solution selling
TRANSCRIPT
solution selling
Simply Notes
1 32 # 8/5/16
solution selling
moving from an idea and concept into action
solution selling
Simply Notes
2 32 # 8/5/16
what this is all about
1 management knows it bestmanagement knows it best
challenge of solution sellingchallenge of solution selling2
simple steps - hard to dosimple steps - hard to do5
4 be honest to yourselfbe honest to yourself
6 the actual selling...the actual selling...
3 know your audienceknow your audience
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Simply Notessolution selling
Management knows it bestManagement knows it best
management knows it best
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solution selling
Simply Notes
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man
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kn
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management knows it best
in many companies that's almost a given.
once successful with a product, solving pressing problems, and once the market has adapted the solution, there is always the point in time where management decides to move up the value chain and sell solutions!?
that's typically where it goes bust!
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solution selling
Simply Notes
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why is it important to sell solutions
become less comparable with your competition
Use your solution approach as differentiator
solutions are embedded in strategies – features are not
focus on the value to your client in order to increase value to you
Revenue
Feedback
Insight
Change your standing within the client's thinking
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solution selling
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what will / what has to change
your audience
from problem owner to business owner
your value proposition
from features / functions to possibilities
your sales cycles
from now to when it is the right time for your client
your revenue
From small transactions to larger strategic sales
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solution selling
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from features to solutions
Turning a technical solution, which got sold by outstanding features and functions to a very specific audience, into a solution sale is challenging.
Why is it that challenging?
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Simply Notessolution selling
challenge of solution sellingchallenge of solution selling2222
solution selling
Simply Notes
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chal
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the focus for your selling
Easy put, it is no longer about you and your product. It is about your audiences priorities.
Not only this, it is also about your audience's perception of the problem, your technology and the business value it potentially may bring
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in your audiences perception
solution selling
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start with your elevator pitch
Look at your elevator pitch or your standard presentation. It typically talks about
how great your solution is
how successful your company is
how much better your audience will do if they just start using your solution - and therefore buy it from you.
Right?Right?
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solution selling
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will you be successful with your pitch
Well, you only will sell something if, by luck, your audience has to solve a tactical problem just now.
You will not be perceived as a strategic partner nor will your audience reach out to you for advice or to sync up with you on initiatives.
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solution selling
Simply Notes
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does your elevator pitch sell solutions
rethink the pitch, are you talking mainly about you and not about your audience?
does your pitch indicates you understand your audience's
actual situation
strategies
competition
market
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solution selling
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become strategic
Wouldn't it put you in a different position if your pitch highlights
Your understanding of the client's situation
The market your client is in
Creates a vision for your client reflecting market drivers and his strategies to respond to the market
Get “extra points” if you know what's motivating / driving your audience
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Simply Notessolution selling
know your audienceknow your audience3333
solution selling
Simply Notes
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kn
ow y
our
aud
ien
ceknow your audience...
...and use this intelligence for a purpose
answer yourself 3 simple questions
what do I know about my audience's expectation and motivation to take this meeting
why do I have this meeting
what do I expect out of this meeting
be prepared to take a hit if the meeting doesn't go as expected
visualize upfront what would be the best and the worst outcome
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solution selling
Simply Notes
16 32 # 8/5/16
kn
ow y
our
aud
ien
ceknow your audience's motivation factors...
What are the career aspirations
What is the personal motivation like
What is your audience interested in
Job related
Personal (Hobby)
Talking
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solution selling
Simply Notes
17 32 # 8/5/16
kn
ow y
our
aud
ien
cethe worst meeting outcome is...
... when your audience doesn't share insights into their strategy, actual needs and problems and limit the discussion
to your product's features and functions
...
that's when youyou missed your audience's points
or
you reached out to the wrongwrong audience
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solution selling
Simply Notes
18 32 # 8/5/16
kn
ow y
our
aud
ien
cethe best meeting outcome is...
