4 Dots You Must Connect for Your Clients: Selling Strategies
Salespeople live, eat, breathe, and sleep their products and solutions. We think about them all the time. In advertising sales, I feel like I’m never off duty. I’m looking at billboards, watching commercials, examining digital ads, and watching for new local businesses everywhere I go. It’s the water I swim in.
When as a salesperson you get so immersed in what they do, it’s easy to assume that your prospects and clients have given the same amount of thought to your services as you have.
You took good notes in your CNA with the client. You’ve been researching and strategizing how you can help. When you meet with the client again, it’s easy to jump right in and assume that the client remembers everything they said to you.
But they probably don’t. They probably haven’t been spending every waking moment in the past week thinking about how you can help them. They have so much already on their mind.
To be effective, salespeople need to use their sales presentations to connect the dots between the stated desires and needs of the client and the proposal they are making. To do so, you’re likely going to have to talk less about products and features and more about four important factors – solutions, value, ROI, and motivation. These are the dots a salesperson must connect.
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The Solution Dots
One of my managers is fond of saying that when someone is shopping for a drill, they don’t need a drill; they need a hole. To be able to connect the solution dots, you must have uncovered the pain points and needs of the client in your CNA. In your presentation, focus on the aspects of your offering that addresses those. For instance, I recently met with a client and started by saying, “Last time we talked, you said you were having trouble in two areas – identifying potential clients with this particular profile and getting potential clients to take this particular action on your website. I’ve put together a plan to do those two things. Here’s how …” I went on to talk about the parts of my solution that would do the two things he’s struggling with. I left a lot of bells and whistles unmentioned, simply because they weren’t relevant to the needs of this client. My priority was to connect the solution dots for him.
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The Value Dots
The products and services I sell are not usually the cheapest in the market. Bargain shoppers can often think that they are getting a better deal somewhere else. Because of this, I’ve got to make sure I connect the dots related to the value of my offering. Many times, I’ll just admit this upfront. I’ll say something like, “I know we might not be the cheapest proposal, but I think we’re the best.” Then I might tell a personal anecdote about how I’ve bought something more expensive because it was better. If they’ve got a Mac computer on their desk, I might point to it as an example. Most of us will spend more money if we’re convinced that the value justifies it. My responsibility as a salesperson is to connect these dots for the client.
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The ROI Dots
No client has an unlimited budget. To spend with you, they’re going to need to see how their investment will pay off. If you’ve asked good questions about profitability and margin in your CNA, you should be able to connect these dots for the client. How many new customers are needed to pay for their campaign? How will making this change reduce their costs? How are you going to provide the lift the client is looking for? These are all the kinds of questions you need to be prepared to address. To do so, I’ve started using a one-sheet Return On Investment calculator that shows the client in black-and-white numbers how buying from me will help them. But be careful – there is nothing worse than promising the moon and not being able to deliver. Make sure you’re conservative in your estimates so that you manage the client’s expectations.
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The Motivation Dots
People have their own reasons for buying. You’ve got to have a sense of what is motivating them if you’re going to be able to advocate well for your solution. Recently, I was meeting with a client who is tasked with increasing sales for the brands she manages for a particular retailer. I took in a proposal to her that would benefit two of her brands. In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that one of those brands was much more heavily stocked at a retailer she doesn’t work with. It’s a part of her company, but not part of her primary concern. She doesn’t care about increasing those sales nearly as much. Immediately, I pivoted to the other brand and adjusted the proposal to emphasize the other brand and added a specific way we could address sales at the retailer she’s tasked with managing. As soon as her motivation became clear, I had to connect the dots between what I was proposing and those motivations … or risk losing the sale.
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Just because it’s all crystal clear to you, don’t assume it is for your client. Connect the dots for them, and you’ll see your closure rate increase.
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Next week, we’ll be talking about the psychology of sales – how to maintain a good attitude in an up-and-down job..\
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