Kevin Sidebottom 1/31/26 Kevin Sidebottom 1/31/26

The 5 Buying Decisions Customers Make (And How to Guide Them)

Every customer makes the same five decisions before they ever say yes to buying a product or service. Unfortunately, most salespeople only focus on one or two of these decisions which is exactly why deals stall, objections rise, and opportunities slip away. They also only focus on the ones that are comfortable, product and price. Far too often they also jump into these two decisions before the conversation has had a chance to start.

Let’s discuss the five buying decisions that we need to work through with the customer if we are going to make the sale consistently.

The Salesperson

Before the customer evaluates our product or service we have to offer, they evaluate us.  The customer is trying to validate if we are someone they can trust, or if we are trying to just push them into something that won’t help them resulting in another round of trying to figure out how to move forward.

If they don’t trust us, then the some questions they soon have are, what is the price?  How can I get out of this relationship?  Where is the escape hatch?

The Organization

Especially now more than ever is that customers actually want to know what the organization is doing for society. Can they trust the leadership of the organization to support customers at an ethical manner? Far too often we see headlines with leadership teams, CEO’s, coaches, etc handling their organizations in a poor manner. Gen Z and Millenials really are trying to make an impact in the world and they want to partner with organizations that will either give back to support communities or provide resources for them to support communities.

The organization is an important decision on who customers will partner with.

The Product or Solution

“Is this the right solution to solve my problem?”  That is a question that I often hear from customers and most sales people can’t answer it.  The sales person will answer with well we have this feature and this benefit, how does that sound.  The customer is then thinking how is this feature and benefit going to to solve this problem?  They may not say it out loud, but this is what they are thinking.  But….When the solution is positioned as the natural answer, the buyer feels momentum , not pressure.  This means that the sales person needs to provide the solution, not features and benefits.

The Price

The customer after making the decision to keep moving forward with the salesperson wants to know if the value matches the perceived investment? Is this solution to my problem matching the value that I have placed on my problem? Maybe it’s time, maybe is monetary, maybe its health, but maybe it is stress level? They are hoping the salesperson is going to help them with this decision.

Unfortunately, the sales person presents the price and then the wheels come off of the presentation…. The sales person begins get nervous and devalues the solution which essentially causes the customer to not see the true value. To present the value, the sales person needs to know and feel the value of their proposal and be confident.

This is a make or brake point of the process.

Time to Buy

So now we have made it to the final buying decision.  If we have performed well in the process it is time for the customer to accept and sign the agreement to schedule the delivery of the solution.

Sales people have provided what they believe to be the value and this is at some times where the customer says something along the lines of, “great I will keep this in mind for the future.”  Leaving the sales person shocked at how this could have happened.

It's unfortunately because this customer was not validated early on which is a huge miss.

If done correctly the customer will sign be thankful and ready to move forward which is the ultimate goal to move forward with the customer to find other opportunities with this relationship.

Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively

Are you ready to become the magnetic force that attracts top performers and your best customers?

I’m Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, sales trainer, and author—and I help organizations unlock the power of influence to achieve breakthrough results.

In this blog, I reveal why influence is the ultimate currency in business and leadership—and how you can use it to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal and buy again
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your leadership approach to inspire stronger performance

With decades of experience studying why people buy and how leaders earn loyalty, I equip sales professionals and executives to deliver lasting value, strengthen customer relationships, and drive higher revenue.

👉 Featured Resources to Grow Your Influence:

· Winning With Others

· KevinSidebottom.com

· Email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

· The Sales Process Uncovered Membership

· The Sales Process Uncovered (Book on Amazon)

If you’re serious about elevating your sales process, leadership impact, and team performance, this blog will show you the path.

Kevin Sidebottom 1/24/26 Kevin Sidebottom 1/24/26

Personalization in Sales: Win More with Less Effort

Most sales teams think the path to more deals is more activity, more emails, more calls, more demos. But activity without personalization is just noise. Buyers don’t respond to noise. They respond to relevance.

The truth is simple:

Personalization lets you win more while working less.
Because when your message feels tailored, your customer leans in. When it feels generic, they tune out. Here’s why personalization is the smartest efficiency play in sales today.

Personalization Cuts Through the Clutter

Buyers are drowning in outreach. Messages that look mass-produced get deleted instantly. Messages that feel personal get a little more attention. Personalization isn’t about adding a first name. It’s about showing the buyer you understand like their pressures, priorities, industry issues, goals, and language.

When your message sounds like it was written specifically for them, it is elevated above the noise.

Personalization Shortens the Sales Cycle

A buyer who feels understood moves forward. That’s because personalization eliminates guesswork. It reduces the customer’s mental load. When your outreach, your discovery questions, and your recommendations align directly with their world, the buyer gains interest. And with that, decisions happen sooner. Personalization isn’t just a connection strategy it’s a speed strategy.

Personalization Makes Every Touchpoint More Impactful

Most reps think success comes from more touches. But the real power comes from meaningful touches. When every interaction adds value, you don’t need as many interactions. Less effort. Bigger impact.

Personalization Is Scalable (When Done the Right Way)

Most reps think personalization equals extra work but It doesn’t. Not when you build it into your process you’re not reinventing the wheel. Tailoring the conversation so it feels unique to them is crucial to build influence. We need the buyers to lean in and to obtain that we need to make it about them in a personal way that they want to lean in to.

Winning with personalization will allow us to open more doors with less effort.