In my last post we saw how a shortened sales cycle destroyed the chance to build value and help a prospect discover whether a solution could help accomplish his goals. Now let’s look at how the salesman could have created a different kind of sales cycle – we’ll start with the first interchange between the prospect and the salesman:
Prospect: “I saw your product on your website, and it seems like it might be a fit for us. Would you give us a demo so we can see if we’re right about that?”
Salesman: “Sure, I’ll be glad to do that. What caught your interest when you were on our website?”
The salesman will never have more leverage to ask questions about what’s really going on in the prospect’s world than in this beginning conversation. The prospect wants something that only the salesman can provide – the demonstration – and the salesman can set the terms under which he will provide it. Once the salesman provides the demonstration, he loses this leverage. So even if the prospect pushes for an immediate demo, the salesman must politely refuse until he understands enough about the prospect’s problem to provide a compelling demo.
The salesman needs to obtain two agreements from the prospect at this point:
- An agreement that the prospect has a problem that is worth solving – and an agreed definition of that problem,
- And an agreement that there is a cost associated with not solving that problem – and an agreed estimate of what that cost might be.
Obtaining these agreements requires the salesman to explore the prospect’s reason for calling, and to help the prospect define and quantify the problem he is trying to solve and the goal he is trying to accomplish. At the end of this conversation, both parties know whether there’s a reason to continue talking, and more importantly, what the next conversation and the demonstration will be about. This conversation ends with:
Salesman: “Let’s schedule a demonstration for later in the week – I’ll be sure that I show you the parts of our product that directly impact your problem, and we can figure out how to proceed from there. Is there anyone else in your organization that should be part of this next meeting?”
Prospect: “Yes, I’ll invite Mary and John, and I’ll brief them on our conversation. This seems to be a more important issue than I’d thought, and I’m eager to see how your product addresses it.”
The demonstration is now being orchestrated by the salesman rather than the prospect, and has a clear objective. The prospect is involved at a very different level than he was in the first case, and instead of looking for things to object to is looking for ways the product solves the problem and delivers the financial benefit. You might also notice that the price question has gone away, because the focus is on the outcome and the benefit.
Another really important point is that the salesman continues to have the leverage. At the beginning of the demo, he will be able to set the agenda for what happens after the demo. The chance of success is much higher than in the shortened sales cycle in my last post.
So, watch out for the shortened sales cycle, obtain the two agreements, and then show the prospect how you can deliver the solution and the financial benefit.
