The Art and Science of Selling: Unlocking the Buying Process to Grow Your Client Base

African women entrepreneurs can leverage the power of selling to expand their customer base and overcome obstacles such as a limited customer base, as discussed in the 2021 UNESCO report ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa’.

While access to finance remains the greatest challenge facing African women entrepreneurs, a narrow customer base was among the top ten challenges. However, these challenges can be overcome with the mastery of selling - an art traditionally, but now increasingly, more of a science due to modern technology. In fact, 76% of top sellers report that they always do research on prospective clients, according to the LinkedIn Global State of Sales Report 2022.

Despite the prevalence of data-driven processes in the sales environment, there is still room for creativity, intuition, and instinct. A recent LinkedIn study supports this notion, with 89% of buyers more likely to consider a brand if its seller has a knack for thinking outside the box. Crafting just the right approach to successfully influence or alter a client's decision is an art form.

The science of selling requires one to be proficient in various fundamental sales principles. The art of selling requires one to be able to practically apply these principles.

In order to truly grasp the complexities of selling, it is important to comprehend the buying process in its entirety. This encompasses all stages of a consumer's decision-making journey, from recognizing a need or problem and researching products or services, to evaluating alternatives, making a purchasing decision and assessing the outcome of their choice.

Problem Recognition

The first stage of any successful sale is to recognize and understand the customer's problem. Whether it's emotional, physical or external, sellers must take this into account when creating a desire for their product or service. Consumers need to see how their lives could be improved with that product or service in order to be convinced to make the purchase. By recognizing and understanding their needs, sellers can tailor an effective message to convince customers of the worth of the product or service they are selling.

For example, Safaricom, one of Africa's biggest telecommunications companies, has changed its tagline and launched campaigns that are more abstract in terms of what the company sells. However, these campaigns have created a feeling of togetherness with its slogan Twaweza, a Swahili word for “We can,” personalization in ‘For You’ and community empowerment in their recent campaign Tuinuane “Let’s lift each other.” Safaricom’s use of Kiswahili in their messaging links the company’s future to the people and culture of Kenya, as emphasized by the late CEO Bob Collymore during the 2017 rebrand. It comes as no surprise that Safaricom prides itself on being deeply rooted in Kenyan culture. 

Women entrepreneurs can also create urgency around their product or service by offering attractive discounts, highlighting the immediate solution to customers' problems and emphasizing scarcity (only limited offers are available to certain numbers of customers)

Information Gathering

The second stage of the buying process is information gathering, a step that involves a customer researching and evaluating options to make sure that the product or service they are considering is the best choice. Buyers need to make sure that the product or service can meet their needs before committing to a purchase. This includes an internal search where the consumer recalls all the information they have on the product or service including past experiences, comments, and marketing communication among others. There is also an external search whereby the consumer actively seeks information on the product or service they intend to purchase. Sellers can aid the consumer during this stage by making their information gathering process easier through simple, positive messaging sent to them through their medium of choice. Creative and novel product information makes this process enjoyable, thereby influencing the buyer’s decision. Sellers should avoid information overload of their products as it causes confusion and dissatisfaction.

Selection Stage

Here, the individual decides whether or not to purchase the product or service  by debating the pros and cons of the intended purchase against their expectations. It is important to note that consumers are most vulnerable at the selection stage; therefore, it is critical to create an enabling environment that will direct them toward a purchase. This can be done through motivating your clients to purchase your product or service by increasing its value and removing any barriers through considering what your client might lose before you consider what they might gain. Consumers are more likely to choose a product with perceived higher value whether the actual cost is higher or not. For example, this perception can be created through explicitly describing the manufacturing process, thereby not only educating the customer but also showing the value in the product even though it may be intangible.

Retention Stage

Consumers finally make purchases during the retention stage. The purchase is not yet guaranteed and a client may still drop out at this stage for various reasons like the price or indecisiveness. Sellers can ensure that the purchase is made by creating a sense of ownership, therefore increasing the value of the intended purchase. The thought of owning a product stimulates the endowment effect whereby customers experience a loss if they do not make the purchase, as they had already imagined owning it in their mind. Here, the seller should encourage the client to experience the product. Try on the dress or taste the chocolate cake. Sellers can also employ the buyers’ after effect to close the deal at this stage. Consumers tend to base their decisions on the first piece of information. A discount in this case would be great after having already communicated the initial price.

Advocacy Stage

Finally, there is the advocacy stage where the customer is converted into an evangelist. This can only be realized if the customer is satisfied with their purchase such that they are willing to return to your business and make another purchase. After a purchase, consumers usually experience buyer’s remorse due to cognitive dissonance. Once the buying transaction is complete, consumers will often seek out information to reinforce the purchase that has just been made. As a seller, it is imperative to reaffirm your client’s decision through readily available information such as customer reviews, thank you emails and a social media community. Additionally, at the final advocacy stage, it is necessary to provide exceptional post-purchase support so as to convert one-time customers into evangelists and possibly influence other potential buyers.

Value Proposition

After transforming one-time customers into loyal clients, it's important to strengthen your value proposition.  According to marketing coordinator Catherine Cote at Harvard Business School online, this is defined as “a statement that conveys what a brand does and how it differs from competitors.” The value proposition should easily communicate how a consumer benefits by choosing your brand over your competitor.

African women entrepreneurs can craft their value proposition and achieve success by understanding the ‘jobs to be done theory’. Designed to identify and understand customers’ needs, this framework asserts that “people 'hire' different products or services to do 'jobs' they need to be done” and helps them gain insight into customer needs and motivations, offering greater understanding as to why some products fail or succeed over others.

If this is something you’re interested in exploring further, AWEC has provided a great learning opportunity via its 5 Week Challenge: Get toKnow Your Business. One of the models that we highly recommend is on value proposition, which will help to illustrate the job your product or service is doing for your customers.

Armored with the knowledge of the buying process, the skills and the science of selling the persuasive appeal to creatively convey information in the art of selling, you are now in alignment to close the deal. As mentioned earlier, the consumer is most vulnerable in the selection phase of the buying process; therefore, this is the time the seller should align their behavior to move the consumer toward purchasing the product or service.

Research has shown that selling involves both art and science. The science aspect requires processes, skills, and methodology based on detailed-oriented research fields such as social psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics and more. The art aspect consists of creativity and the ability to persuade and influence others, skills often associated with the arts. African women entrepreneurs must learn how to achieve harmonic balance between these two sides to increase their customer base.