The BEBEDC sales technique is a method for checking the key points of a B2B sale. It is a sieve for selecting the requests and quotes that can bring in the most. It is a method for building a quality pipeline. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course.
The BEBEDC technique
- Contact needs
- Issues: the customer’s problem and how much it will cost if it is not solved
- Budget: is there a budget and how much is it?
- Deadlines: what are the deadlines?
- Decision-makers: who will sign the contract, are we in contact with them?
- Competitors: who are the competitors? will they bid and on what terms?
Requirements
Needs differ from one customer to another, but they can be classified with the SONCAS method:
- Safety
- Pride
- New
- Comfort – convenience
- Silver
- Sympathy
You must master the art of alternating between open and closed questions, listen for 70% of the sale and speak for only 30%.
Issues
A customer’s stakes are what they stand to gain or lose by not solving their problems. The higher the stakes, the stronger your position, as the customer has to make a decision. The worst thing for a salesperson is to come across a customer who refuses to accept your solution, believing that everything is fine with the current situation.
Budget
You can ask yourself a number of questions:
- Does the customer have the budget?
- Does the customer need credit to obtain the budget?
- Is the budget available immediately or spread over several months or even years?
Ideally, of course, the customer should have a budget immediately available.
Deadlines
The shorter the customer’s deadlines, the more they have to decide and buy, so this is an advantage, if at least you can deliver on time. Ideally, you should be able to do better than your competitors.
Decision-maker
You need to know who the decision-makers are and meet them.
The various customer players are :
- The user whose motivation is the practicality of the solution
- The prescriber who advises the decision-maker
- The payer, the person who signs the cheque
- The decision-maker is the most important player, the one who signs the contract and instructs the payer to sign the cheque.
Competitor
Identify and profile your competitors:
- Forces
- Weaknesses
- Sales pitches
- Price list
You can then adapt your sales pitch and set a price that is both competitive and gives you the highest margin. It is then worth using the PSAI sales technique, which takes the competition into account.
In a nutshell
The BEBEDC method is not suitable for all sales, but is particularly suited to B2B and complex sales. It’s a good reminder of the key points to check for long-process sales, and a filter for selecting the best customers and creating your sales funnel.
Jean-Pierre Mercier