Dave Randolph,
President, Prairie Trail Software
Burkey Belser recently said, "You have to get on the list to even have a chance. If they don't know your name, you don't have a chance".* Which is a great quote about sales.
The "blood letting" in some parts of the computer and terminal market has been so bad that companies are going under. Yet, we need to keep reaching out to our customers and prospects. If we don't, we don't stand a chance.
When talking to a customer, it is fun to talk about the new features that we have. It is fun to talk about how "jazzed" we were when we saw the new hardware. But does the customer listen?
Marketing is not about pushing what we have—and getting the biggest commission. The real deals come when we solve customer's problems. That takes time. That takes listening, not talking.
In order to be on our prospect's "short list", we need to demonstrate that our offerings actually solve the customer's problems. At my first job, a top sales person sold an expensive system to the head of the California trade association. The sales person did all he could to keep that sale.
However, the problem that the purchaser had was that he was seeing his customers being frustrated at how long it took to actually buy anything. The system that was sold offered better inventory control, but was slower. The purchaser wasn't interested in better inventory control, he wanted better customer service—which he defined as better speed. The expensive system came out.
Are you listening to your prospects? When making a presentation, are you actually getting on their "short list". Or was the effort simply a time for you to show off all the new toys you have? ♦
* Dallas Business Journal, Jan6, 2003