Imagine for a moment that you’re a street musician. Your meal ticket is selling your performance. So, you’re playing your heart out, vying for the attention of prospects as they pass by. You catch someone’s ear, and they wander closer. They’re reaching into their pocket when suddenly, lo, instead of the sweet sound of a shiny coin landing in your tip jar, you hear an ominous tune picking up on other end of the square. Is that your competition, stealing your prospect’s attention away just as you were about to win their patronage? You play louder and harder to try to gain them back. But from your prospect’s perspective, the square has become overloaded with conflicting noise. Deafened and irritated, they walk away and on to their next errand.
Who won this battle of the one-man bands? Not surprisingly, the answer is “no one.”
The same thing happens in real-world sales cycles. You and your competition are blasting messages and new products into the marketplace, hoping something sticks. The moment you announce a new product, your competition is meeting (and beating) your innovation. You shout louder, they shout even louder. You get the picture. You’ve been there.
Companies create war rooms and fight plans and all kinds of competitive battlefields. In fact, the competitor can begin to consume your attention.
If you stop and think about it…who is missing in action from this battle? Only the person that matters most — your buyer.
What is your war with the competition doing to your prospects? Confusing them, that’s what. The amount of information your prospect must sift through to find the answer to their problem is increasing by 33% every year. They are already overloaded with information, and the incessant battle of the competitive bands is only contributing to their malaise. It’s no wonder you and your competitors all begin to sound the same. It literally becomes a din of noise.
You can’t cut through the clutter by adding to it.
It doesn’t take “more power” to win a deal. It takes a simpler, well-placed message that stands out from a crowded, noisy marketplace.
Where has your message gotten too complicated? Where can you cut back on the noise and focus on that simple story that sets you apart? How can you make it easier for customers to choose you?
Never become so infatuated with your own performance in your industry, or what your competition is up to, that you forget to make it easy for your prospects to buy from you.
Have you seen this hilarious video of how B-to-B negotiations would play out in “real world” situations?
We’re almost so used to B-to-B purchasing demands that we forget how ridiculous they are. This video gives us a chance to step back and laugh, but, it doesn’t change the reality of your customers’ buying habits.
What can you do? Do these battles always have to occur? According to The Corporate Executive Board’s Integrated Sales Executive Council, only 9% of brand preference and loyalty decisions are based on price. Meanwhile, 53% of a prospect’s decision to choose you comes from their sales experience.
So you are saying I’ve got a chance
What these percentages mean is… in a world where everyone sounds and looks the same, your prospects and customers are saying: “Would someone please cut through the clutter and present a clear path to value that will result if I partner with your company?”
Unfortunately, too many salespeople wallow in parity with their presentations and proposals, leaving customers with the perception that everyone is a commodity. Freeing them up to bring the hammer of B-to-B purchasing down.
Avoid these ugly and ridiculous confrontations by preemptively showing the contrast between you and your prospect’s status quo, as well as you and your competition.
Value Lives in the Contrast between Pain and Gain
Here are three easy ways you can use contrast to show value:
1) Focus on what you do that’s unique: Don’t waste precious conversation time playing the “me too” game. If you’re in a job interview, would you talk about how your resume is exactly the same as the guy who interviewed before you? Of course not! Your prospect already knows that your solution is on par with others in the industry… that’s why they agreed to talk with you in the first place. Instead, identify some unmet or under-served customer pain and talk about what you do uniquely or better to turn that pain into gain.
2) Before and After Stories: When presenting references, don’t just show off the end results your customers realized using your solution. That’s only half the story. You need to show contrast. What was your customer’s life before they implemented your solution and then after? Showcasing the pain first provides the foundation for understanding what value your solution brings by helping the customer visualize their current situation and see it getting better.
3) Use colors and space to make emotional connections: Don’t stop with the content of your message. Make sure the way you deliver your uniqueness and value is engaging and memorable.Work the room… or the web conference. Remember, value lies in the contrast between the pain and the gain, so make the contrast as apparent as possible. Use different flipcharts placed at opposite sides of the room, or split your PowerPoint slide in two, to show the pain and the gain. And use different colored markers or different colored fonts. In Western cultures, use red for bad and green or black for good. (Adjust the colors based on what significance they carry in your culture.)
Don’t fall for the same old B-to-B buying tactics. Establish your solution as the one your prospects need by leading with your uniqueness, clearly showing the contrast between you, the status quo, and your competition, and proving it with a before and after customer story that makes your value come alive.
