2. Has this ever happened to you?
You present to a prospect and you know you did
a great job because you covered everything.
But in subsequent meetings you realize that
your prospect didn‟t really retain what you said.
3. If you want to make a sale, you need to figure
out the language your customer speaks.
I bet you know your product specs, features and
capabilities inside-out, but how adept are you at
changing up your message to match the buyer
type you‟re meeting with?
4. You get relegated to who you talk like.
How often have you found an executive that
wants to spend time talking about product
features and specs – the ISes of your solution?
My guess: almost never.
5. What does it MEAN to me?
Instead, they only need to know the high level
message – the MEANs of your solution. What value
are you going to bring to their business?
How are you going to make them more efficient?
More competitive? More profitable?
How are you going to help them solve the critical
issues they‟re challenged with, and either put them
back on the road to success, or help them achieve
greater success?
8. Technical Buyers
On the other end of the spectrum, your key
influencers are probably the technical buyers.
Unlike the executives, these guys are interested in
getting their hands dirty.
They do want to spend time on the nuts and bolts of
your technology and product. And boy, is that a
completely different language and experience than
the executive conversation.
But you‟re still selling the same solution or product.
How different can that conversation be?
9. Technical Buyers
And on top of that, you‟re not sure if they‟ll buy, and
changing the message every time is time
consuming and hard work! Isn‟t it better to talk to
more prospects, instead? They know what they‟re
looking for.
Why not simply share the exact same message with
everyone, saving time and letting them do their own
translation?
Are you clearly aligning your story with the
customer‟s context and what they care about? Or
are you carrying on in your native tongue?
10. Context is King!
In some ways, sales people need to be like the
Rosetta Stone.
They must translate your product and services
details into something the customer will
understand and care about.
Customers know what they are trying to
accomplish, and they understand there are
challenges that are causing them pain.
11. Context is King!
They are looking for a partner company to share a
unique insight and clearly align their offering with
these challenges, demonstrating how they will
provide relevant value in meeting the customer‟s
objectives.
This is called “context.” Without context there can
be no translation. Or the translation will be
questionable because you are forcing your
customer to do the heavy-lifting.
12. What if you leave the customer to uncover
your message?
It‟s hard work! It takes a ton of effort to listen to a
message that‟s all about your company, your
product and your technology and try to figure out
what that means to me - the customer. People
like to hear ideas and answers for their
problems; they don‟t like to be sold product
features and have to intuit how it helps.
13. What if you leave the customer to uncover
your message?
It‟s confusing! Your customer wants to know
what they will be able to “do” with your product.
What they can “do better” or “do different” in
order to succeed. Forcing them to translate your
product features and capabilities into something
meaningful can become frustrating and futile.
14. What if you leave the customer to uncover
your message?
It‟s boring! How long can you sit in any conversation
listening to someone talk all about themselves
before you tune them out?
If you ask the right questions to uncover their
pains, issues and challenges, then you can focus
your entire message on your customer.
Put your product and your message in their world -
in their Story. You‟re making it more relevant and
more exciting for them.
15. Same as everyone else?
Your customers don‟t need another company
capabilities presentation or credentials
dump. They‟ve heard the same thing a thousand
times.
What they need is your company to put your
offer into the context of what they need to
accomplish.
16. Connecting your message to clients
How can you quickly connect your message with
your customers? How do you get them emotionally
invested in what you‟re selling? Do you do it by
using “techno jargon” or “industry speak?” Those
riveting and compelling words like
integrated, flexible, and scalable?
Or, do you connect your message to the problems
and challenges your customer is trying to solve –
those „hot buttons‟ that are holding them back from
growing their business and accomplishing their
business, financial and personal goals?
17. Create a Vision!
Show them what they‟ll be able to do
differently, how they‟ll be able to solve those
pains and problems that are holding them back
and slowing them down. Identify why you are
uniquely qualified compared with competition.
You‟ll be well on your way to getting them
emotionally hooked and connecting with them in
a meaningful way.
18. Emotion
In the B2B world, it is easy to forget that buyers
(like all people) make decisions based on
emotion and justify it with facts.
Your message needs to wake up the emotion
around your buyer‟s needs, pains or desires on
a personal and emotional level.
19. Emotion leads to Urgency
Powerful messaging is the ability to connect to
your buyer with emotion. Emotion leads to
urgency and urgency creates a fast track to
action.
If you are experiencing longer selling cycles, or
buyer apathy, there is a good chance that you
are not making an emotional connection.
20. Contrast + Emotion = Action
So, what can you do to accelerate your buyer‟s
emotional sense of urgency?
Use contrast. Contrast is the fuel that will ignite
emotion into action.
21. Dig into their pain.
Your challenge in your selling effort is to search
for an emotional connection that will move your
buyer. So, where does the search begin?
Look at your selling effort from your customer‟s
perspective.
22. Dig for Client Challenges
What are they struggling with?
What needs to change?
What are the pressures that they face every
day?
What frustrations do they express?
What personal goals are they not achieving?
23. Connect with the heart and you will move the
mind.
Once you have found that specific pain, need or
desire, craft a presentation that clearly contrasts
the frustration they face today with what life
could be like with your solution.
The emotions you stir will connect. The contrast
will create urgency. And decisions will be made
a much faster rate.
