How to Sell
Why doesn’t my product or service sell?
Have you ever wondered, “Why doesn’t my solution sell?” Or maybe it was closer to, “Why don’t these idiots buy my solution?”
If you imagine a chain with two links, the weak link is either:
- What you are selling.
- How you sell.
Link #1: What You’re Selling
People who are satisfied with the status quo do not change. Understanding how to sell starts with understanding how buyers buy. People must to have a personal and compelling reason to change. How Buyers Decide in b2b Sales explains the brain science behind this first principle of persuasion. If they haven’t identified a need, they will not be interested in your solution.
If you cannot clearly state the dissatisfaction that your product or service addresses, and who might have it, then your offering is the weakest link.
If this dissatisfaction does not exist, no understanding of how to sell will help.
What you are selling is the problem.
In this case go back and do the work Geoffrey Moore prescribes in Crossing the Chasm.
Weak Link #2: How to Sell
Ok, now you’ve clearly identified how your product or service eliminates a problem or achieves an ambition. You know exactly who needs your solution and they still aren’t buying. In that case, how to sell might be the problem.
These are the seven basic steps for how to sell:
- Get to the people who may have dissatisfaction you can fix.
- Get them to think about the status quo and how it’s personally affecting them.
- Determine if the impact of the need is connected to an organizational priority.
- Determine if the cost of the problem (to them personally) exceeds the cost of change (to them personally).
- Co-create the solution, so they own a clear vision of a positive future.
- Ensure the buyer is willing to make the necessary investment.
- Co-build a Mutual Action Plan to get to the ultimate decision.
If you can do all that, you’d be selling your solution.