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The first hand experience I recently accompanied one of our client's Account Managers ("one of our best guys - great at managing relationships", according to the Sales Director) on his first visit to a client just inherited from a departing colleague. Our client has one of the most instantly recognisable brands in its sector and the customer in this instance was a huge U.S. services business. We were surprised to hear that our key contact was shortly to be leaving the company and we were joined by the manager due to replace him. We were also joined by the Procurement Manager. It looked interesting to me. A new Account Manager and three of his customer's contacts in a room with very different agendas. A good opportunity you might think? Investigate the agendas. Find out what they think - how they see things -- and position himself as the person to move things forward positively with the right solutions……. Unfortunately that wasn't what happened….. What actually happened during a 2 hour meeting was:
It was amazing that I had enamel left on my teeth after that meeting…!! The problem The plain fact is that there are too many people out there (and
a lot of them are salespeople) who spend most of their lives in
a 'comfort zone' talking about their products and services to
people who may / may not understand them. The key gap is that
the person on the ground doesn't get to understand his / her customer's
business and therefore cannot connect the services and products
to the customer's business needs. The real world effect… In different, more buoyant, times, with proven products to call upon, and customers with big budgets to spend, eye-catching sums of money have been earned by people who have been riding the crest of the wave and taking orders. But 'the wave' looks a little different now doesn't it…. ? The business people (those we might call 'budget-setters' as opposed to 'budget-spenders') insist on seeing the proof of where and how the products will deliver a real return on investment for their business before they will consider parting with their cash. The inevitable conclusion is therefore: no demonstrable return on investment and no sale…
We must therefore get altogether smarter with
our questions. "The greatest enemy of communication is the illusion of it." - Pierre Martineau Preparation. (Avoiding the 'waste of space' syndrome) It seems pretty straightforward really, bordering on the bland even -- take an interest in your customer's business. Our own niche is the business-to-business sector, and we consistently find that our clients' people know little more than the obvious headline stuff about their customers. In the example above you will, I'm sure, have spotted that the Account Manager who is "great at managing relationships" knew nothing about his key contact's imminent departure until we pitched up on the doorstep. A little bit of advance communication prior to the visit would surely have picked that fact up…? Frankly, if you are not interested - (really, genuinely, interested
-- not just lip-service), in your customer's business what ARE
you doing in there? You're a waste of space. If you aspire to
be more than a waste of space, some 'starter-for-ten' examples
of customer-related issues you might want to ponder on are these:
Preparing to sell - our key areas of focus
Much of this still amounts to taking an interest in your customer - but it's 'sharper-ended' now. Essentially, with the assistance of the information gained above, we need, in particular, to think carefully about:
Questions in relation to your Sales Propositions "Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers" - Voltaire The key differentiated elements of your services and products need
to be considered and captured in relation to how they could be advantageous
to different types of decision-influencer within the customer's
organisation, as well as who you will be, or are likely to be, competing
with. With some relevant proofs prepared to substantiate your case
later on, questions should be prepared which allow you to gradually
and conversationally explore where the needs and wants might be
for your deliverables, and where the cost / pain / inconvenience
/ wasted time / personal preference / competitive pressure etc,
etc, is. When presenting your solution later in the cycle you will
of course reinforce how you will address these problems and pressures
with the proofs. Each of the above should be grouped together . i.e:
2. The questions you will ask to identify the needs & wants for these, which will ultimately bring out the benefits. We run pretty intensive workshops on this subject, sometimes of several days' duration, so I can't do justice to the detail in a short article - but here are a couple of tips:
Why people buy We often use the 'iceberg' analogy when considering why the customer actually buys. At the tip of the iceberg, above the water, are the logically-based needs. These are generally openly declared. To be a contender for the business you must be able to satisfy them. Typically, needs include issues such as timescales, budgets, resource capability and references. They are important of course, but you can often respond to them via the fax machine! The bulk of the iceberg is under the surface and this is where the emotionally-based wants are submerged. These are not always obvious, very often not dumped in your lap, and thus usually much harder to identify - but they are invariably very big drivers in buying decisions. If we are serious about selling a meaningful solution we must understand them, and the solution we ultimately present must reflect them one way or another. Examples, from a very long list of wants, include: kudos (being made a hero within the organisation); ego; company politics; 'not invented here' (i.e. his / her idea); security / insecurity; control; the leading edge 'pioneer' (i.e. the person who wants to be seen as the innovator), and, personal chemistry. |
