I was talking to references for one of our clients last night and the reference kept telling me the candidate was excellent at solution selling. To sum up what he was telling me – the candidate is excellent at speaking the customer’s language instead of using company jargon or convoluted questions. The candidate ran a selling process to find out what business problems the company was facing and then articulated his company’s value proposition in regards to resolving their issue.
Interestingly enough, I then caught up to an article in my RSS reader titled 5 Quick Tips for Creating Conversations Salespeople Will Use from ManageSmarter.com. The tips can help your salespeople be consistent and effective with your message while getting them further into the process with prospects.
- Avoid using your own company’s “corporate speak.”
Many companies have developed messaging at the corporate level, which likely includes the invention of your own unique term and associated acronym. Unfortunately, that can lead to salespeople spending their valuable presentation time trying to define and explain the messaging itself and not the associated business value to your customer. Instead, try enabling salespeople to tell a story that explores business challenges and your approach to solving them. Remember, customers want to know how you solve problems (your unique approach to value). Analysts want to know what you call it (your brand category and acronym).
- Make it meaningful and memorable for customers.
Two suggestions here. First, keep points brief and on target. For example, “We work toward solving three key business challenges” helps customers associate you with specific pain areas right up front. Second, use examples. This introductory presentation is a great place to leverage case study (success story) data in a more personal way. Even if you don’t/can’t use specific company names, cite situations where your company was able to address business pains in a unique and measurable way.