Customers Don't Know Jack!
Sales Rep Kristin, representing ABC Corporation, just got the call she's dreamed about. She has an initial meeting with John Watt, a Senior Vice President at Cooltech Corporation, a potential GREAT new client.
Here is a transcript of her sales call:
Kristin: "Thank you for meeting with me. How can we assist you?"
John Watt: "Well, we are in the initial phase of planning to purchase some new (fill in the blank) technology."
Kristin: "Great! We are a market leader in that area. Do you have budget for this project?"
John Watt: "Yes, that is in the works. We have asked for $2.5M."
Kristin: "Who will be assisting you in evaluating and selecting this technology?"
John Watt: "I have a technology value analysis committee that will look at how the technology fits into the Cooltech Corporate environment. The final decision will be made by me and two of our senior IT executives, Mary Crain and Ann Morton."
Kristin: "What are your specific needs for this purchase?"
John Watt: "Well we are on a very tight budget so price will be extremely important to us."
Kristin: "What else is important to you?"
John Watt: "The value analysis committee is looking at the interface to our existing infrastructure."
Kristin: "When do you want to be up and running with your new technology?"
John Watt: "Oh, sometime early next year."
Kristin: "How are you planning to go about the evaluation and selection process?"
John Watt: "You must make a formal presentation and then a formal demo for the Value Analysis Committee. We will then look at pricing and finalize our decision. We have used this process in the past and it has worked well for us."
Kristin: "What other solutions are being considered?"
John Watt: "The only other company we have invited to the table is our existing infrastructure provider, XYZ Corp."
Kristin: "What are the next steps and what do you need from us?"
John Watt: "We need your best pricing ASAP. We would also like for you to schedule a high level, formal, overview presentation on your offering next Friday at 3:00pm in our Board Room. This will be a very important presentation. XYZ presented to us last week. They brought in their senior executives and did a very professional job. You should bring in your senior executives also since Mary and Ann have cleared their schedules and plan on attending. The last thing we need from you is a formal demonstration. Please plan a full day for this within the next two weeks."
Kristin: "I'll begin to put all of this together for you immediately. Thank you so much for this great opportunity!"
When Kristin returns to her office, her manager, Ellen asks how the sales call went. Kristin says, "GREAT! They are set to spend $2M+ and they were very open about their needs, process, budget and competition."
Ellen says, "Give me the details."
Kristin proudly summarizes with an air of triumph:
"Needs:
Cooltech Corp. will make the decision based upon
Pricing and Interface to Existing Infrastructure.
Buying Process: Formal presentation, then a formal demo, and then a decision.
Decision Criteria: Price and Interface To Existing Infrastructure.
Decision Makers: Value Analysis Committee, Mary Crain, Ann Morton.
Competition: XYZ Corp."
Ellen asks whether they should forecast this opportunity, and Kristin says, "It's early but I think we have a good shot at it."
Well, this is a sad look at what is happening today in many, many sales offices. This is a disaster! This deal is LOST! Kristin and her manager Ellen both believe they have a shot. They DO NOT! Given the current situation they WILL LOSE. One of the key decision criteria is the Interface to existing infrastructure. The competitor is the vendor who is providing the existing infrastructure! The other key decision criteria is selling price. ABC Corp's initial selling price is higher than XYZ Corp. You have been set up by this customer and your competition to be column fodder. Get set to lose a big one or...step up and understand that it's time for you be a Sales Superstar!
Sales Superstars know that:
"CUSTOMERS DON'T KNOW JACK!"
That's right! I know it sounds cocky and arrogant but it is TRUE! How many times has this customer purchased this technology in the past, say, 300 years? Answer: NONE! NADA! ZERO! ZILCH! How many times have Kristin and ABC Corp company assisted customers just like Cooltech Corp. make an investment in this type of technology? Many, many, many times. It's time for Kristin to step up and consult with her client! Let's take another look at Kristin and give her some help.
Needs & Decision Criteria: The customer said, "Pricing and Interface to Existing Infrastructure". Henry Ford famously said, "If I gave the customer what he wanted, I would have given them faster horses." Pricing and Interface may be the current set of needs, but Kristin will help reveal that ease of use, long-term cost of ownership (ROI) and up-time (service & support) are really what the customer should be emphasizing. Each of these three new criteria happen to be unique competitive benefits of Kristin's company, ABC Corp.
Buying Process: Formal presentation, then a formal demo, then a decision? That may be what the customer is thinking now, but Kristin will change the buying process to include reference calls and a visit to a client who has both ABC Corp and XYZ Corp technology. The client will vociferously tout the ease of use and service response times of ABC Corp.
Decision Makers: Value Analysis Committee, Mary Crain, Ann Morton? That may be what the customer said, but Kristin will use her internal coach to recruit the CFO to participate in this key decision. The CFO will value the ROI (Return on Investment) advantage that ABC has over XYZ.
Exactly how does Kristin pull off this new strategy? She will start by gaining the customer's trust. One of the most powerful ways she will gain trust is by NOT being a "YES REP". She will NOT just do everything the client requests. Rather, she will use her experience with other similar clients to ask powerful questions that get the customer to think about unidentified needs, concerns and opportunities. She will suggest innovative ideas and insight for this client. That is called CONSULTING! The other clients have already invented the wheel. Why not learn from their experiences? When the customer tell her to jump, she will say "Sure!, jumping is great. However, other clients have found that walking, then skipping and then jumping saved them a ton of heartache and cost. "Have you given any thought to how that would...?" The result of her consulting will be that the customer will prioritize the "unique/unfair competitive advantages" of ABC Corp's solution.
In short, sales superstars know that CUSTOMERS DON'T KNOW JACK! Obviously a customer does know his business. But a Superstar rep knows not only the customer's business, but his solution inside and out. Finally, he knows how other clients have best evaluated and leveraged the benefits of his solution.
An important point to remember here is that you should never take an arrogant approach with your client. It will only end badly. I use the phrase, "CUSTOMERS DON'T KNOW JACK!" as a way to get your attention and make a point. I'm advocating a confident approach. A highly consultative, trust based methodology where you guide your client down a mutually beneficial pathway.
One final question: Should Kristin make that formal presentation that John Watt requested next Friday? NO!!! Why not? "Prescription before diagnosis is malpractice!"
Good luck and good selling!