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What are you really selling? "What we sell is the ability for a 43 year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns, and have people be afraid of him." - Harley-Davidson Executive. Our knowledge of the fact that emotion has a lot to do with why our customer buys ought to get us thinking more about what it is that we are really selling. In an era of increasing commoditisation, people are buying-into products which have what you could call 'emotional appeal'. In an everyday sense, continental mineral waters are an example of this. The premium many of us will pay for 'free range' eggs is another. Examples of emotional appeal themes might be: control; change; freedom, recognition, and care. An example of the 'control' theme is a mobile phone network providing the means to control our life. It could be said that people buy 'North Face' clothing to identify with those pioneers climbing Mount Everest (freedom). The purchase of free range eggs is a great example of 'care' as emotional appeal. The key issue for us in sales terms is to get a fix on where we can deliver most value for our customer and then consider the questions we must ask to establish the real business value of our proposition. Solutions and problems Revelation of the day: we just love talking about our solution don't we? After all, it's what we know. It's where we're comfortable. It's much easier to prattle on about how wonderful our solution is than to appear 'impolite' by asking probing, incisive questions about the customer and his business (to identify important issues which our solution is supposed to address!) Furthermore, while we're 'in the seat', so to speak, the pressure is on us. The customer doesn't have to acknowledge too many gaps and problems -- he can just sit back and watch the show…!! Once the preparation is complete, your ability to provide a solution is only as good as your ability to identify the problem. And it often takes courage to ask the questions, which identify the problem. It has been said that reasons for making decisions sit under one of two headings:
We should listen carefully to the answers to our questions to begin to understand the real nature of the problem. The 'earthing' of these questions was covered earlier in this article. More on in situ execution below. Beyond this, there are two pitfalls in particular to avoid:
Conspicuous by its absence -- the most common missing link In a word it is quantification. We have found that too few salespeople are able and willing to quantify the gaps which their questions flush out. Typically, the customer's throw-away line is not challenged. Examples: "It has put us under enormous pressure here" [What kind of pressure? Who is he talking about? What was the impact of the pressure? What is it costing the business? What is it stopping them doing?] "It has soaked up a lot of resource". [How much resource? How many man-days? What other resources? How costly? What pressures has this put on him and the business? What was the opportunity cost of this? Ideally what should it look like?] Tangible benefits will be required if you are to present a compelling
value-added solution further downstream. Incisive questions which
zero-in on quantifiable problems and pressures are the real key
to this. You don't know what the benefits are likely to
be until you've had the discussion. Most of us were, correctly, taught very early on that we sell benefits
- not features. ("The customer buys what it can do for him,
not what it is" - I can still hear my first sales manager saying
it!) Too many people however confuse benefits with advantages. Keep
in mind that the feature and its advantage will only become beneficial
when the customer perceives how it will meet his need - and you
will only ascertain this from your questions. Thus when preparing
your Sales Propositions you will be analysing your likely deliverables
but not benefits - these will only become apparent to you and the
customer when you are asking questions and he is answering them.
To pick a simple example: the fountain pen has a clip on it [feature]
-- which allows it to be fastened onto shirt or jacket pockets [advantage]
- this will not be of benefit to me because I don't keep pens in
my jacket and I don't wear shirts with pockets on the front….. 'Where the rubber hits the road' Here are some key interpersonal considerations when you are asking questions of your customer. Earning trust I recently saw a great turn of phrase: the 'Trust Alarm'. It is
based on a place on the brain stem called the amygdala which is
the brain's survival mechanism . Quite literally, when the question
arrives, the amygdala helps to decide whether or not it's safe!
The question is only routed further to the part of the brain which
thinks and feels if the 'Trust Alarm' believes the question to be
in the customer's best interests. In the early stages of the meeting
in particular, we must ensure that our customer understands the
purpose of our questions and, especially, why he should answer
them. …. hence -- the 'motivator'
Listen, make notes and summarise en route 'How to listen' ought to be a subject taught in schools. Actively listen as if your life depends on it. In a way it does! Listen to what your customer says, how he says it and what lies underneath what is said. Don't be afraid to challenge what doesn't add up or what you sense might block progress further downstream. Unless you have a photographic memory, don't be shy about making notes. It shows interest and ensures that you can summarise accurately en route. And, on the subject of summarising, you almost can't summarise too often. It demonstrates understanding and the fact that you've been listening, and, unless you are hideously and consistently off track, allows the customer to occasionally re-interpret on your behalf without any loss of face on your part. A comprehensive summary of all of your customer's needs and wants should precede the presentation of your solution. Do not progress to 'presentation mode' until the customer has confirmed that your summary is accurate. In my view, selling is too often a most misunderstood
and under-valued profession. Whether or not we choose to acknowledge
it, most of us sell for much of the time, inside and outside of
the working environment regardless of the 'badge' we wear. As you
can see, the preparation and execution of good quality questions
is central to effective selling.
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