Parent, Adult... Oh! and Salesperson!

You have probably heard of the Parent – Adult – Child concept. Not it
is being applied to sales and it has really got me thinking.

There are 3 types of roles we play in our relationships and
communication with others - Parent – Adult – Child.

The parent role conveys 'I know best' and 'do what your told', it is a
talking down to somebody who is considered to be younger, less
experienced, or less knowledgable. And hey, that is what many sales
conversations end up being!

Think about it. The customer says 'I are very busy, so if you
wouldn't mind lets skip meeting and just send me in a proposal in
response to the questions we have outlined in our brief'.

Or the sales person who opens a conversation with 'Most companies
(like yours) are struggling to meet their legal requirements in
respect of… we make sure they are fully compliant.'

Sounds like a parent to me, talking down to a child in both instances.
What does that imply about its effectiveness? Well, you guessed it.

It's time for sales people and customers alike to get a dialogue going
that is based on equality of roles and respect.

How to Creat Powerful Customer Success Stories

Customer stories and case studies are the most powerful of sales aides. That is because we are all more likely to believe our counterparts that the claims of a salesperson.

In a review of competitors for a client recently, we were struck by the poor standard of client success stories and case studies.

So, here are the lessons for writing powerful case studies:

1. Keep it short – The best client success stories can be communicated in 1 page, including graphics, both logos and contact details. That is 8-12 sentences, plus main heading and 2/3

2. Use good headlines – there was nothing to get the reader's attention or to encourage him/her to read on

3. Have a Central Point to Communicate – one that relates to the central benefit of the suppliers solution, don't try to include everything.

4. Have a story to tell – most case studies are bland, they have more in common with press releases to announce the signing a customer deal that a story of client success

5. Focus on the business, not the product – too many case studies focus technical implications as opposed to business impact

6. Use powerful quotes – keep them short and punchy and put them in large font sizes.

7. Use figures and graphs – quantifying key benefits makes them more tangible.

Can salespeople learn anything from the US presidential candidates?

Ordinarily I am not one for politics or more precisely politicians, but the ability to sell an idea, hope, or change is something that gets my attention.  For that reason I have been observing the Obama campaign looking for parallels for those of us in sales:

1. The powerful 'yes we can, yes we can' is highly effective. 

1.       Obama is selling the most precious commodity in the world – hope.  Yes, he talks about challenges, but the focus is on the future within reach.  His 'yes we can'  rallying call is highly effective.

Too often as sales people we focus on what the buyer's problems as opposed to the solution.  We readily focus on what they are doing wrong in order to build a case for our solution. 

'Yes you can and I am going to help you' is the message I want to use more often with my customers!

2.       2. Obama is an excellent communicator - his delivery is confident and polished, his style is engaging and with his words carefully chosen (well almost always!).  It is getting harder and harder for us sales people to get and keep the buyers attention, or to effectively communicate why our solution is better than the competition.  More than ever a sales person must be an excellent communicator.

 

3.       3. Obama employs well placed and evocative stories.  They add great impact, reinforce the key points and help people to identify with his message.  Great sales people are also good story tellers.  Customer stories are the most credible and compelling way to communicate about our solutions.

 

Does your customer really ‘get it’?

Sales people often complain that although they have a 'great product, or service' the customer fails to realise, or appreciate it – 'the customer just doesn't get it!'

If you think about it logically there can be two possible reasons. First, you don't have as good a product or service as you think, or secondly (and more likely) you have simply failed to get the message across about how great you, or solution are.

Now, I look through hundreds of web sites and marketing brochures every month and I also sit through lots of sales presentations. I never fail to be amazed how many of the companies are actually under-selling what they have to offer. They fall way short of giving the customer a compelling reason to buy.

If you want your customer to realise how good you really are then take another look at your sales pack, web site, marketing brochures, etc and make the following 5 changes:

1. Focus on providing solution to the customers problems, as opposed to a product / technology

2. Communicate business impact of your solution, as opposed to the features

3. Quantify the benefits as a result of your solution

4. Tailor the message to different verticals / segments (as opposed to one message or one website for all)

5. Tell more stories (in particular stories that relate to the top 5 problems, or advantages of your solution

What is the end result of all this? Well it makes it easier for the customer to buy