We can see what I am going to call a ‘top-down’ buying process. Now, this model doesn’t begin to illustrate the intricacy and all of the interrelationships of the four decisions, which happen both intermittently and simultaneously. But in the spirit of grounding this concept in some mutual understanding, I’ve found this model to be highly effective.
A top-down buying decision comes as a result of a project or initiative that originates at the top, from the leader of an organization, or from a small group of leaders. As a result of strategic planning or goal setting, an objective is defined that frequently requires a change in business process or infrastructure. To achieve these goals and objectives, certain actions have to be taken that might involve buying something, or at least considering the idea of buying something.
In a top-down initiative, which is driven by a desire to achieve a predetermined goal or objective, the Action Decision is usually the first to be considered. The question ‘Do we have to buy something in order to achieve this goal?’ is one of the first to be asked. Assuming the answer is ‘Yes,’ the next question is ‘What should we buy?’ To answer this question, the people involved will use some variation of the cause-and- effect concept (introduced in The Cause and Effect of Business Value) to explore various options and identify several possible courses of action.
Each option is then evaluated and the required resources (time, money, and manpower) are identified and considered. Assuming one or more of the possible courses of action is deemed viable, and the resources needed are available-or made available-the buyer will seek out one or more sources for whatever it is they need to buy. After multiple sources are considered and one or more qualified sources are identified, the issue of when to take action and make a purchase comes back to the forefront.
So, the process begins at the top with the decision of whether or not to take action. It then works downward through the three other decisions over a period of time, and comes back up to the decision of when to take action as the buyer approaches the ‘buy line.’ I struggled a bit with this model as I designed it, wondering, ‘Are the decision to take action and the decision of when to take it actually two separate decisions?’ I’ve come to believe they are not separate. Let me tell you why.
Over the years I have asked hundreds of customers, ‘What bad thing would happen if you decided not to move forward with this purchase?’ Many of them have said, ‘Oh, we’ve already decided we’re definitely going to move forward with this.’ It’s amazing how eager they are to tell you, ‘We’re definitely going to buy.’ I’ve learned that this is actu- ally a technique buyers use to get us excited so we will start jumping through their hoops.
When it was all said and done, a huge percentage of the people who told me they were ‘definitely going to buy,’ never did buy anything, from me or anybody else. So, how could they possibly have ‘made the decision,’ if they never did go ahead and buy? Please read this next sentence very carefully . . .
Until a customer has signed a contract, or issued a purchase order, they have not made the decision to take action and buy.
Until then, they are still thinking about it. So, the Action Decision, or at least a portion of it, is always the last decision they make. A customer might collect information, explore their options, and consider buying for six, or twelve, or eighteen months, but the decision to take action is never truly made until the moment the pen hits the paper.