These are the deals that close
When meeting a customer for the first time, Reps often look for an issue the Buyer has and for which they can help with. But reality is your customer has dozens or even hundreds of issues, and very few get the attention required to get them solved. Finding a solution to an issue won’t get them to make a business decision.
So what about looking for a customer need you can help with? Not bad, you are getting closer. A need is an issue the Buyer wants to resolve. So let’s assume your solution meets their needs, does it mean they’ll move forward? No. Simply addressing a need doesn’t mean the customer can implement it, as it may have repercussions on other areas of their business.
So what about looking for your customers challenges? Interesting... a challenge means the Buyer had an issue which became a need, but now he’s having a hard time finding a consensus or making it fit within his business. For instance the Buyer might have a financial constraint, a culture misfit or a technological limitation.
So what if you were able to successfully address all those challenges with your solution, would that get them to proceed? No. Even though challenges can successfully be resolved, it doesn’t mean another initiative isn’t more important for their business at the moment.
So what about looking for your customer’s priorities? A priority is an issue that became a need and now requires its challenges to be overcome as it can’t wait anymore to be act upon! It’s no secret, your worst enemy in sales nowadays is the status quo. So unless you focus on helping your customers with their priorities, you risk waiting a very very long time before you ever make a sale.
When selecting your ideal customer profiles, make sure you can add value to one of their current (or soon to become) priorities. If you can’t, then these customers do not correspond to your ideal customer profile, so don’t be stubborn and try to make it work. You need to move on and focus on the right customers. Be smart. Be strategic.
I hope you found this article valuable. Now this is what I think, but more importantly is what you think. I'd love to have your perspective.
Benoit Desforges
Social Selling Coach
#IdealCustomerProfile #Priority #Value