1. What is sales?
The dictionary tells us that it is “the total amount of money that a business receives from selling goods or services.” Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
You might love sales, fear it or hate it, but you need to know what it means or how it works because without it you’ll go nowhere fast. Don’t just have a dream – have a plan. Know the difference between sales strategy (what to do) and execution (how to do it). Even if your investors and market analysts think you have the best product since sliced bread doesn’t mean that customers will be beating down your door to purchase it. Just because you’ve built it doesn’t mean they’ll come.
• You probably have a technical guru or two, a marketing specialist and a financial expert, so why not have a sales expert onboard? Hire someone who knows how to sell. At first, this doesn’t have to be full time, there are plenty of fractional/part-time sales experts out there waiting to help you 1 or 2 days a week.
• To ramp up sales, consider putting product feature development to one side in favor of adopting an objective mindset to the metrics of growth. For many startups, operations are still focused on feature development and not on building sales.
2. Believe it or not, not everyone wants your product!
Be prepared for disappointment. Be prepared to face rejection over and over. The good news is that you can develop and hone your selling skills and start approaching sales with a structured method that minimizes rejection. Apply some consultative sales methods and before you know it, you’ll be talking about “solution sales,” and shortly thereafter, you’ll be talking about “insight selling” and what your customer could or should do. Remember, get some expert help, invest in some sales training – it will pay dividends down the road.
3. Network – network – network, and then, network some more
Practice makes perfect, so they say, and where better to practice your pitch than amongst people you know. Start with your own network and go from there. Don’t underestimate the power of networking and network to win. Have a plan, goals and objectives every time you work a room, event or convention and remember, it’s not all about you. There is value in making connections for other people.
4. What do you do? – Elevator pitches
A powerful pitch is one of your top priorities. Be crystal clear about what you do – no one really understands what you mean by a “holistically optimized, cloud-based, SaaS solution with big data analytical provision.” If a 15 year old can’t easily grasp what you do then will your prospect? Be unique – why is what you are offering different and what does it solve? Role-play, practice, practice again and improve it until it rolls off your tongue effortlessly.
5. Consult rather than sell
If you have a product or service you believe will benefit a customer then unearth those requirements by probing and asking loads of questions. Not closed “yes” or “no” type questions but open, “tell me about,” “who, what why,” type questions. Essentially, you want to uncover and then zero in on and satisfy a tangible need or requirement that will provide benefits to both parties. You are the expert about your product, don’t assume that your prospect understands your value proposition.
6. Value Proposition – what does it all mean?
Simply put, a value proposition is a positioning statement that explains what benefits you provide, for whom and how you do it uniquely well or better than everyone else. As you go to market, you have to ensure that everybody understands exactly what differentiated value your company provides and consider the quality of your complete message in terms of the brand and the overall value proposition. Does everybody in your company or organization understand exactly what you do and why you do it? You’ve got to regularly ask yourself how clear your value proposition is. Does everybody know it? Does it even represent actual value? More importantly, do your own customers recognize, understand and agree with it?
7. Look for a Partner who can sell your product
Sounds simple doesn’t it? Don’t ignore the potential and power that partnering with companies that provide similar products and services in your market space can provide. It can be a quick way to scale without giving up equity or too much margin.
8. Practice and Preparation
Don’t be afraid or too confident in your abilities to ask for help when it’s needed. Selling doesn’t come easily to everyone and it requires a lot of practice and utilizing different approaches to see what works. The more you practice, the more you present and the more you handle objections will make you a better storyteller and equip you for rejection. Develop a thick skin and learn from your mistakes.
Finally, don’t forget, your time in front of a buyer is limited, you have to use it effectively. Seize the first opportunity to take control of the meeting, demonstrate that you are organized, you have prepared, you have a clear objective, and you communicate confidence and professionalism. After all, your product is the best out there in the market! Go on, pick up the phone and make that sales call!
By Gareth Wade, OneAccord Principal, Northwest