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"Ask, Don’t Sell! Strategies
for Selling Innovation"
Selling is about building
and maintaining relationships, not about getting other people to "buy."
-explore alternatives -help buyers make informed decisions -make it easy and safe to buy This article examines reasons why people don’t buy innovation and presents ideas to increase sales success. These suggestions include ideas from Jane Allen, a sales superstar from Greenville, South Carolina. Be Credible: Communicate innovation benefits in terms of customer needs Remember people don’t care as much about your product/service as you do. --Jane Allen The single biggest obstacle to selling innovation is failure to effectively position the benefits in concrete, concise, credible terms. Buyers perceive innovation as difficult or risky because they don’t understand what practical value it will add to the organization. Buyers fear making mistakes or committing to something that will be too much work or make them look bad. According to Allen the unspoken question to answer is: "Why would we want to buy this weird stuff when we have real problems here?" Effective salespeople frame their comments in terms of the buyer’s perceived problems or needs. They also align innovation with ongoing changeefforts and past successes and differentiate innovation from past organizational change attempts that failed. People make emotional decisions to buy, then justify their decision with logic. Buyers don’t need to know everything we know about our products and services; they just need to know enough to justify the purchase. We achieve the best results when we plan an emotionally powerful selling experience and prepare an executive summary to cover details that could bog down our conversation. One way to make the benefits of innovation come alive is by involving the buyers in sensory-rich, memorable experiences. Great salespeople use concrete examples, word pictures, visuals, metaphors and stories to connect with the buyer. When we find ways to show, rather than tell, our listeners don’t become bored and tune us out; people absorb information in proportion to its vividness. In addition to increasing attention, creative use of stories and props help people remember our main points and create a a sense of urgency. Don’t be afraid to be outrageous. There are countless examples of salespeople who achieved success with unconventional methods (for example, using homing pigeons, monkeys, costumes, gongs & tavern puzzles). It’s also important to find creative ways to say "thank you" and to remind customers of our services in unforgettable ways. When we relax and have fun in sales conversations, our buyers are more likely to do the same. The sales process isn’t a one time event; building long-term relationships take time. Selling innovation is a complex process, made more difficult by the fact that benefits of innovation are delayed, intangible. To increase desire for innovation, talk about benefits in terms of positive results or problems solved. Use testimonials of satisfied customers to help buyers imagine the positive consequences innovation will bring. It is easier to sell people something they want than to convince them to want what we’re selling! Be Curious: Don’t tell people anything you can ask them Remember that prospects buy for their reasons, not yours. --Mark Berezow Imagine that you’re beginning a meeting with a company president, who initiates the conversation by saying, "Well, Barbara, your brochures look interesting; what you can do for my company?" How do you respond? Many salespeople launch right into their sales pitch before identifying buyer needs, desires and concerns and risk misjudging the prospect’s willingness and ability to buy. Giving a presentation before discovering the buyer’s hot buttons is one of the most common sales pitfalls. Even when we do remember to ask questions, we stop too quickly, just as soon as the buyer mentions a problem we can solve. When we ask the right questions, we never have to make a sales presentation. According to Allen, clients tell us everything we need to know to "sell" them when we ask the right questions and listen well. Don’t waste time asking people to tell you about their company or other information you can easily find out on your own. Ask questions to engage people at an emotional level.
-What are some of your problems/challenges? -What is your vision for the future of the company? -What is keeping you awake at night? The more they talk, the more likely it is that they will buy. People respond to their own words and ideas with far greater conviction than anyone else’s. They may not believe statements you make, but will believe their answers to your questions. Exceptional salespeople literally listen people into selling themselves! The more evidence we have for why we’re right, the more important it is to engage the buyer in dialog linking the innovation process to strategic initiatives. This is one area where our knowledge and experience can impair effectiveness. The more we know about what we’re selling the harder it is to ask questions and listen. Top salespeople spend from 50% to 95% of their time asking questions to understand the buyer’s commitments, concerns and constraints. Ineffective salespeople try to "handle" or "overcome" buyer questions and objections without exploring underlying fears. Pushing someone almost always creates resistance; more effective salespeople match their words and emotions to the ability/willingness of the buyer to receive the message. When people feel they are being "sold", tension goes up and trust, openness and willingness to buy go down. Successful salespeople welcome objections and use them to engage the buyers in dialog about their concerns. Be Creative: Take an innovative approach to the sales process You cannot bore someone into buying your product. --David Ogilvy With so many excellent innovation processes and products available, it’s important to differentiate ourselves. We need to give people reasons to believe we bring more value than countless other consultants and salespeople. People make emotional decisions to buy, then justify their decision with logic. Buyers don’t need to know everything we know about our products and services; they just need to know enough to justify the purchase. We achieve the best results when we plan an emotionally powerful selling experience and prepare an executive summary to cover details that could bog down our conversation. One way to make the benefits of innovation come alive is by involving the buyers in sensory-rich, memorable experiences. Great salespeople use concrete examples, word pictures, visuals, metaphors and stories to connect with the buyer. When we find ways to show, rather than tell, our listeners don’t become bored and tune us out; people absorb information in proportion to its vividness. In addition to increasing attention, creative use of stories and props help people remember our main points and create a a sense of urgency. Don’t be afraid to be outrageous. There are countless examples of salespeople who achieved success with unconventional methods (for example, using homing pigeons, monkeys, costumes, gongs & tavern puzzles). It’s also important to find creative ways to say "thank you" and to remind customers of our services in unforgettable ways. When we relax and have fun in sales conversations, our buyers are more likely to do the same. The sales process isn’t a one time event; building long-term relationships takes time. Selling innovation is a complex process, made more difficult by the fact that benefits of innovation are delayed,intangible and hard to quantify. To gain gradual commitment and decrease perceived risk, many salespeople offer a trial project.According to Allen, successful salespeople exhibit both patience and an "abundance mentality," that is, willingness to give people more than they expect and even to give away something for nothing. To gain gradual commitment and decrease perceived risk, many top salespeople offer a trial project. You can’t fail when the goal is to help buyers make a decision that’s best for them! Reprinted with permission from Deanna Berg, President of Innovation Strategies International, and can be contacted at deanna@profitplay.com. |