Do you use a business case as part of your sales process? If not, you should seriously consider it, because any solution-based or consultative-based sale will benefit from providing buyers with the business case.
It's the week of Thanksgiving, and one thing we're thankful for is our loyal blog readers. Next week we'll be back with fresh content; until then, here are links to our three most popular posts from the past few weeks. Happy holidays!
Never Lead with a Sales DemoWhen is the right time to show a sales demo? In our view, the answer has something to do with that old quote, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” The best opportunities can be found when initial conversations are centered around the prospect’s business problem. Both the salesperson and the prospect need to understand that business problem before they can enter into a mutually beneficial relationship.
One of the oldest tugs of war between salespeople and customers is price objections. A moderate level of back-and-forth on price is to be expected. But in some companies, a rampant culture of price discounting takes hold and starts to create other, bigger challenges.
Let’s first look at some examples of common circumstances that often lead to price discounting.
Demos are a fundamental part of the sales process. Not only are they a great way to engage prospects, they frequently open the door to a deeper conversation about how you can collaborate to solve the prospect's most pressing business challenges.
That said, the demo can definitely sabotage sales -- particularly for anyone selling complex offerings with long sales cycles. Specifically, the number one mistake I see is showing the demo too early in the buying cycle. Sometimes it’s the sales professional who pushes too soon for a demo. Other times, the prospect asks to see the demo, and the salesperson takes the request as a good sign and leaps at the request. Based on my experience, however, you always want to pace yourself when it comes to the demo. Here are two reasons why.
The most difficult part of a salesperson’s job is finding interested prospects and getting the appointment.
The solution is in creating prospecting alignment between marketing and sales. We need to be more strategic about our prospecting list. Stop calling everybody and start focusing on real prospects.
Executing on the strategy can appear complicated, highly variable, and overwhelming at first, but teamwork between marketing and sales determines its success.
Here’s a list of 3 ways marketing can help sales get more appointments.
Sometimes the way you talk about a customer’s problem can make all the difference. In our experience, there are lots of ways to encourage prospects to think about their business problems with renewed urgency. The next time you want to light a fire under your prospect, try one of the following conversational approaches.
One thing that B2B sellers and marketers always have to contend with is buyer skepticism around proof points -- and especially promised revenue gains.
I have previously written on how to handle indirect benefits in a business case (and tips on how to address one specific category, labor savings, is discussed here). But what about sales growth?
If you want to influence your prospects and customers, your best bet is to create a business case to show how they can reap value from your offering. However, if the business case includes labor savings as one of the value drivers, you will often get push back from your prospect. It’s sometimes difficult to get buy-in for a number of reasons:
Nearly everyone in sales and marketing is familiar with the moment in the sales cycle when a deal stalls out due to customer inertia -- otherwise known as the dreaded “no decision.”
Learning how to overcome objections is an essential selling skill. It also takes time and experience. This is particularly true for sales teams with a long and complex sales cycle.
