Business Zone ranked the following article at Number Eight in their Articles of 2009! With so much mediocrity about, you can stand out if you improve the way that you sell.
This article, in a nutshell:
- Is for those of you who find selling difficult (your problem/issue/hurt)
- Will show you how to make more sales which will increase your profits and cash-flow (the real benefit).
It is your fault… you are not communicating in a way that they can hear your message.
REAL FACT TWO: You sales presentations/offers and so forth are probably all wrong.
I expect that several years ago you attended a sales course or read some books that told you how to present yourself.
Most people attended a similar course so most presentations follow a familiar pattern. More importantly, that pattern is all wrong: it is dull and familiar and crucially it does not get you results.
A quick example: A consultant visits us and his typical, boring, predictable, mind-numbing presentation goes: “My name is… I work for…, and we employ x people…, based in… set up in… and what we do is specialise in…” This was dreadful.
It was all about them and not about me. It was all about what they do and not what I want. I am afraid that he mistook me for someone who cared about this nonsense.
Eventually the salesman got close to the climax and I started to wake up a little “and the solutions we offer include…” (and I was thinking “yes but how does that help me and my particular problem?”) and finally he reached his peak with the inevitable words “and as a result you will be more profitable.”
At last he talks about what I am interested in. But he has offered a one-size fits all solution and he has offered it too late. He still hasn’t asked me about my problem or what I am looking for.
Clearly he is not really interested in helping me; he is only interested in making a sale so I graciously boot him out of the office, thank him for his time while wishing he hadn’t wasted my precious time.
So… why does every sales presentation bore you to death before telling you what you want? Please, don’t give answers till you know what the customer’s problems/issues/needs are.
REAL FACT THREE: People have problems/hurts/needs that they want sorted out.
You need to know what they are. To find out what their issues are you need to ask questions, shut up and listen to the answers.
REAL FACT FOUR: Customers are only interested in how you can help them relieve the pain or get more pleasure.
I repeat, to find out what their issues are you need to ask questions, shut up and listen to the answers.
REAL FACT FIVE: People will buy from you if you are able to cut to the chase.
Tell them what they will get… Don’t bore them. Be precise and focused. Don’t waste their time.
REAL FACT SIX: People don’t buy from you for what you do but for what your product or service will do for them (probably after you are gone).
This is what they want to know: how will they be better off after you have gone? Suddenly, selling becomes easy. Find out their hurts/problems/issues, find out what THEY want after you’ve left, focus on telling them how you can deliver it.
REAL FACT SEVEN: Customers want you to make it absolutely clear what they will get by buying from you.
So, tell them how you will make things better for them. Next…
REAL FACT EIGHT: Customers love it when you make it clear that you can deliver.
So tell them: “We can do that” and give them some brief proofs or examples.
REAL FACT NINE: Customers love it when you shut up.
So, what I am saying is as follows: be clear about what the customer will get and how it will improve things for them. Remember people buy for one of two reasons – to be happier or more profitable,
i.e. they want more profit/income/sales/time and/or less risk/costs/stress.
If you follow the approach outlined above several things will start to happen.
- You will clarify your offering in your own mind, which will make it easier for you to communicate (by email, phone, letter, advert).
- Your communication becomes simpler and more powerful.
- Your communication becomes obvious – it becomes crystal clear what you are saying
- You will be remarkable – you will stand out from the crowd and you will be talked about. Someone who offers simple and obvious solutions will get the business.
13 comments:
Good article worthy of accolades.
Try to decipher who your audience was.
This is the nub of what networking is really about. The meat and two veg of business is making the sale not deciding which menu to use.
Great thing is that this is actually a universal message. Very clever. This article applies to the start-up (where it is all new) as much as to the seasoned pro (where it needs to be tattooed on the forehead).
In fact Lesson 1 “If your customers are not listening it is not their fault” is a lesson that most fail to learn. Nice one.
Nice. Lesson One is the tough one to take on board. Ouch.
To refer back to Robert's older posts and link this together makes some interesting thoughts.
What he is really saying is that big businesses don't understand snmall businesses and don't know how to communicate with SMEs; they don't know how to listen/talk/understand the needs and are only interested in the sale.
Small businesses can either see themselves as victims or controllers of their own destiny.
So is the glass half-full or half-empty.
I know which it is for me.
PB
You say
"REAL FACT NINE: Customers love it when you shut up."
Still not convinced that everyone or just about anyone believes this.
Robert, you say in Bright Marketing that it is all about repetition and frequency to get poeople to remember you so how does this fit in?
The list is excellent but I think and feel that there is a deeper level that you have missed.
The failing business lacks a certain confidence and self-belief that creates a downward spiral towards disaster. Who is out there to save these people and show them the way? It should be the Business Links or the banks or maybe their accountants. I don't expect it to be the consultants who are more honest about their methods of charging fees.
So our politicians and most of the wretched business support industry promote all the upside of running a business and irresponsibly fail to show people how to do it.
It is our responsibility to look after ourselves. Do not believe what the politicians tell you. It is dog eat dog out there and Dragon's Den, Apprentice etc do us no favours at all.
Good article. It helps if the person offering the solution actually cares about the product, the client, the outcome, and their own reputation.
So many sales "professionals" think it is all about a battle of wills, and "gift of the gab." Such behaviour is even encouraged by sales "managers" who are recruited by short sighted and greedy C-level pricks, small business and corporates alike. It is they who recruit poorly, and so set the scene for thousands of Mondeo driving half-wits, who "sell" by lies and undercutting real market value for goods and services.
The interesting question, is how does the true sales professional from a good company without a strong, established brand, overcome the most common problem and show that her/his low-balling competition are swindlers, without seeming petty? See REAL FACT EIGHT for the answer!
@ Pete Bradbury - Yawn....
Looking at Business Zone you will see that this was really higher than Number 8 - that is if you discount the editors's stuff and general articles.
Just been going through your back catalogue and this is rather good. Most people won't - they will do anything they can to avoid it.
Just been going through your back catalogue and this is rather good. Most people won't - they will do anything they can to avoid it.
Good article worthy of accolades.
Try to decipher who your audience was.
This is the nub of what networking is really about. The meat and two veg of business is making the sale not deciding which menu to use.
Great thing is that this is actually a universal message. Very clever. This article applies to the start-up (where it is all new) as much as to the seasoned pro (where it needs to be tattooed on the forehead).
In fact Lesson 1 “If your customers are not listening it is not their fault” is a lesson that most fail to learn. Nice one.
Don't Be Nice; Be Helpful
http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2011/03/dont-be-nice-be-helpful.html
Following Up http://t.co/2CG9C5r
Customer Experience Crossroads: The virtues of simplicity, clarity, obviousness and elegance http://t.co/FpnV57b - familiar...?
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