We’re advised to go discover our clients issues and resolve them. Simple sufficient, proper? Nicely, not precisely. There are quite a bit various kinds of issues and never all issues are equal. And if we goal the flawed downside the gross sales cycle can be lengthy, arduous and vulnerable to the competitors.
The 2 commonest issues I see gross sales folks get tripped up with are technical issues and enterprise issues. The explanation? We deal with them the identical, however they don’t seem to be.
Technical Issues
- No redundancy
- Lack of integration
- No bluetooth connectivity
- Takes too lengthy to load
- Poor consumer interface
- Can’t ship emails through Outlook
- Takes too lengthy to enter a brand new report
- Onerous to search out previous data
- Can’t e-mail sufferers
- Not inexperienced
- Lack of 24/7 assist
- No single signal on
- and so forth.
These are all technical issues. They’re points or issues your clients or prospects endure from and want to straight repair, change, enhance, resolve for, and so forth. Technical issues are the place options come from. Technical issues are characteristic feeders. They drive characteristic requests and as a lot as they enhance a product, additionally they drive product loopy as a result of they by no means, ever, ever, ever, cease coming. Somebody at all times has a technical downside that your answer doesn’t tackle.
Enterprise issues then again are totally different.
Enterprise issues
- Shedding to the competitors
- Shrinking revenue margins
- Poor ticket gross sales
- Shrinking ARPU (Common Income Per Consumer)
- Declining subscriptions
- Decrease gross sales/income
- Elevated manufacturing prices
- Low customer support scores
- Low stock turns
- Excessive worker turnover
- Churn
These are all enterprise issues. These are points or issues that mirror what it’s the group in the end desires to get performed. Enterprise issues are the true downside a company struggles with, whereas technical issues are the symptom or a part of the larger enterprise downside. Enterprise issues are the important thing components of the enterprise that actually drive the enterprise, the place success or failure are predicated.
Too typically we get aspect tracked by attempting to resolve the purchasers technical issues not their enterprise downside. It’s a entice. Keep means! Don’t get trapped. Buyer’s don’t wish to e-mail sufferers, they need higher clients service. Prospects don’t need a killer interface, they only don’t wish to lose to the competitors. Prospects don’t wish to discover data quicker, they need their staff to be completely satisfied and more practical. Prospects don’t need your product to combine with outlook, they wish to improve ticket gross sales, and right here in lies the problem for many gross sales folks. They promote to the technical downside not the enterprise downside and that’s an issue.
Enterprise issues are addressed efficiently or not by addressing technical issues
BUT hardly ever does a single technical downside resolve the enterprise downside. As they are saying, there’s a couple of technique to pores and skin a cat. It’s this purpose that we have to steer clear of technical issues and deal with the enterprise downside.
In the event you can resolve their churn downside with out killer consumer interface, you then’ll win the deal. In the event you can sluggish worker turnover with out single signal on, then your in a great place. If you goal the enterprise issues, the technical issues are put of their APPROPRIATE place.
Once we attempt to resolve technical issues, we’re chasing our tail. As you resolve one technical downside one other arises. As soon as that one is mounted, yup one other and one other and one other stand up. It’s a by no means ending pursuit and if you happen to’re in a gross sales recreation of who can resolve essentially the most technical issues, you might be fucked. There may be at all times somebody who can resolve an issue you may’t. There may be at all times a characteristic your prospect desires, that you just don’t have. Don’t play the technical downside fixing recreation.
So, what to do? Give attention to the enterprise issues. When a prospect says, “it should combine with outlook” discover out why? How does lack of integration have an effect on the enterprise? Discover out what they want to accomplish with your entire answer earlier than you start to handle the one-off technical points and issues. Discover out what the vital enterprise drivers are. Why do they want a brand new answer? What’s going on that has them investing in one thing new? The important thing to the sale is within the reply to that query. I can promise you NO COMPANY ever passes on a brand new answer simply because it doesn’t combine into outlook. It’s what occurs to or of their setting when issues aren’t built-in that’s driving the funding and also you had higher know what it is.
Not all issues are created equal. Don’t get caught within the technical downside race. It’s like an arm race you’ll by no means win over time. Determine what the vital enterprise issues your prospect or buyer is going through and resolve these. It’s the place the win is.
