If You Build It, Will They Come???
October 7, 2009 · Print This Article
This may work in a movie about a baseball diamond in Iowa. But when it comes to selling products or services in the real world, it’s a different story.
The Setup…
By necessity, sales people have to learn the many features of what they sell. Most sales training revolves around what the product or service does. Sales collateral and presentations come out of the marketing department packed with bulleted lists and feature descriptions.
The result: many sales people fall in love. In love with every detail, every nuance of what they have to offer.
The Pitch…
After learning all they can, sales people naturally look forward to broadcasting their knowledge; especially anything they think is “cool” or “unique.” Most sales people believe all they have to do is tell prospects about all these great features and their job is done.
The Miss…
This rarely, if ever, works. Prospects are not interested in being blinded by a blizzard of features. Prospects only want to know what you can do for them, right now, to make their lives better.
When little, if any, thought has been given to how the product/service could be used for the customer’s benefit, the sales person has walked to the mound completely unprepared for the game. Without understanding the prospect’s perceptions and motivations it’s quite unlikely a connection will be made. If you do happen to get a hit this way, it’s an accident.
Putting the Win Back In Your Sales-
Dan
DAN KREUTZER is an accomplished sales executive, sales trainer, author, speaker, and a Partner of Samurai Business Group, LLC. He has extensive expertise in business development, product and service marketing, and strategic leadership. Dan is a sharp and intuitive student of human behavior, and has fused his observations with a deep knowledge of sales culture to design the Samurai Sales Mastery™ programs. His book, “How to Put the WIN Back in Your SALES,” seeks to shatter the myths associated with traditional selling, and raise the level of professionalism in today’s salespeople.
Well said Dan. It’s so important to look at it from the perspective of the Prospect and dial into their channel WII FM – “What’s In It For Me?”. What is the benefit to the Prospect. Without that, the presentation is all one side, the sales persons side.