There is a lot of articles and publications discussing sales techniques and strategies. Some claim that the sale needs to be pushed, because the client doesn't know what he needs. Well, to sell something that a buyer doesn't even need is a higher level. Let's start from the very bottom.
A story
Time to time, I like to have fun when shopping, because as for most men, shopping is terribly boring activity for me. Once, I wanted to buy sunglasses. I found a few very similar pairs which I liked. So I called the sales guy and told him "Sell me those more expensive ones." He was like "What??". "Well, I am considering these pairs of glasses which look quite similar, but this pair is triple that expensive than those one. I have no problem to buy those more expensive, but I want you to tell me why they are better." The guy was hesitating, thinking, then he babbled something like "Well... I don't know... maybe the material...". I said to myself "OMG, I told him I am willing to pay more, just give me some reason." Nothing compelling came out of his mouth. I bought the more expensive ones anyway, but the sales man 's performance was just a tragedy.
I used a similar strategy a few times for software I was considering. The competition is huge and who has the time to try everything. Recently, I was considering RescueTime. So, I sent them an email stating something like "I am considering your product, pitch it and tell me why it is better then the competitors." Guess, what the answer was. Exactly! I got a list of the features and advice to try a demo, which I already had. I had mentioned that I am quite satisfied with the demo.
What I expected was something like "Our product has more features than product B. It has better performance than product C and takes less PC sources than product D. We plan to add many new features this year."
Do you know your own product?
A difficulty for sales people is to find someone who would listen to the pitch speech or read the presentation materials. Now, I asked them to praise their product, and they are not able to do that. I have tried this for several times already, and the answer was pretty much the same in all cases. Noone called to examine my requirements and needs; no one praised their product and highlighted the positives and advantages over the competitors. It seems, that during the past few years, people learned to blame the economy and find other excuses why the business is not working. Only a few look inside their business and see the mistakes they do, or have been doing for a long time. If a business cannot take an opportunity already lying on the table, how can they survive on the market?
Good luck with your business!
Peter.
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