SalesMotivation.net

by Ram Charan Author of What the Customer Wants You to Know

Too often in traditional selling the sales pitch either succeeds or fails and the salesperson moves on to the next customer and the next pitch. In value creation selling the sales pitch is just another beginning, whether or not it succeeds. If the customer accepts your value proposition, perhaps with some modification, you have to be sure that it is not only delivered on time and as described, but that it fulfills the promises you made.

Chances are, however, that you’ll leave the pitch meeting with a new list of objections, suggestions and impressions. The first thing to do is let the customer know you heard her objections and suggestions. A letter, an e-mail, or a telephone call that reiterates the objections and enumerates the suggestions your team made during the presentation will reassure the customer that you’re still very interested in her business and will do everything you can to refine your offering. This communication should also set a specific date and time to meet again. To address specific objections or suggestions, the appropriate team members should reach the appropriate people in the customer’s organization for elaboration or to ask specific questions.

This is a good time to seek more access. You can try to meet with the person you’ve identified as the decision maker to clarify her objections, or you could ask to visit with people who could explain specific areas of the customer’s business. You might even offer to sign a confidentiality agreement to put the customer at ease. When Dennis Simon of XRoads made a proposal that didn’t quite resonate with the customer, he followed up with a request to explore the logistic problem the customer was experiencing in China. The customer agreed to let the consulting team in, and based on what they learned, the team was able to shape a value proposition that was exactly what the company needed to improve its cycle time, cost structure, and market position.

In following up with the customer, you can change the scope of the value proposition, narrowing or expanding it as appropriate and resetting the customer’s expectations. You might, for example, suggest a shorter-term contract to a customer who is skeptical that you can deliver, or shape a value proposition focused more on efficiency than on revenue growth if you learn that cash is a major concern. In one case, a consulting firm knew that a potential client wanted to brand its commodity products globally and created a value proposition to help the client meet that priority. During the assignment the firm learned that the client company lacked some of the capabilities it needed to meet that objective. Based on those additional insights into the customer’s organization, the consulting firm altered its value proposition, and in so doing helped the customer build a brand in a small region — something the firm knew would succeed. The firm then assembled the facts to show how the value proposition would be beneficial to the customer’s business.

Subsequent pitches of the evolving value proposition take much the same form as the original pitch, but for obvious reasons they should be shorter and more focused on resolving specific objections or explaining the modifications made to the value proposition. Each reiteration of the value proposition should move the sales team and the customer closer to agreement while giving the sales team invaluable insight into the inner workings of the customer’s decision-making process.

But not all sales pitches will end in success. If at the second or third sales meetings the customer is raising new objectives or finding excuses for not reaching a final agreement, the sales team should begin to question the customer’s sincerity. The unfortunate truth is that some customers are not worth keeping.

Copyright © 2008 Ram Charan from the book What the Customer Wants You to Know by Ram Charan Published by Portfolio; January 2008;$21.95US/$26.50CAN; 978-1-59184-165-4

About the Author

Ram Charan is the author or coauthor of many bestselling business books, including What the CEO Wants You to Know and Execution. For more than thirty-five years, he has worked behind the scenes at Fortune 100 companies like GE, Bank of America, DuPont, Thomson financial, Honeywell and Home Depot to help senior executives develop and implement strategic plans. www.ram-charan.com