How do you avoid overselling your solution and setting unrealistic expectations?

Building relationships takes time and patience. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are strong client relationships. But by investing in these relationships, you're not just avoiding overselling — you're also building a solid foundation for future business growth. To sum it up, focusing on trust and relationships rather than transactions can help you avoid overselling and ensure you're providing real value to your clients. After all, it's the relationships we build — not the transactions we make — that truly define our success as consultants.

Of course understanding your prospects needs are a given.... I prefer to understand my prospect first. Get to know them and what they value. I work on the basis of 2 ears and one mouth so I use them accordingly...

Spending time to understand needs and not rush through the process - Giving a heads up on the time spent will also allow the consumer to realize the exercise is done for the best of their interest and not merely for the seller Asking the right questions instead of a general questionnaire - This will help understand where the product fits and how it solves the challenges in their current stack As long as the consumer knows that you want to help, they would be ready to listen and actively contribute. And that is half problem solved there!

Discovery is the foundation of high velocity deal flow and happy customers. One of the most important pieces of objective, solution focused discovery is asking questions that don't necessarily serve your personal interests as the seller. In other words, do your best to disqualify the opportunity or invalidate the problem the prospect believes they have. This is important for two reasons: 1. You'll get a great pulse on the true need/pain 2. You gain credibility by not jumping at the bit to pitch as soon as you hear a symptom or buzz word. Questions like "What's telling you that what you're doing isn't working?" or "What evidence do you have to prove out this is a problem worth spending money on to solve? Resist the urge to pitch.

There’s no opportunity to focus on value until you’ve uncovered the features a customer desires. Imagine you’re a buyer that has just sunk several years budget into a new solution. It measures up to your needs but you discover a newer solution that goes beyond - this is added value. That solution may well be better but the cost to unravel the process outweighs the benefits. It will always be about timing. Understanding where your customer is in the buying journey is vital. So features are important for discovery but the value is where the deal is won.

In my experience, this is one of the hardest things for sellers. Value is not what they believe it to be. Value is the outcome that the customer gets from the purchase. In the world of software, value is not discount, bundles of software that an end user won't use, and it's not pre-buying to get a large discount - it's the ROI or the measured outcomes that the clients are looking for. Teaching sellers how to find these outcomes and, more importantly, how to implement their solutions to realize them takes a lot of work.

Allow your clients and referral partners to be your megaphone. Testimonials are such an important part of marketing and selling. Be deliberate about this so that over time, you will have accumulated a library of testimonials (think video, text, audio). Each time a customer has a positive experience, it's your cue to ask them if they could share it with others. Hype isn't a long term strategy and in the end, it can seriously damage your reputation and profitability.

Telling the stories about how you’ve already solved someone’s problems will always be a great strategy so long as it’s not embellished. For new members of your team it’s important to help them understand these case studies in order to speak on behalf of the business. This will give them time to build their own bank of stories and scenarios to share with their customers.

POCs are a great way to help consumers SEE value first hand, rather than relying on success stories. If there is bandwidth, it would be highly beneficial to run live demos or POCs with the consumer. This helps the consumer realize value better, establish foundational trust for maintain long-term customer relations, and also helps sellers to pitch the right product and define better expectations on capabilities

I have a 6 tile PowerPoint that I send as a short company introduction. Not too many words but pictures. This will then be followed up by either a F2F or a (modern) video meeting. I have lots of reference sites that I can reference.

In my experience, by doing this you are not only setting the expectations for the client, in advance but you are also laying the groundwork for surprising and delighting. By being upfront, it might prompt client questions and reactions that could provide you with invaluable insight as to how to overdeliver on your promise. By setting clear expectations and boundaries and then surpassing them, you create a win-win situation.

Tempering Expectations with Realism: The key to success is the candid presentation of your solution's capabilities and constraints. By offering a crystal-clear perspective, the customer can form expectations grounded in reality.

Sometimes setting expectations and boundaries can seem a bit daunting for a new customer. I explain the benefit of doing this and as a company we hold their hand all the way. Then the second time it comes a lot easier and they can see the many benefits

This is the gulp moment when asking the customer how it all went and are they happy. Even if a mistake has been made, I learn more from that than if it all goes really smoothly. Hopefully if the the relationship is strong, then even a mistake can be worked around. Remember NO ONE is perfect..

It’s obvious to not take a customers money and run! But there does need to be a process in place for your follow up. Walking a customer through a purchase means you’re proactive to their needs. It may not be possible to preempt every detail in your delivery plan and it also gives room for the company to learn and develop along the way.

I think everything should be discussed openly on the table.There are always+-10% variable options in scope. First Build the rapport and provide the best solution which fits the requirements.

Shift your mindset from "closing the deal" to "truly solving the client's problem." Start by actively listening to uncover their pain points and goals. Be honest and transparent about your solution's capabilities, even addressing potential limitations. Avoid broad superlatives and instead focus on quantifiable examples – how has your solution impacted similar clients? Frame your solution not as a magic fix, but a tool that the client will need to work with for success. Underpromise and overdeliver. If the client expects moderate improvement, exceeding those expectations builds trust and fosters a long-term relationship rather than a one-time sale. Always remember, a satisfied, successful customer is the greatest asset for future business.