Selling to Big Companies Blog

Beyond Value: How to Become Invaluable to Your Customers

As sellers, we're continually told to sell value and to let our prospects know about all of our value-added services. After all, that's how we're going to win the sales. Right?

Not necessarily. Value is relative. It's in the eye of the beholder. So much depends on how the decision makers you're dealing with perceive "value." And even then, selling "value" may be totally ineffective - or not enough to make the difference.

To be successful in today's business environment, you may need
to become invaluable to your customers.

Basically customers can be segmented into three different types based on their perceptions of value and what you can do to increase your sales effectiveness when working with them.

News Flash: Killer Sales Disease Strikes!

I had a big meeting with a prospective client at 8:30. I was ecstatic because it had taken me forever to get this meeting set up. My initial contact had been months before, but my persistence finally paid off.

Now, with the way things were going, it would take a miracle to get there on time. I turned on the radio and tuned into the station that gave the most frequent traffic updates. If there were more traffic problems ahead, I needed to know right away so I could switch to an alternate route.

They were just starting to give the latest congestion alert when suddenly the announcer broke in.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming this morning to bring you some breaking news from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia."

I didn't need to hear any health alerts. I needed to know where the traffic problems were. I quickly switched to another station. And another. And then another.

It looked like I didn't have a choice. They were all talking about the same thing. I decided I'd better pay attention.

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

Admit it! There are some subjects related to your product, service or solution that you dread talking about. Perhaps your offering isn't the most "leading edge." Maybe your pricing is much higher than competitors. Or maybe you're a boutique firm without the full spectrum of services of the bigger companies.

Whatever it is, you hope like crazy that your prospects won't bring it up. Yet you know deep inside that the topic is unavoidable. No matter how hard you try to dance around the elephant in the room and pretend its not there, it's just a matter of time before someone asks about it. Then you stumble through a lame response that makes you sound like a total patsy and your credibility plummets.

So what's a seller to do?

Ho Ho Ho! That Very Important 1st Meeting

Finally, after months of trying to get in to see one of your hot prospects, the day has arrived. The big meeting is set for early afternoon.

Sitting by yourself at lunch, you're planning what to cover in your one hour together. This may be the only chance you have to really show your capabilities, demonstrate your expertise or razzle dazzle your prospects with the breadth of your product line. Plus you really need to update them about all the new things your company is doing.

So much to say. So little time!

3 Invaluable Sales Lessons From an Unlikely Source

Growing up, I regularly read Seventeen. It contained a wealth of information on how to be popular. As someone with distinct nerdish tendencies, I considered this teen magazine to be an essential part of my social education.

Being the good student that I am, I not only read it religiously, but also studied certain areas in great depth. I was particularly enamored with articles on what it took to get guys to ask you out and then want to date you on a regular basis.

It didn't take me long to see a pattern emerging. The secret to successful dating was clearly asking questions. The only thing a girl had to do was get the guy talking about himself and he'd think she was the most wonderful person on earth. That sounded simple enough.

The only problem was in the execution. I was so nervous when I went out on dates that I couldn't even keep a short conversation going. After one or two questions, my mind went blank. What followed was a deathly silence that seemed to last forever. It must have been 2-3 seconds long.

I didn't know what to say. Nothing clever came to mind. The next thing I knew I was blathering about something stupid. That wasn't supposed to happen, but I was so self-conscious that I was functionally unable to come up with any insightful questions. Clearly I needed more help, but what's a poor girl to do?

Passing the "Tell Me More" Test

Establishing a business relationship with a new prospect is a lot like walking on a balance beam. Every single move you make has consequences.

When you execute it flawlessly, you're in a perfect position for your next move. However, any misstep on your part sends you into recovery mode. Sometimes you're able to bounce back, but other times you fall off and are out of the competition. To make it even more challenging, stone-faced judges ruthlessly evaluate how well you execute each move and its level of difficult.

Sounds an awful lot like sales to me! The early stages of the sales process are fraught with difficulties. Prospects assess your every word to determine if it's worth their time to meet with you.

That's why so many sellers get excited when prospective customers say, "Tell me more." It means they've scored a perfect 10 on their first routine - one they've practiced and fine-tuned for months. Then, without thinking, they launch into their second routine. What they don't realize is they have to pass this "Tell Me More" test before they can advance further in the competition.

And it's so darn easy to blow it then.

Curing the "Bull in a China Shop" Syndrome

Why is it that smart people do the dumbest things? If they thought for one moment about what was coming out of their mouth, they'd keep it shut. Yet day after day, I see sellers talk (or write) themselves right out of opportunities.

Shortly after I sent out my ezine article on Promiscuous Prospecting, I got an email from a reader. He wrote: "I notice you're processing credit cards through your site. That's what I provide my clients! If you're dissatisfied with your card service or you think you're paying more than you should, perhaps we can talk!"

I responded: "Thanks for the note. I'm in the process of switching to a new web master and doing a major update on my site. Right now everything is fine. Things that aren't causing me problems are not on my priority list. But you were smart to check me out!"

Although I was politely trying to rebuff the seller, my response only seemed to have the opposite effect. It invigorated him.

What followed was ...

How to Sound Impressive - or Not?

Yesterday I found a cool website that you need to check out. The writers of Huh? have taken marketing speak to a whole new level. They've managed to craft an entire website out of the most overused words in the business lexicon. And then they poke fun at themselves - or is it us that they're poking fun at?

Here's a quote from their Solutions page:

Most consulting companies just provide regular marketing solutions. Not us. We provide groundbreaking solutions. Our marketing solutions are newer than anyone else's, and they sound better because we give them cool titles like "Global Awareness Paradigms," and "Market Consciousness Philosophies," and "Creative Product Re-development Support."

Doesn't that just warm your heart!  Check out huh? for a refresher on what not to say and for a good laugh. Warning: It's a bit over the top.

P.S. I'm in Malta today visiting my daughter who's going to school there. I'll be back in the office the first of May. My posts may be few and far between till I return.  Bon Voyage!

 

Are You Scaring Your Prospects Away?

Nothing warms my heart more than hearing about my prospective customer's problems. Because it's so darn hard to set up meetings with decision makers today, moments like this are few and far between.

Is it any wonder that I salivate like Pavlov's dog when prospects say things like:

• "Our sales reps are really struggling to crack into corporate accounts"
• "Customers don't appreciate our value. They always want us to cut our price."
• "Our last new product launch fell short of our projections."

It takes every bit of willpower I possess not to break into a big grin when I hear their tales of woe. Inside I'm practically giddy from the glorious opportunity that's just presented itself.

While you may think that I'm a sadistic sort of person who takes perverse pleasure in their pain, you couldn't be further from the truth.

3 Deadly Words You Need to Stop Using Now

It was "Totally 80s" week on television and I was watching the movie, Beaches. In it, Bette Midler's character (who was caught doing something she shouldn't) brassily proclaims, "I didn't know I was doing it, so it doesn't count."

That excuse might work one time in your life. But once someone brings the error of your ways to your attention, then continuing to make the same mistake over and over is akin to digging your own grave.

So listen up! The words I'm about to share with you hurt your sales efforts. When you use them in your attempts to get into accounts, you literally create problems for yourself. In today's crazy marketplace, that's the last thing you need to happen.