagues, which leads to dissatisfaction and low production among the sales team
2. Your company ends up casting a wider net, targeting the wrong customer, and exhausting your resources

During my consultation with different business owners, the number one question I always ask them is: "Who is your ideal customer?"

If I get five different answers, we have a problem.

This post aims to give you fifteen questions you should ask your sales team to create better buyer personas for your business. The goal is to create a uniform customer profile that you can give to any member of your sales or marketing team immediately.

You might say, "Well, I don't have a sales team."

Wrong.

Because if that's the case, you are your sales team.

And these are the same questions you should ask yourself when creating a buyer persona.

Here they are:

1. What can you tell me about the decision maker or gatekeeper (age, position, gender, industry experience, technical knowledge, etc.)?
2. Who are the people you are most likely to transact with during the buying process, and what can we learn from them?
3. Who are the repeat customers, and how frequently do they buy from you?
4. Who are your most recent customers?
5. Who bought the premium products and why?
6. What are the customer's most common objections?
7. What is their personal pain(s) about their business (not getting enough recognition, less time outside work, feeling left behind by their colleagues)?
8. What are the customer's short-term needs (short-term means 1 to 6 months)?
9. What are the customer's long-term needs (long-term means six months and beyond)?
10. What makes them buy from you instead of your competitors?
11. Were there any marketing campaigns or materials you did in the past that swayed them in your favor?
12. What does the typical buying process look like, and how long is it?
13. Are there any good stories on how your product made a positive impact on their business and their personal life?
14. What will satisfying your customer's needs bring to their business and to themselves (e.g., peace of mind, more time with their family, generating more sales, belonging to the "in" crowd, becoming regarded as an innovator, etc.)?

And lastly …

15. Is there any reason why your target customer won't buy from you (too pricey, not an immediate need, long-term contract, etc.)?

I'm calling this last one "The Ultimate Deal Breaker," and there are three reasons why this question is huge:

1. It takes away the guesswork while setting expectations right away for both the buyer and the seller
2. You avoid getting bad customers who have the potential to hurt your business
3. It allows for the improvement of your product portfolio and lets you explore bigger business opportunities

Creating a buyer persona is a team effort, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring.

In fact, for me, creating buyer persona is like a game. It's a rewarding, exciting activity that, when done right, allows you to help more people and bring more clients to your business. Your sales team should feel the same way.

Let's talk …

From medium-sized businesses to multi-million dollar enterprises, everybody needs a buyer persona to help them weed out tire kickers from buyers.

I want to invite you for a quick chat; let's discuss how we can come up with the perfect buyer persona for your business.

Shoot me a message by going to the link below:

Hey Ashley, let's talk!