Sell Benefits, Not Technology

Technology-enabled solutions are intangible sales. We should keep it mind that people don’t buy the machine; they buy what it enables. We often pitch the features of the solution and do not detail the utility of it to our prospects. Here are a few important pointers that we can focus on while driving these sales. But we should keep it mind that each one of these pointers are unique and they formulate a complete process. Thus keeping the pattern intact is inevitable.

Discovery: Discovery is the stage of the sales cycle where you can build trust and rapport through consultative selling. The more you educate the customer during this phase the more they will value your opinion. As you solve their problems, your credibility will increase. Apply your value building strategies to build the customer’s commitment to your solution. When you educate the customer on how their business strategy translates into technology needs and issues, you are helping them solve their problems, so they come to trust you and value your opinion.

Prospecting:If you don’t understand how your market is evolving and who wants to buy your product when and for what reason, then you are going to be in trouble. Market leaders know how to evolve along with the market to maintain dominance. Know who to call on when accelerates your success.

Building Value: Selling value creates momentum because it links your solution to what is happening in the market. Understand and make it believable that market doesn’t wait for the customer to make up his mind. Value is the only thing that builds belief. Features and benefits build points in your favor. Solving problems builds confidence that your solution works. But value builds the customer’s belief that they will be successful. Learn how to use the customer’s belief in the value of your solution as a powerful source of energy to drive the sale.

Qualify: Good qualified leads/prospects can make an extraordinary difference in overall sales productivity and a company’s profitability. Often they can cut out days of unproductive sales calls by asking the prospect’s executive team about their business strategy. Learn how to combine value building and solutions selling techniques to dramatically improve your ability to accurate and quickly qualify an account.

Close [and close faster]: When you are launching a new solution, building credibility in the early stages of market adoption is critical to your long-term success. Identify early and quick wins, so you can build the track record you need to ride. When you qualify [and qualify well enough], you confirm up-front the prospect’s buying cycle. This is to set mutual expectations about working together to make the best decision. Then use these expectations to keep the sale moving forward.