Enagage All Parties

Today, more than ever, selling means more than just an excellent product and good problem-solving skills - it also means having the capability of being able to:

Be flexible enough to be able to develop rapport and trust with all the individuals involved in the purchase.
Listen to all the individuals involved in the purchase and understanding their issues or problems.
Effectively sell against your competitors – Knowing their strengths and weaknesses, and selling against them effectively without denigrating them or their products.
“Engage” well with all the decision makers, effectively educating them and clearly articulating how your products, capabilities and solutions will help them solve their own individual business and personal issues.
Sell to senior executives by understanding financial fundamentals and being able to develop and conduct business strategy conversations.
Quantify the cost impact of the problems to establish the value of the solutions, completing an investment return analysis/business case.
Effectively plan and conduct group presentations that engage all the individuals involved in the purchase.

Selling to Multiple Decision Makers - Understand individual needs

In today’s highly competitive business economy it is becoming increasingly common to sell to multiple rather than single decision makers. One of the common mistakes salespeople make when selling to multiple decision makers is trying to sell to the group rather than the individual members.

Despite their group membership, each individual makes their own buying decisions due to their own buying motive. Whether you are selling to a husband and wife team, a business owner or selling into large corporations, a critical skill is in being able to provide each decision maker of the “buying team” with individualised, compelling reasons to act, in support of their own business and personal objectives.

Every organisation and every person has a buying process and criteria by which they select one project, product or service over another. Everyone makes buying decisions in a precise psychological order based on their individual buying motives and needs. Your sales process must be applied to each individual in order for them to feel convinced that they should give you their support when it comes time for the group to make a decision. Regardless of the motive, each buyer buys emotionally, and then justifies the purchase logically, even in a group setting.

With today's almost limitless access to information, prospects have the option of learning everything they can about the product or service they're looking to buy. An ever-increasing global competitive market place also means that both existing customers and new prospects know that they have multiple options available to them, making bringing home the sale even more complex.

Gain Access To & Engage All the Key Individuals

Have you identified the following individuals and pre-sold them on your solution? In many cases one individual can wear multiple hats. However, each person still has individual needs and requirements that must be met for them to sign off on the deal. Most sales people only really sell to one or two of the “buyers” and then wonder why their sales either get left on the table or end up with a competitor.

The User - The person who will actively be working with your product
The Gatekeeper - The person whose job is to keep you out
Technical Buyer – The person who will approve the validity of your solution
The Cheque Writer – The person who will authorise the final approval
The Buyer – The person who will buy the product/service
The Internal Supporter - The single person who will help you the most

Demonstrate Capability

Whether you sell one on one or to a group there will come a time in the sales process where you will have to demonstrate your company’s capability to meet the needs and specifications of the customer. You need to demonstrate that you:

Have done your homework/due diligence – you’re able to make clear links between their company and yours
Have a compelling solution - focus on the client's needs first, and then describe your firm's capabilities
Can quantify the results that the customer can expect
Can demonstrate process, tools and methods and ROI - Customers are buying results, show them how your product/service will deliver what they want.
Have strong testimonials - referencing past achievements and the expertise of your company by referring to past successes with similar projects.
Justify your value - failure to help customers recognise the value that you provide can result in deeper discounts, more concessions, poorly set customer expectations, and lower margins.
Sell the potential value of your offerings - not just features or price
Have developed a “trust “relationship- the commitment asked for can never be greater than the perceived value of the relationship between buyer and seller
Can specify execution

Who:

who will do the work,
who will manage the work,
who does the customer call if there is a problem,
who is responsible for what

What:

what needs to be done/delivered,
what will be required to do/deliver it,
what can the customer expect, what it will cost

Where:

where will the work be done,
where will it be delivered

How:

how will the work be done,
how will it be deployed,
how will it be managed,
how will you achieve quality assurance,
how will you achieve customer satisfaction how will risks be mitigated,
how long will it take,
how will the work benefit the customer

When:

when will you start,
when will key milestones be scheduled,
when will the project be complete,
when is payment due

Why:

why have you chosen the approaches and alternatives you have selected,
why the customer should select you

Resources:

what resources of time, people, material and money will it take to deliver the promised result