... when your audience starts envisioningenvisioning a future with their problems solvedproblems solved because of you
...
that's when youyou will be successful
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Simply Notessolution selling
be honest to yourselfbe honest to yourself4444
solution selling
Simply Notes
20 32 # 8/5/16
be
hon
est
to y
ours
elf
be honest to yourself
are you prepared to sell nothing in the first place
is solution selling about your solution
no, it's about the other ones problem and priorities
do you understand the revenue potential
Hint, it is not based on market potential nor price list!
what do you know about the clients business
it is very unlikely he is in your business, also that's what you like talking most
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solution selling
Simply Notes
21 32 # 8/5/16
be
hon
est
to y
ours
elf
have you done your homework
Vertical information
Client related information
Share price
Press releases
Initiatives client is driving / has announced
Organizational changes
You main contacts interests
Professional career related
Personal family / hobbies
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Simply Notessolution selling
simple steps - hard to dosimple steps - hard to do5555
solution selling
Simply Notes
23 32 # 8/5/16
sim
ple
ste
ps
– h
ard
to
do
simple steps - hard to do
understand the problem through your clients eyes
not with a solution in mind!
think outside of your solution context
obvious things are hiding the real challenges
challenge / confront your contact with questions
he/ she may want to be polite not giving you the full picture but only the jigsaw piece expected to be of relevance to you. This decreases the likelihood for a sale
understand the priority of the problem for your audience
helps you forecasting
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solution selling
Simply Notes
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sim
ple
ste
ps
– h
ard
to
do
what drives decisions
how long is he/she dealing with this problem
has the business impact been quantified
who suffers most
who will benefit most from a problem resolution
do they really care
be specific - use numbers
make assumptions to get to real numbers
Assumptions are an easy way to
determine audience is serious if they start discussing the assumptions made
get to the truth – real numbers
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solution selling
Simply Notes
25 32 # 8/5/16
sim
ple
ste
ps
– h
ard
to
do
what's in for your audience
how does your solution help your audience to achieve their objectives
thing longterm, knowing your audience's objectives
even if a short term solution is required to address an immediate need
you want to be strategic and not a nice to have fix
Quantify the solution benefits
What does success look like for your audience in terms of numbers
e.g. savings, reduction in support cases in % ...
map solution benefits to objectives and prioritize them
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Simply Notessolution selling
the actual selling...the actual selling...6666
solution selling
Simply Notes
27 32 # 8/5/16
the
actu
al s
ellin
g...
the actual selling...
...starts way before you talk products and prices.
create a vision in your audience's mind
how it would be like if the problem on their mind vanished, new capabilities they struggle with become available or simply give them a competitive advantage like faster time to market or production.
Make your audience envision how their world would be like if their most pressing problem don't exist anymore
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solution selling
Simply Notes
28 32 # 8/5/16
the
actu
al s
ellin
g...
Learn from Antoine de St.Exupery(from “Le Petite Prince”)
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders.
... Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and
endless sea."
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Simply Notes
29 32 # 8/5/16
the
actu
al s
ellin
g...
be crisp
ever tried to condense your standard presentation down to 5 slides, or even 3?
did you succeed?
a big applause if you did! one question so? Are you sure the same message been delivered than with your standard deck?
if so, why did you do the extended version in the first place?
why did you waste someone's time going through many slides you don't need and are likely to be irrelevant to your message?
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solution selling
Simply Notes
30 32 # 8/5/16
the
actu
al s
ellin
g...
be crisp - homework
take your standard deck and extract the most valuable content to a client you have in mind so you end up with 5 slides max. the first slide must include client specific information why you are presenting and why you believe this is relevant to the client.
do this when you have time to do so
allow up to 4 hours for this task.
It is easy to compile a presentation with 40+ slides in 1 hour - copy paste does the trick -coming up with 3-5 slides only usually takes a couple of hours
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solution selling
Simply Notes
31 32 # 8/5/16
the
actu
al s
ellin
g...
tell a story
the easiest thing to do and mastered by most sales people is to tell a story
the easiest way to loose attention of an audience is to tell a story
the most difficult way getting an audience's attention is to tell a story....
...which is relevant to them, will impact, reflect their ...which is relevant to them, will impact, reflect their actual situation and makes them envision a better actual situation and makes them envision a better futurefuture
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solution selling
Simply Notes
32 32 # 8/5/16
the
actu
al s
ellin
g...
be relevant to become relevant
be realistic what the impact of your solution is to your audience’s problem
don’t talk about your cycling pace if your audience drives formula 1 cars
talk numbers, numbers, numbers – if they are relevant to the total project size your audience is dealing with
Make sure you’ve done your homework to quantify the value of your solution
It is not about cost – it is about savings in OPEX, time, incidents and increased customer satisfaction
Become the trusted go-to person by walking your talk and be knowledgeable about your audience’s business
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