How many times have you walked away from a sales presentation wondering why the customer just did not get it? Why can’t they see the advantage in our product or service? What prevented them? We often here 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 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.
When you view this from a sales and marketing perspective, you might consider how your efforts influence these different areas. Are you challenging your customers and forcing areas of limited insight? You might go as far to consider; Are you forcing markets to create a limited insight of your product?
How would you categorize your customer’s decision making team? What about the departments that your product/service affects?
Beliefs: How do we provide irrefutable evidence? Do we need testimonials? Who do they trust?
Experience: If there is a genuine lack of experience or product knowledge, how might you address this? Will training be enough or will a service support package be required?
Stance: If the people you have to influence require a much more active position is a trial offer afford a better opportunity?
Reasoning: Can we create a relaxed environment when discussing our product/service? Do we need to get key individuals off site?
These are just a few of the questions that jump at me when I consider how to gain additional insight for my customer. However, remember it may not be all about change. You may welcome a passive stance or lack of experience when you have a stronger brand position. Recognize your position in the market place, the existing insight your customer has and the position you need to arrive at for a successful outcome. Sales is so easy.