There’s an ever growing challenge on the horizon that is threatening sales effectiveness in the area of sales messaging. It’s the prolific expansion of web meetings and presentations. Getting on-line to present to a faceless group of people as you stare at your computer and talk into the telephone is a daunting task for sales people who have come to rely on their abilities to present in front of a customer, face-to-face.
You need a different perspective.
Many of the charming, personal techniques you use in-person go out the window. You can’t just think about you — the author of the presentation. You need to re-think the perspective of the person on the other end of the presentation. How is this coming across to her and her colleagues?
In one of my favorite movies, “Dead Poets Society,” the instructor, played by Robin Williams, challenges his students to break out of the traditional approach and view their work from a different perspective.
It’s the same with your online presentations. You need to think about the impact on the audience on the other end. They are staring at their computer screen, waiting to be inspired and pulled away from doing their email.
Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran of online messaging consider these 10 tips and take advantage of the opportunity you have to inspire your audience.
1.Don’t rush in to your slides or demo. Do something different, first, to grab their attention. Then take some time to establish rapport. Ask some questions. Get your audience talking. One of the biggest mistakes people make when doing web-based presentations is rushing into presenter mode and not having a conversation with the people on the other side.
2.It’s NOT about your solution. Often, not knowing your prospect’s needs can lead to information dumping. Make sure that your solution, technology or capabilities are proof points to the message you’re going to convey, and are not the entire presentation. Your presentation should reinforce no more than three key, customer-focused messages; even if the presentation is a technical demo. Make sure what you’re showing is relevant to the prospect’s needs.
3.Visual cues set the pace. The pace of the presentation is not determined by how quickly you talk. It is determined entirely by how quickly you move from slide to slide. If you leave a slide up for over 60 seconds, without any visual changes, the customer perceives the presentation as slow and boring. Make it invigorating by changing visuals, often. (For an example see the video at the bottom of this article.)
4.Use more photos and videos. A picture’s worth a 1000 words and will help tell your story. Use large photos, not clip-art, to support and tell your message. A great picture or rich graphics will grab the attention of your customers on the other side of the computer and will keep them engaged with your message. A movie clip or commercial that supports and reinforces your message is a great way to grab attention. A well placed video will connect with your customers and go along way in supporting your message.
(Not all web presentation vendors support video and some just don’t do it very effectively – so verify, test and practice ahead of time. Also, there are copyright laws you need to abide by, so check with you legal department.)
Sites like www.freefoto.com are great resources to search.
(Make sure you always check the usage rights, so you’re not violating copyright law when downloading and using images.)
5.Use more slides. Really, MORE slides?! Notice it doesn’t say more content!
Rather than having a slide with 4-5 messages and “sitting on it” for 5-10 minutes while delivering, have only one key thought per slide supported by an image. You’ll increase the number of slides, but you’ll make it easier for your customers to connect to your message and remember it. (You can even try having one word per slide, check out the video at the bottom for an example.)
Don’t get caught into the mundane, traditional and predictable. Be different.
Food for Thought
Watch this presentation, pay attention to the delivery style, not the content, and think about how it differs from what you’re doing today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpajcAgR1E
Very different than your typical presentation, isn’t it? Did you notice any techniques you maybe able to use in your next online presentation? I’m not suggesting you should start presenting exactly like this! But this quick and witty delivery style is very effective at keeping attention.
There’s an ever growing challenge on the horizon that is threatening sales effectiveness in the area of sales messaging. It’s the prolific expansion of web meetings and presentations. Getting on-line to present to a faceless group of people as you stare at your computer and talk into the telephone is a daunting task for sales people who have come to rely on their abilities to present in front of a customer, face-to-face.
You need a different perspective.
Many of the charming, personal techniques you use in-person go out the window. You can’t just think about you — the author of the presentation. You need to re-think the perspective of the person on the other end of the presentation. How is this coming across to her and her colleagues?
In one of my favorite movies, “Dead Poets Society,” the instructor, played by Robin Williams, challenges his students to break out of the traditional approach and view their work from a different perspective.
It’s the same with your online presentations. You need to think about the impact on the audience on the other end. They are staring at their computer screen, waiting to be inspired and pulled away from doing their email.
Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran of online messaging consider these 5 tips and take advantage of the opportunity you have to inspire your audience.
Don’t rush in to your slides or demo. Do something different, first, to grab their attention. Then take some time to establish rapport. Ask some questions. Get your audience talking. One of the biggest mistakes people make when doing web-based presentations is rushing into “presenter mode” and not having a conversation with the people on the other side.
