While coaching George and Jeffrey this week I noticed a trend I see frequently in the selling profession that sales managers need to be aware. Too many business development professionals seem to be too prescriptive to potential clients. This means that rather than engage in healthy debate they spew information about product features and company information.
The issue with this is two fold. First consumers know more about your products and services then selling professionals realize. And second, people do not have the time and patients to listen to tiresome “sales pitches”. Clients want to have discussions with those they can trust, build a healthy relationship and invest with now and in the future.
Sales managers must ensure that business development professionals conduct essential research to decide what to say before, and after hello. However according to research 92% of selling professionals lack the process necessary to have purposeful conversation. Therefore sales agents must then shift their conversations from features and facts to that of value.
How might you do this? Here are four rules to help you.
- Rule One – Forget the tiresome brochure repetition. Begin to ask questions that engage the potential client about their business. Center them around objectives and measurement for success. Think about the goals they want to receive. Presently much is centered on productivity, profitability and ensuring goals are achieved to meet shareholder return.
- Rule Two – Read voraciously about religion, politics, economics and business. Be ready to have good conversation about current events to illustrate your understanding of the world around you. Good places to begin on well-known news agencies on the Internet or simply subscribing to the online or paper version of the Wall Street Journal. Spend more time on established sites rather than on blog speak. These help you not the client.
- Rule Three – Develop some research for both your perfect client as well as establish an audio logo and value proposition centered on the benefits consumers receive from working with you. If you are unfamiliar a value proposition is a short 15 to 20-word sentence that states what you do in a benefit oriented manner. An example is “I work with senior officers that desire to dramatically accelerate revenue and outstrip the competition”.
- Rule Four – Focus on the output or the benefits that consumers receive. Invest some time here establishing your value. After I met with George I spoke with Dan who was having issues articulating his message. I asked straight away what is your value? He could not answer the question. If you cannot speak it then how will your customers know?
In today’s mission critical and challenged world sales managers and sales representatives must produce stronger methods of differentiation. In a service based economy and one that drives its knowledge from the Internet, the goal is to illustrate value before your competitor does.
What methods do you use to communicate your value? Place your information is in the comment area.
