How many times have you walked away from a sales presentation wondering why the customer did not get it? Why can’t they see the advantage in our product or service? What prevented them?
We often hear words mumbled like budget constraints or future considerations. We might hear that they have decided to focus energies on other priorities. Or, even worse, they purchase from a competitor that has a far inferior product. You walk away thinking about what you should have done differently or justifying why the customer made a poor decision.
What is missing is that you failed to give them the proper insight.
In Gary Klein’s book, Seeing What Others Don’t: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights, the author focuses on four reasons why people fail to have insight and the four reasons that are needed to have insight.
You might consider how your efforts influence these different areas. Are you challenging your customers and forcing areas of limited insight? Are you forcing markets to create a limited insight of your product? You may even welcome a passive stance or lack of experience when you have a stronger brand position.
Having awareness of your position in the market place, the customer’s existing insight, and the position you need to be at can lead to more successful outcomes.