It’s NOT about your solution. Often, not knowing your prospect’s needs can lead to information dumping. Make sure that your solution, technology or capabilities are proof points to the message you’re going to convey, and are not the entire presentation. Your presentation should reinforce no more than three key, customer-focused messages; even if the presentation is a technical demo. Make sure what you’re showing is relevant to the prospect’s needs.
Visual cues set the pace. The pace of the presentation is not determined by how quickly you talk. It is determined entirely by how quickly you move from slide to slide. If you leave a slide up for over 60 seconds, without any visual changes, the customer perceives the presentation as slow and boring. Make it invigorating by changing visuals, often. (For an example see the video at the bottom of this article.)
Use more photos and videos. A picture’s worth a 1,000 words and will help tell your story. Use large photos, not clip-art, to support and tell your message. A great picture or rich graphics will grab the attention of your customers on the other side of the computer and will keep them engaged with your message. Sites like www.freefoto.com are great resources to search.
A movie clip or commercial that reinforces your message is a great way to grab attention, too. A well placed video will connect with your customers and go along way in supporting your message.
(Not all web presentation vendors support video and some just don’t do it very effectively – so verify, test and practice ahead of time. Also, there are copyright laws you need to abide by, so check with you legal department. Make sure you always check the usage rights, so you’re not violating copyright law when using images and videos.)
Use more slides. Really, MORE slides?! Notice it doesn’t say more content! Rather than having a slide with 4-5 messages and “sitting on it” for 5-10 minutes while delivering, have only one key thought per slide supported by an image. You’ll increase the number of slides, but you’ll make it easier for your customers to connect to your message and remember it. (You can even try having one word per slide, check out the video at the bottom for an example.)
Don’t get caught into the mundane, traditional and predictable. Be different.
Food for Thought: An inspirational example
Watch this presentation, pay attention to the delivery style, not the content, and think about how it differs from what you’re doing today.
Very different than your typical presentation, isn’t it? Did you notice any techniques you may be able to use in your next online presentation? I’m not suggesting you should start presenting exactly like this! But this quick and witty delivery style is very effective at keeping attention and transferring information.
Relationship builders come in last and challengers finish first.
A fresh report on the types of sales approaches that win and the ones that do the worst reveals results that could come as a surprise to you, but as Yoda says, “You must unlearn what you have learned. Try not! Do, or do not! There is no try!”
According to the Corporate Executive Board’s Integrated Sales Executive Council (iSEC), the sales persona that is most successful in winning business is “The Challenger.” The one that performs the poorest is “The Relationship Builder.”
“The Challenger” salesperson is a teacher. She brings a unique perspective to the customer, asserts her perspective and insight, takes control of the process, and tailors the message to the recipient on the customer’s side.
According to iSEC, in order to build more “Challengers,” companies need to get three things right:
1. Messages: You need to arm your reps to bring a unique perspective or point of view to the customer…in order to “teach.” In other words, you need to have something worth teaching.
2. Tools: You need to give your reps the tools and skills to master the teaching message (per point #1), and you must equip them to tailor that message to different people and executives on the customer side.
3. Training: Your reps need to develop a greater sense of assertiveness (without being aggressive) so they can start taking control of the sales conversation and confidently guide the dialogue.
Corporate Visions is featured in the iSEC report as a provider of teachable messages and delivery skills. They highlight a CVI case study with our Volvo client, and they are wrapping up another one with our ADP client.
Being a Challenger does not mean being arrogant. The emphasis is on teaching the customer something.
When you get in the room with a customer, are you focused on providing a fresh insight? Do you add value to their day?
Or are you focused on your relationships and giving your customer a hug? (Just poking a little fun at one of the popular business books.)
Challenge your customers like a mentor encourages a protégé. Help them overcome their initial reluctance to be the hero they are called to be. Be the “Yoda” to their “Luke Skywalker.” You get the point.
The Messaging Feed contains easily digestible ideas you can immediately incorporate into your messaging, presentations and other client connections.
More about Corporate Visions >>
2010 Executive Conference
MARKETING & SALES ALIGNMENT EXECUTIVE FORUM
OCTOBER 7-8, 2010 in Lake Tahoe
>> Free Marketing and Sales Alignment Audit with every registration.
>> Keynote by Geoff Colvin, author of "Talent is Overrated" and "The Upside of the Downturn".
>> Real-World Case Studies presented by ADP, CA, Dell, GE, NCR.
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