The other day, I spent some time with a couple of new sales folks in my company. I was reviewing one of our products called WebFSC as we're starting a new campaign around it. I didn't have a plan for what to cover, I wanted to see how much they new about it. They had gone through some training and review already.
So when I asked them to tell me about it, they dutifully regurgitated a description of the key features that it had and how a customer might use it. And that was pretty good. Not all sales folks even take that step of knowing what or how, rather relying on improvisation.
Unfortunately, what I didn't hear was "why." Why a customer needs this product and why it is valuable. Immediately that is where I took the discussion. I reviewed very little of the product, in fact, over the course of the hour. But, what I was able to provide was context about the customer, the industry and the reality of the marketplace. I was able to help them understand why this product is important to customers.
As a result, they are now better equipped to help the customer how they can use the product to improve productivity and why they should. At the end of the day, mechanics are one thing. Helping a customer to understand the value in a solution is the real trick.
"Features tell, Benefits sell."
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing, Aaron. Here a blog post describing how the concept you bring up applies to social networks:
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/sell-benefits-not-features/
I agree too. Well, with my very limited sales experience, I shall say it is interesting and formative to me to read ur blogs. Keep Blogging Aaron!
ReplyDeleteAaron... this is true about I.T. alignment with the business. Answering WHY is so often overlooked.
ReplyDeleteI guess the best sellers tell you why you are supposed to but the stuff instead of what the product is. The sellers should know well about the needs of the customers, it is also the same idea of the e-business.
ReplyDeleteI think the best sellers will tell you why you are supposed to buy the stuff instead of what the product is. The best sellers know well about the needs of the customers, which is also the same idea in e-business.
ReplyDeleteI also strongly agree. Too often IT solutions are implemented because certain features looked attractive or were considered "cool." However, if it does not add value, address issues that need resolution and/or align with the business, it is not a solution at all. It is a waste of resources that could have been utilized more effectively with a more elegant solution. Less is more.
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