How Salespeople Can Find More Success with Purchasing Managers

Our purchasing software is designed to make purchasing managers more effective. That’s why many of our blog posts focus on sharing tips that can empower purchasing managers to reduce their stress and be even better at what they do. While we generally write with purchasing managers as our target audience, we thought it would be interesting to shake things up and write a post that’s targeted at a different audience. Specifically, we want to talk to salespeople about what they can do to find more success with purchasing managers. We’re well aware that purchasing managers are often perceived as cutthroat buyers who only care about price. We also know that salespeople may view some purchasing managers as an impenetrable fortress. Although there can be some truth to those stereotypes, it’s important for salespeople to put themselves in the shoes of a purchasing manager. In a typical small to medium business, a purchasing manager is going to be juggling numerous tasks every single day. Because purchasing managers already have so much on their plate, a salesperson who shows up out of the blue and starts aggressively pitching is probably going to be viewed as unwanted distraction. If you want to connect with purchasing managers in a way that will lead to more positive interactions, here’s what you can do as a salesperson to find success: Start By Building Rapport Purchasing managers are often under a lot of pressure from their organizations. In many cases, what’s viewed as “unreasonable” by salespeople is simply purchasing managers following what’s expected of them as they make buying decisions. This is why it’s important for salespeople to take the time to build rapport with purchasing managers. By doing so, they can understand what a purchasing manager truly needs, and then frame their pitch in a way that addresses the need. Understand the Perception of Price The reason so many purchasing managers are viewed as extremely price sensitive is because it’s their job to do things that way. Although that’s not something that’s going to change anytime soon, it doesn’t have to create an impossible roadblock. Instead, it’s something that salespeople can address by focusing on the value provided by what they’re selling. By being able to clearly sell the benefits of a product, a salesperson can find more success by changing the perception of price. Be Sincere Just as salespeople often stereotype purchasing managers as cutthroat buyers, plenty of purchasing managers stereotype salespeople as being insincere. The main reason many purchasing managers feel that way is because they’ve had interactions with salespeople who aren’t sincere. So if you want to break that stereotype and build the type of trust that’s needed to close a sale, it’s important to find opportunities to show that you care about what you do and always try to approach interactions in a genuine way.