Small Business, Big Lessons® – It’s Not Free!

Too often in sales we bypass the customers’ real needs and value of our product or service and jump right to price. Not saying price isn’t important, of course — it’s just really more about “value.”

The first question I use consistently when salespeople call on me – “can you show me how you can make me money or save me money?” It is a very simple way of moving to ROI (return on investment) and saving us all time.

In turn, when I am in the “sales” role, I try to be prepared to answer that quickly. You typically have between 30 seconds to a maximum of two minutes to get a prospects attention. If you cannot get them interested quickly and show you can add value – there is no way you will get a follow up meeting. Let’s look at three simple rules for success:

1)    Do your homework –Research the prospect before your first meeting. For small businesses, research their website to learn about their target customers. Research their industry and see their pain points. Example, restaurants are struggling with labor and staffing shortages, do you have something that will help them solve that challenge. What are the ways others in the prospects industry solve their issues? Can that apply to their specific situation or do you have a better alternative. When you meet – it should be 80-20. That is the prospect is taking 80% of the time and you are actively listening and asking probing questions. In most cases, it is best to set up an additional meeting to develop a solution together with additional input from the prospect if you have something that makes sense to them.

2)    Buying personas – Determine who will be involved in the buying process and their “personas” – what does a person in their role care about. If you are giving a deep dive technical presentation to purchasing, or the billing mechanics to the Chief Technology Officer, there is no faster way to be asked to leave and not come back! Relate to terms they are familiar with relevant to their role and make your conversation relevant.

3)    What’s in it for them – What is the prospect really looking for? Are they looking for time back for their team to work on more strategic initiatives, are they looking for updates to failing equipment or technology to resolve outages causing revenue loss. Are they looking to expand, if so, where and how fast. Notice how we haven’t touched on price yet. Once you have a solution that will solve their problem, the last question to ask before asking for the order is; “if we can agree to prices, would you purchase this solution?”

Think through

In our fast-paced world, it is often easy to jump to price very quickly. Even for items we might consider commodities, there is always a differentiator. It could be quality, consistency, reliability, or predictability in the supply chain. Price is important, but value is even greater to the majority of customers. Looks at their current situation and ask, “what happens if you do nothing?” and follow up with “what would that cost?” If you can’t demonstrate the value, move on to the next prospect and thank them for their time. You may have something in the future. Never try to force fit a solution. In my 25+ years in sales, it never ends well.

Would love to hear your thoughts about your experiences in the sales process. Ever sell the wrong solution? What did you do to try and resolve it? I always welcome feedback. Feel free to post comments or email them to me. Small Business, Big Lessons ® — Remember, your product or service has value and isn’t free.

About the Author:

Gregory Woloszczuk is an entrepreneur and experienced tech executive that helps small business owners grow their top and bottom line. Gregory believes in straight talk and helping others see things they need to see but may not want to with a focus on taking responsibly for one’s own business. He and his wife, Maureen, started GMW Carolina in 2006.

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