The power to convince a prospect to pick your product or service over the competition comes from your own belief system. While you may have the best sales process, Lead Generation campaigns, engineering teams and product ideas in place yet the elements of influence which trigger the sales come directly from your own confidence in the product or service you are trying to sell.
Why the best products in the world exposed to qualified markets and customers never created a windfall of profits for their companies?
Well..the answer is either the sales folks never believed in what they were selling or the product creation was just a fluke in the first place.
A Belief System can be created, strengthened in multiple different ways. While there is one defined way of going about it, here are some guidelines based on my very own experiences.
- Often times your confidence in your product increases with sales and customer testimonials but knowing that you have a funding plan in place and if revenues do dry up it further secures this confidence
- A periodic detailed assessment of Sales and Marketing functions will assure you that your are truly representing the message created by your teams, when you are in front of the customers.
- Your own confidence is sometimes tied into the confidence of other people in your business. So allow them to understand your business and hey will lead you into many insights
- The more assumptions you can flush out the better you will improve your understanding. One way to do that is to document them periodically. So Start a log book!
- Minimize the steps needed for decision making. Brainstorm some key decisions ??“ use ???sticky notes??™ and list them if need be.Not only it will raise your confidence but will also increase efficiency
- When selling complex solutions, most customers are interested in one thing. How will their own requirements be accommodated in the product or solution you are trying to sell?. Track all such requests you received in last 12 or 24 months and how many you have included in your last couple of releases. Approach them with this data and demonstrate that you have a process in place for doing this.
- Develop clear understanding on the indirect and direct benefits of the product. If the benefits are intangible then qualify them. If they are qualitative measure them. Demonstrate the numbers with confidence.
While I can add twenty more things to this list, for now I will close this with one important one..
Many a times despite of you doing your best, a sale may not be possible for reasons that are far beyond your control. In such circumstances I have shown even more confidence by making a recommendation of a competitor??™s product.