Kind of a good news/bad news story here. Sales is about persuasion, about getting other people to think differently about their business, hec your business (and offerings). That can be a lot of fun. I remember one time getting of the phone with a prospect and thinking, “wow, where else could I get paid for making friends and talking on the phone?” Good times – right?
There is one big fly in-the-ointment here: you’re boring. Well maybe not boring, but at least not relevant. I listen to dozens of pitches every day and my only thought is
So What?
“Our company is an innovator in the industry.”
So What?
“We use only the most current and the best technology available.”
So What?
“We manufacture this product ourselves”
So What?
The list of examples is endless. Read almost any company brochure or visit their website. What is being communicated about the buyer or is it all about the seller? All of the bells and whistles are discussed but does anyone care? Great, thanks for all the features – now what does that mean for my situation?
How about your messages? If after saying something your client says or even thinks, “So What” you’re finished, and not in a good way.
Every sentence, every message, every conversation, meeting and action that moves the sales along must be relevant to your prospect. This is much more than Feature-Benefit Selling. A benefit to one prospect might not be important to another. You have to show ADVANTAGE. How does what you’re selling bring an advantage to the buyer? Then, instead of hearing “so what” you’ll hear something like “tell me how that gets done.” Unfortunately this is more difficult than it sounds.
I recently read a survey that stated that 90% of the more than three thousand midsized businesses evaluated said that they have no idea what their customers really value—they only guess. They have no process or even seem to have concern about finding what their customers and prospects think is important.
We can’t fix that problem in this short post. However we – you – can make a good start by asking yourself “How do I avoid my listener thinking ‘So What’ when I’m finished speaking?” Answer that and you’ll have become relevant and important in every interaction you have with your customers, prospects and clients.
