Hi jcb84,
Having sold complex software to senior-level executives for several
years, the approach that I suggest you take is a consultative sale.
Essentially, you want to find out what the purchaser's problems are
and then explain how your product solves them. Just throwing out some
buzzwords is unlikely to get you anywhere; most senior executives are
going to see right through that. Furthermore, they are interested in
numbers, especially dollars, but need to believe that you can deliver
what you promise. The best way to convince them is to take the time
to work with people they trust in the company to develop a financial
forecast for the results from using your product.
First, you have to find out what the senior executive's problems are
that your product would address. The easiest way to find out what
their problems are is to meet with them, not to sell them something
the first time, but to gain an understanding of their situation so
that you can best position your product for a sale later. Assuming
you have established a relationship with one or more would-be users of
the product, you want them to introduce you to higher levels of the
organization until you have reached the key decision maker who can
purchase your product.
You want to be able to offer the senior-level executive something that
will interest them without costing them anything. Before your first
meeting with the senior-level executive, take advantage of your
user-level contacts to learn as much as you can about the
organization's problems and how your product could address them. It
is especially important to try to quantify the benefits in terms of
dollars for senior-level executives. During the meeting, ask a lot of
open-ended questions of the senior-level executive to gain an
understanding of his or her perspective on the problems you have
identified through your interviews, as well as problems the
senior-level executive thinks our important that you are not yet aware
of. What are they, how significant are they, and how much do they
cost the company? You want to be cautious, however, about identifying
anything you have previously uncovered as being a problem until you
confirm that the senior-level executive also views it similarly in
terms of it being a problem and its significance. They may not, and
your claiming something is a big problem when they think is not a
problem at all or a very small problem could get you into trouble.
Frequently senior-level executives have different view of the problems
of an organization than the lower-level people, and you do not want to
be the one pointing this out to them. Once you have an understanding
of the senior-level executive's views of the problems he faces, tell
him or her that you would like to do a brief study of a couple of days
duration at no charge to determine how your product could solve one or
more of the problems and what the financial benefit would be. Ask the
senior-level executive who you should talk to about the problems and
how your product could address them.
Then, refine your understanding that you gained before the meeting
with the senior-level executive with interviews of the people the
senior-level executive has referred you to. They are the ones you
want to sell on the product as you get their perspective on the
problem. The problems probably affect them more directly on a
day-to-day basis. Convince them that your product will make their
lives better and easier. Get them to help you quantify the financial
benefit to the company from using your product. If other companies
have used your product with good results, use those as well if they
have authorized you to do so, either anonymously or by name if
possible.
After you complete your study, then return to the senior-level
executive, present your results in financial terms and other benefits
you have identified (preferably with some of the people you have
interviewed and who support buying your product), talk about other
companies' experience with your product as quantitatively as possible,
and ask for the order.
I hope the above assists you in a successful sale of your product.
Using this method, instead of generic buzzwords which may well be
meaningless to the senior-level executive, you instead address his or
her concerns directly and use his or her underlings to help you close
the sale. If you need clarification about anything I have described,
please ask.
Sincerely,
Wonko |
