Generalization: poison or potion?

As human beings, we make thousands of decisions every day. Most of them are made unconsciously, based on past experiences and established routines. Without even reflecting, we constantly adopt a process called generalization – to make our world easier to understand, we lump and categorize information in terms of how objects and situations are like or unlike others. As part of this process, we also ignore and distort information to better fit with our world-view, purpose and intent.

Generalization is a coping mechanism. If we didn’t over-simplify information we’d have tremendous difficulty getting through our day, particularly in the current fast paced world.

However, there is a flip side. If we’re not careful, generalizations will make us miss important nuances that can make all the difference.

How do buyers generalize?

In our globalized world of information overload, buyers are getting more and more stressed. They have more decisions to make and less and less time to make them. With so much information available, it’s no wonder buyers get “analysis paralysis”. Rather than objectively evaluating the options at hand, they either stick with their status quo or simply select the option perceived as least risky. Like the old saying “Nobody got fired for choosing IBM”, generalizations usually play in the favor of established brands and market leaders.

The risk of buyers making generalizations that hurt your business is growing. For this reason, it is crucial that you are visible where your potential buyers look for solutions. However, being found is not enough. You must also use generalizations to your advantage when positioning your offering and educate buyers to the improved solution you’re able to deliver. Simply put, leverage generalization to lead customers towards you.

How do sales people generalize?

There are many ways generalizations can play tricks on sales people. For example, they proclaim that “all buyers are cutting their budgets”. Or getting a case of “happy ears”, where all they hear are words leading to the conclusion that the prospect needs their solution. Unfortunately, at the same time they are ignoring alarming information that could prevent the deal from materializing. When working with complex deals, generalizations and distortions like the above can lead to wasting precious time and resources. Coaching sales people to question the generalizations that hold them back will be a step in the right direction.

Example: “Technology to support sales = CRM”

When companies seek technology to improve their sales efforts, most generalize and associate it with the catch-all category: CRM. At the same time, if you ask sales experts how traditional CRM systems help b2b sales teams excel, many will tell you that they don’t. Whether we like it or not, the generalization that CRM equals sales technology remains prevalent.

In order to create the seeds of skepticism, we have created a white paper with the intent of questioning the usefulness of CRM by describing 8 contrasting generalizations. Please give it a read and explore whether your thoughts about CRMs can be altered…