A compelling event is something that forces a buyer's decision and it can be a powerful tool in the B2G sales process. Compelling events will be different for every buyer but if you can find the right compelling event for your buyer it will influence a sense of confidence in your solution and an urgency to secure your unique solution now.

5 Types Of Compelling Events

While each event will be unique to your buyer, there are generally 5 categories of compelling events that can be a starting point for uncovering the specific event that will motivate your buyer:

  1. Important Deadlines: Whether it is the impending end of the Fiscal Year that is forcing budgets to be spent or a project milestone, hard deadlines can certainly pave the way for a compelling event.
  2. Management: If the boss says you need to find XYZ solution, then that is often enough pressure to close a deal fast.
  3. Legislation: Especially in Federal sales, new mandates, directives, laws, compliance measures, etc. force decisions at a much faster rate than normal.
  4. Current Events: Natural disasters, data breaches and poor press can again force an organization to make decisions at a faster rate than normal to ease public fear and show that a solution is in the works.
  5. Internal Disruptions: A supplier didn't follow through, the wrong products were delivered, etc. anything that disrupts the normal flow of business can create a compelling event that a buyer would prioritize fixing.

How To Identify Your Buyer's Compelling Event

At the beginning of your sales process, you should be looking for the compelling events that may help you close the deal later on down the road. You can do this simply by asking the right questions:

  • Do you have a deadline for securing this solution?
  • How would you rank the priority of this solution compared to other projects you are currently working on?
  • Who else in your organization is prioritizing this solution?
  • What problems are you hoping to solve?
  • Describe the impact these problems have had on your business.

Additionally, you should research the legislation that may be propelling your buyer's need for your solution and verify with them that the directives you uncovered are indeed an influencing factor. For example, you could look up an agency's score on the FITARA scorecard and gain an understanding of their areas of deficiency. If you offer a solution that can help increase their scores, that could spark an increased sense of urgency to close the deal because you tied it back to a directive that they need to improve.

Finally, it is important to stay on top of current events so you can identify an external factor that may be enough of a compelling event for your buyer. For instance, if you read an article about an increase in ransomware attacks within an agency or organization and you offer a solution to protect against such attacks, then you are in a better position to present your solution. The best way to stay on top of these events is to set up Google Alerts for the keywords that align with the problems your solution solves.

Do You Need Help Identifying Compelling Events For Your Buyers?

Then request a FREE Consultation from Sanctum Federal! Our team has successfully built several Federal sales startup practices and secured millions of dollars of revenue directly from the Federal market and our mission is to help other organizations do the same!

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