In the marketing world of today, what you sell matters less and less, its becoming more and more about how you sell. The technology itself is not all that valuable to the companies that sell it any more, the value is in their approach to selling.
For your organisation to stay on top of these market changes, everyone who sells your products must adapt their sales techniques and inform potential customers about more than just what is inherent in the product, but they must tell them about ways in which your organisation can provide value that others cant.
Organisations can often detect when customer buying trends vary, but they sometimes don't react effectively or quickly enough. Many companies fail to grasp the reasons behind the change, or the idea that these changes are not final, even in the short term and that they are dynamically changing at ever-increasing speeds.
Businesses that are aware of these changes will fall into some common traps. One of which being when you are able to speak to a prospective customer and you know your time with the prospect will be short, you spew out as many features of your company's solution as you can in the minute or two that you have the prospect on the phone.
If you meet with a prospect face to face then you will probably have a bit more time but many salespeople still rush to squeeze in as many features of the product as they can, in the belief that if you can get the person to see how superior your solution is to its competitors they will buy it. And sometimes they do.
However, research has shown that these sales have almost no correlation with technological advancements or how products differentiate from each other, but are mostly based on price and how easily they can get hold of the product on the whole.
While many company directors believe that newer technology that's full of clever new functions can distinguish their company from competitors, it is a sad fact that consumers barely differentiate between suppliers of similar products, as far as they're concerned they all do more or less the same thing, and so price is a key factor.
When selling technology in this day and age, the main thing to remember is that you should inform customers of more than simply the inherent features of the product and try to focus on the measurable outcomes of your solution and what real value you can offer them that they cant find anywhere else. If you use this approach correctly then you will find yourselves well ahead of the market curve with a new, virtually unearthed resource to sell to as most technology companies still rely on clever functions and information to make up their selling points.
For your organisation to stay on top of these market changes, everyone who sells your products must adapt their sales techniques and inform potential customers about more than just what is inherent in the product, but they must tell them about ways in which your organisation can provide value that others cant.
Organisations can often detect when customer buying trends vary, but they sometimes don't react effectively or quickly enough. Many companies fail to grasp the reasons behind the change, or the idea that these changes are not final, even in the short term and that they are dynamically changing at ever-increasing speeds.
Businesses that are aware of these changes will fall into some common traps. One of which being when you are able to speak to a prospective customer and you know your time with the prospect will be short, you spew out as many features of your company's solution as you can in the minute or two that you have the prospect on the phone.
If you meet with a prospect face to face then you will probably have a bit more time but many salespeople still rush to squeeze in as many features of the product as they can, in the belief that if you can get the person to see how superior your solution is to its competitors they will buy it. And sometimes they do.
However, research has shown that these sales have almost no correlation with technological advancements or how products differentiate from each other, but are mostly based on price and how easily they can get hold of the product on the whole.
While many company directors believe that newer technology that's full of clever new functions can distinguish their company from competitors, it is a sad fact that consumers barely differentiate between suppliers of similar products, as far as they're concerned they all do more or less the same thing, and so price is a key factor.
When selling technology in this day and age, the main thing to remember is that you should inform customers of more than simply the inherent features of the product and try to focus on the measurable outcomes of your solution and what real value you can offer them that they cant find anywhere else. If you use this approach correctly then you will find yourselves well ahead of the market curve with a new, virtually unearthed resource to sell to as most technology companies still rely on clever functions and information to make up their selling points.
About the Author:
Terry Forsey is a technology sales and marketing coach with years of experience in all economic conditions. Terry Forsey can offer extremely valuable, impartial sales advice to steer your business through tough times to the light at the end of the tunnel.
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