The Selling to Humans model

3Stage 03 of 06 · Sales strategy & structure

Reach the right buyers.

We help you get in front of the buyers you want, and spend your time on the deals you can win.

Where this sits in the model

See the full model
1Stage 01 Choose where to play Strategy & structure 2Stage 02 Evolve the operating model Strategy & structure 3Stage 03 Reach the right buyers Strategy & structure 4Stage 04 Know the human Customer driven 5Stage 05 Prepare to help them buy Customer driven 6Stage 06 Grow the relationship Customer driven

What this is

A full pipeline is not the same as a good one. Many teams fill the funnel with deals that were never going to close, while the buyers they most want never answer a cold approach. Deals stall because the people who really decide were never involved.

We start by agreeing what a good opportunity looks like. Then we work out where your buyers already spend their attention, and who they already trust to be there: a partner already in their workflow, research they cannot get anywhere else, or a room worth their afternoon. Finally, we design how your team engages buyers at each stage, built around the decision the buyer is making rather than what the CRM wants.

The question

How do we get in front of the right buyers?

Signs you need this

  • The pipeline looks full, but little of it converts.
  • Deals stall because the real decision-makers were never involved.
  • Channels and partners bring volume, but not the right customers.

What it covers

Three parts, one stage.

1

Qualification

Agree what a good opportunity looks like, including whether the people who really decide are involved, so time goes on the deals you can win.

You get

Shared qualification criteria and the questions that test them.

2

Channels & partners

Choose the routes to market that reach your ideal customers most effectively: partnerships, channels, events or research that put you where the buyer already is. We help build and run the first one, rather than handing over a recommendation.

You get

A route-to-buyer analysis, a shortlist of initiatives and the first one launched.

3

Sales motion

Design how you engage buyers at each stage, from first contact to signature, so each step is built around what the buyer needs next, with an honest test for whether you have earned the next meeting.

You get

Your sales motion mapped stage by stage, with a manager coaching guide.

How it runs

From first conversation to lasting change.

  1. 01

    Research

    Persona and market research into where your buyers already are, and who they already trust.

  2. 02

    Review

    We sit in on live calls and review recent won and lost deals to find where buyers quietly disengage.

  3. 03

    Choose

    Qualification criteria agreed, and route-to-market options developed and costed with your commercial team.

  4. 04

    Redesign

    The sales motion rebuilt stage by stage with your sales leadership in the room.

  5. 05

    Launch

    We help run the first initiative and coach the new motion for a quarter, then review what it returned.

Who’s involved

  • Sales leadership
  • Your commercial or partnerships team
  • Marketing
  • Your sellers, on live deals

Every engagement is shaped around your business. We agree the scope, timing and people with you at the start.

What you get

What you walk away with.

01 Shared qualification criteria
02 A route-to-buyer analysis
03 Two or three costed initiatives, with the case for each
04 Launch support for the first initiative
05 Your sales motion, mapped stage by stage
06 A manager coaching guide

What changes

You reach buyers through something they already trust, and deals move because the buyer wants the next conversation, not because someone chased a stage gate.

In short

A focused route to market: shared qualification criteria, the right mix of channels and partners, and a sales motion matched to how your customers buy.

In practice

How this has worked for others.

The Microsoft logo rendered as a glossy three-dimensional tile.
Stage 03 · Reach the right buyers

Finding the front door into hospitals

The persona did not just reveal a buyer. It revealed a channel already in the room.

Read the full case study
A doorway opening onto further doorways, clouds drifting through them.
Stage 03 · Reach the right buyers

Opening doors before the tender drops

Twenty target authorities, each with a name and a renewal date, contacted a year early.

Read the full case study

Further reading

Where it fits

Part of one programme.

Each stage of the model builds on the one before it, and the figure of eight means what you learn at the end feeds straight back into the start.

2Builds on · Stage 02 Evolve the operating model Builds on the operating model: the right people, plans and tools to work the routes you choose. Previous stage
3You are here · Stage 03 Reach the right buyers How do we get in front of the right buyers? See the full model
4Leads to · Stage 04 Know the human Once you are in front of the right buyers, you need to understand the people you are talking to. Next stage

Let's talk about the deal you are trying to win.

Bring us one live deal and we will look at it together. No pitch, no obligation.

Get in touch

All six stages