Why optimism can prevent you from seeing the total picture

Why optimism can prevent you from landseeing the total pictureWhy optimism can prevent you from seeing the total pictureThe entrepreneur can be defined as someone with a vision someone who is willing to attempt the marshaling of resources that will transform that vision into a viable business reality. At the top of the list of characteristics for such a person are a total belief in that vision, an unfailing commitment to the myriad efforts involved, and a good deal of optimism to cope with the setbacks and unforeseen hurdles that will inevitably appear on their road to success.Most entrepreneurs develop their vision based on their own knowledge and experience. They can see - perhaps clearer than others - the need for this specific offering that they wish to bring to the market. They can see its many benefits and the value that it will deliver to prospective customers. And they are often right.However, in far too many cases, the fire doesnt light. Their target market stalls or refus es to buy. Yet the entrepreneurs vision is still burning bright and secure in the viewpoint that the market can truly benefit from the offering. Too often though, and still with unfailing commitment and optimism, energy and resources are repeatedly expended in trying to convince their market to buy.You will note several references to vision and seeing, and herein lies the entrepreneurs curse entrepreneurial myopia. Now, entrepreneurs would not be who they are without their unfailing belief in their vision and a fiercely focused optimism to strive towards their chosen goals. Yet unterstellung are also the characteristics that can prevent them from seeing the total picture, missing, in fact, the most important part of the picture - their prospective customers buying journey and the incumbent elements, its DNA if you will, within. They too often only see why their prospective customers should buy, without looking to understand why their customers dont buy.Because research with thousa nds of customers has shown that time and time again, most prospective buyers get it, they totally understand the offering and indeed the value it would deliver to them or their organization. They truly believe in the ROI equation and need no persuasion that their investment of $12 today could very well yield $20 in the near future. Yet despite their belief in the offering, they hesitate and/or fail to buy. So, whats going on here?In contrast to the seller, the prospective buyer does not share that same focus on just that one offering. They are looking at multiple, often overwhelming numbers of things that they could invest in. It comes as a surprise to many entrepreneurs that they arent simply competing against competitive offerings, but are competing for mindshare and resources against a vast spectrum of alternatives including the easiest choice of all - status quo, doing nothing. And finally, they are also having to overcome the many implications that a eignung customer must cons ider before purchasing their offering, indeed any offering. Implications such as change, risk, user-training tangible and intangible factors that are perceived to be associated with the actual adoption of a new offering.It is at this point that the entrepreneurial focus would be well advised to shift from what they buy to how they buy. To look past their own internal issues of positioning and selling their offerings and look instead to the external reality of how their customers actually buy.Developing a market in todays world demands an intricate knowledge of exactly what the prospective customer needs to commit to the full course of the customer buying journey. And theres some good news here because that same research uncovered some illuminating revelations. It showed that when buying a particular offering within a particular market, buyers will exhibit very similar buying behavior and will encounter very similar buying concerns. This then unlocks and opens the door for the decodi ng and mapping of that particular buying journey DNA. And armed with this knowledge, a market engagement strategy can be developed that will help foresee, mitigate and manage all the hurdles that are sure to be encountered along the way. To realize investment in the offering, especially a potentially new offering, the customer must be supported throughout their buying journey. And any decisions they have to make or anxieties they may have cannot be ignored or trivialized.The successful entrepreneur must switch viewpoint and see revenue generation from the outside-in. They have to broaden their focus, put themselves in the shoes of their prospective customers and see the world as they do. They may even have to temporarily put aside their unfailing faith in their offering in reservierung to understand these internal factors, the friction points and roadblocks in each customers buying journey. However, once understood and a strategy developed, they can and should go back to that fierce belief, that natural state of commitment and optimism. Its what makes things happen.Martyn R. Lewis is an acclaimed business professional with a vast background in all aspects of revenue generation. He consults globally with Fortune 500 companies across 44 countries, in 17 languages, and his work has impacted over 85,000 sales professionals. His signature theory, the decoding of the Buying Journey DNA forms the underlying basis of his new book How Customers Buy Why They Dont.