Written for the Systems Integrators and resellers.

Sell the person (or the application), not the Product

Whether selling to a company or within a company, avoid falling into the techno-speak trap

There are many parallels between a vendor selling their product to a company and a department manager seeking approval for a document management system from their boss. Both sellers need to understand the decision-maker's hot buttons, which are those areas of interest of the decision-maker's that if handled delicately, can lead to a predictable response or reaction from that person.

But it is also important to understand the decision-maker's cold buttons as well, or those areas that can lead to an undesirable response. One cold button that is pressed all too often is when a seller falls into the techno-speak trap. The following is an example of someone caught in that trap.

Recently, I received a call from an eager salesperson, wanting to tell me about a hot new document management software package his company offered. He had hoped I would be impressed with the systems features, and then tell others of this great product since I consulted in the industry.

Since I always enjoy listening to someone else sell a product, especially after a good number of years being on the other side of the phone, I asked a question so I could hear his approach.

"What is it that makes your product better than the rest?" Well, like most new salespeople, this guy jumped right in with both feet with product specs flying every which way. The only problem was, he forgot to properly qualify his audience.

He started by saying, "Our product is a true 32 bit application and is a native service on NT. Also, we don't do anything to the TIFFs themselves." You could tell from the sound of his voice that he was so proud of this accomplishment and he was expecting me to respond in amazement. When I came back with a, "So……………?" , he couldn't believe I did not share his excitement.

Now, let's take a step back here and look at what happened in this scene. The salesperson knew he got through to the President of a company that sold services in the computer field. Because I had the right title, he thought that's all he needed since I was a "decision maker". But he made several incorrect assumptions before he started reeling off what he thought were benefits to me.

Assumption #1: He assumed that I understood the importance of a 32 bit application.

Did the salesperson know if I understood the difference and why 32 bit is better than 16 bit? There are many people out there who think any application that runs under Windows 95 is a true 32 bit application, which is not the case. Did the salesperson know my technology skill set before he jumped into his pitch?

Assumption #2: He assumed I knew the difference between an application that runs on NT verses one that runs as a service to NT. Again, was he sure I understood what he was talking about and understand the importance of this feature?

Assumption #3: He assumed I knew what a Tiff was when he said, "We don't do anything to the TIFF." Was I thinking about annotation overlays or creating a unique file header within each image file? Or was I thinking about a fit of irritation as the American Heritage Dictionary describes a tiff?

Assumption #4: He also assumed that my company was an NT shop. Maybe we write a particular application that only runs under UNIX and we don't support NT? The sales person didn't know what platform we used when he called.

Assumption #5: He assumed that I cared. Maybe there were other problems that I needed to solve that a Document Management system would not address (or, at least I thought they could not address).

By talking about his company's products, instead of asking questions about my needs or my company's needs, the salesperson made several assumptions that were wrong. His pitch was focused on the technology verses my true needs, which he never probed.

The sales rep did exactly as they taught in "the old days of selling." Get your benefits lined up, take a deep breath and keep on talking. Don't give the prospect a chance to speak before getting everything out. If you do, then you may give them a chance to say no. These types of sales approaches fail to understand the needs of the client since the salesperson was using his/her mouth when his/her ears should have been doing all the work. By first listening to the needs of the individual, you can tailor your pitch to not only satisfy the personal goals, but also the organizational needs as perceived by that person.

In this particular case, the rep missed on all accounts. What I was looking for was a company that offered solutions that would help a VAR sell his/her products in a unique way. I was not interested in a product based solely on technology, since today's latest technology will be one-upped by someone as soon as you get your demo system in the door. You cannot sell solely on the basis of technology due to technology's short life cycle. You have to sell to the person by understanding their problems or motivation first.

In Harry Beckwith's book, Selling the Invisible he writes, "Before you try to satisfy "the client," understand and satisfy the person. Too often we get so focused on the technology that we forget that people make the decisions. The technology of these great products we work with often overshadows the problem that made us look into the technology in the first place.

The same is true for selling a DM system within a company. I have witnessed presentations where the department manager tried selling the need for a system to the CFO or other higher level executive within their company. The executive was told about how documents would not be lost, how the paper volume would be reduced, how fast documents would be automatically routed within their organizations, and more! The manager thought the CFO would be as excited as he about this wonderful technology.

Well, the manager missed on all accounts, much like the sales rep who called my company. Many executives may not have the same priorities as the people who perform the everyday tasks within a department or organization. They may have other, more pressing matters on their mind. If the department manager had only asked a few questions, prior to his presentation, about the executive's personal and organizational goals, the "sales pitch" would have been received more openly. And the system would have been approved with flying colors. It is important to wear the shoes of your audience to better understand their needs.

Another problem that happens when a department level person sees the need for a system, is they start swinging around the industry buzz words to show off their product knowledge. When the CFO or other executive level manager gets involved in the process and hears these technical terms, the project gets directed towards the MIS manager - someone that must know what the seller is talking about. Often in these cases, the project's focus then turns towards the technology verses solving the business application. Now the project gets bogged down in inter-department scrapes and the technological jungle.

Vendors, and those wanting to implement systems within their company, have to understand that by solely using technology as the way to sell their products does not work.

Products that have a long sales cycle must find other ways to be marketed other than just on features. Many times throughout a sales cycle, the features that were unique at the start of the process become commonplace as the system nears purchase approval. So the unique features that got him in the door could also open the door for other competitors as the sale cycle wears on.

Both the manufacturers and the integrators who market their products, have to position themselves differently than they have to this point. Too few vendors out there are known for a particular application strength or vertical market. Many are spread across many different applications depending on what their resellers sold that day. Since they do not have the focus, they may not understand the application from the client's perspective.

Manufacturers and end-users have to position their products and the application in the minds of decision-makers. The only way to do this is to first understand what the problem is and then come up with a creative way to position themselves in the buyer's eyes.

No matter how small or large the system you are selling, you have to remember that people make the decision on buying or not buying your product. So sell to the person, don't sell the product.

And oh, by the way, I did understand what the salesperson was saying.

Steve Goodfellow is President of Access Systems, Inc., Manlius, NY, an industry consultant in Knowledge Management, Technology Assessment and Marketing Strategies working with vendors and end-users. Steve can be reached via e-mail or at 315-682-1188.