Nobody wants to buy your product, service or solution. Nor do they even want to hear about it - unless they're desperately in need of a solution.
So what do most sellers do to remedy this situation? They try to convince prospective customers just how wonderful their offering is. As I repeatedly mention in Selling to Big Companies, this self-serving pablum actually turns customers off.
Six months ago, David Meerman Scott, in partnership with Factiva, wrote The Gobbledygook Manifesto. This blog post analyzes business terms used in over 388,000 press releases sent in 2006. Like me, David has a real aversion to companies who describe their offering as flexible, robust and world class.
When you use these types of terms, you may think you stand out from the crowd. Instead you sound just like everyone else - including all your competitors. You'll be shocked when you take a detailed look at his Gobbledygook Volume Analysis.
If you want to be successful in sales, use value propositions. Focus on the tangible business results your product or service offers. For more info on this topic, check out:
• Making a Difference
• Stop Sounding Like a Self-Serving Salesperson
• Developing Strong Value Propositions
You might want to also check out David's follow-up article to his initial gobbledygook post on "Online viral thought leadership works - here is the proof."
Wow! Right on the money. I've spent the last 20 years in B2B, selling into the largest corporations in America. The best advice for Sales Professionals selling to big corporations is to A) Shut up and listen B) Spend 80% of your time learning about the company so that the last 20% will be spent solving problems. C) Remember that even big corporate buyers vote with their emotions.
Jeb Blount
Sales Gravy
Posted by: Jeb Blount | 03/31/2007 at 12:59 AM