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Tell them exactly what you're going to do to them
| Guest post by: Todd Youngblood |
Article Overview: Ever think about selling your sales process? And I don't mean going into the sales training business by selling it to competitors or companies in similar industries. I mean did you ever think about selling your sales process to your customer?
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Free Download - “The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.” By Todd Youngblood |
Tell them exactly what you're going to do to them
You know you're a sales rep. They know you're a sales rep. You know you get paid on what you sell. They know you get paid on what you sell. So why not cut through all the smoke?
Let's look at the facts. You know the characteristics of your ideal customer. You've got that all written down and formalized, right? You know exactly what the ideal customer's decision process is (...or should be). You've got a flowchart and checklist to make sure nothing gets missed, right? You are the expert at determining just how much extra money your products and services will add to the customer's P&L and Balance Sheet. You've got a series of spreadsheet models to help with that analysis, right?
Well then... Why not dispense with all the slick sales techniques and focus on your customer's business? You recognize that every one of them (their SIC code notwithstanding) is in the money-making business. Why not use your product, service and application expertise to guide them through a process that ends with an increase in the net worth of their company? ...or better cash flow? ...or lower operating expense? ...or higher revenue? ...or...?
Your sales process should be - must be - designed to produce an increase in the value of the customer's business. Don't sell your product or service. Sell a process for increasing the $ value of the customer's business.
Think about creating a diagram like the one above and using it on every sales call. As you're making that initial executive level call, show the decision-maker the path to higher value. Here's a possible script for the end of that call:
"We'll invest in formalizing and quantifying the financial impact of your current situation. That process alone will have substantial value to those who participate in the interviews, plant tours, briefings, etc. Even if we decide to not proceed, you'll still have all that added intelligence. The Business Case Review will lay out modifications to your business processes and their financial impact. At that point, you can make the call about proceeding with implementation. We're quite serious about not wasting your time or that of your key personnel. That's why we've designed, and why we stick to, this process that we know works. At any point in the process, when the time invested exceeds the value received, you - or we - can pull the plug."
If the customer balks and wants a "quick-fix," you'll know it's time to walk. You can point out that if solving the problem were that easy, the customer would have already solved it. Your value is in diagnosing and anticipating problems and opportunities. That's what your sales process is designed to do.
Any dummy can learn product specs. Sell the value of your business process improvement acumen. (...and remember that they're all in the money-making business.) Sell the value you deliver just by figuring out what they need. Sell your sales process.
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Article Tags: amp, application expertise, balance sheet, briefings, cash flow, current situation, decision maker, executive level, extra money, financial impact, flowchart, intelligence, net worth, sales rep, sic code, spreadsheet models, substantial value
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About the Author: Todd Youngblood RSS for Todd's articles - Visit Todd's website Click here to visit Todd's website   Sometimes Unintended Consequences Are A Good Thing Do you speak the universal language of business Three Things That Kill CRM and how to counter them Creative Abrasion and the Sales Knowledge Activist Try Selling Them A Better Buying Process |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Traffic! How do you get it?
- [quote="KH_Global":30djuj6c]Thanks Mal for the link.
Robert[/quote:30djuj6c]
My pleasure Robert, I'm sure you will find it useful as there is a seeemingly endless number of sites on there to link to. Some are fairly quick, some take weeks or even months to link to you but the great thing about it is that once you have set up your details, every page autofills without all the hassle of typing them in every time. All you have to do is pick a category and maybe fill in a captcha code or similar to copy and youre done.
A lot will not accept a link unless you pay or at least use a reciprocal link option, neither of which I ever use. I only use the sites that offer a free link and there are plenty of those to keep me out of mischief for many hours, LOL,
enjoy,
Mal.
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