Sales has a bad rep. Maybe it is because of how movies depict sales people (think: Wolf of Wall St. or Glen Gary Glen Ross) or because the common consumer only encounters them when they buy a car.
However, in selling software, specifically SaaS (recurring yearly payments), the pushy sleazy stuff just won’t work. This is because the customer will just cancel a few months in making the entire deal completely useless.Therefore it isn’t worth even talking about your product unless you can identify a problem that the customer has that your product can solve for them.
It’s All About Solving Problems
Here is my process:
1. Before I go into a sales demo. I spend some time to analyze their website and look for opportunities.
2. When on the call, I ask specific questions like “what are your marketing goals”, “what is your biggest business problem right now”. This step can take up to 15 minutes and is an eye opening experience. It is also very interesting to hear and learn about other businesses.
3. Once I have clearly identified a problem I can solve, I jump into a demo to show them how Digioh can help.
It’s Also About Honesty
Sometimes in step 2, I discover a few problems that my product can’t solve. This is when I listen, I either refer them to another product or service. This creates goodwill and opens the ability to create a relationship for a future sale. It also makes me look extremely trustworthy and someone that can solve problems.The best sales people are problem solvers!
I would love for you to share your best sales stories in the comments 🙂
Okay, Rishi, here goes. Here is my best sales story:
I bought a home from a guy and it was kind of a “Fixer Upper”, but the location was perfect and it was in my budget. I complained to him that I was hesitant to buy the house because it is hard to find good help.
The real estate agent promised me that he would get his own personal contractor to come in a fix a few of the things and provide me a quote before purchasing the house. A few days later I got the quote and the real estate agent promised me if it went over that he would take it out of his commission.
A few days later, I bought the house. 2 months later the contractor fixed all my issues and it was within the quoted price! I was super happy!!!!
Rishi!
I spent most of this year trying to sell secure document sharing to investment bankers. My, what an experience selling in such a competitive category to doubtful prospects.
Most of the time, the tide wasn’t in my favor. But I remember this one call I had only a few weeks ago. It was a lead who was actively evaluating several competitors at the time. As it turned out, most gave him a demo and pricing sheet and left it at that.
They didn’t even ask him about his needs! Based on my pharmacy and tech background, I went right into problem solving mode. I learnt his exact requirements and luckily, we were an exact fit. If we weren’t a good fit, I was planning to refer him to the right competitor.
This whole process thoroughly impressed him and a humble sales guy like me got a respectable, but jaded man’s respect 🙂