There is one crucial question you need to ask:
Who are you competing with?
Are you competing with the status quo or apathy?
Are you competing with a DIY approach to solving the problem?
Are you competing with solving the problem in a different way?
Are you competing with companies you recognise as competitors?
Are you competing with companies that you don’t even recognise as competitors?
‘Why change’ vs. ‘Why us’
Sales messages when selling a category (‘Why change?’, whether to buy) should be different from those used when selling a particular solution (‘Why us?’, which one to buy).
Have they decided to change, or do you need to persuade them?
Do they know what category of solution they are looking for, or is that still open?
Have they got established decision-making criteria, or can you shape their thinking?
Will they talk to other companies, or could you win this before anyone else is involved?
Why change: At the start of the sales cycle, prospects might not be aware that they have a problem. They might not recognise that a problem they have can be solved. They could have no knowledge of the market you are in, or the vendors who might want to help them. At this stage, messaging needs to focus on bringing out the problems that they have, and all the messy implications. Fear of change, and a certain inertia are the main obstacle to overcome. You need to make it very clear that the prospect has a problem – if they realise it or not – and that the problem is hurting them – perhaps in subtle ways – but it is hurting.
Why us: Once a prospect acknowledges they have a romania number code problem, they start to try and find somebody who can help them to solve it. At this point, messaging needs to answer the question ‘Why us?’.
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There’s no single way to structure a sales meeting or a sales presentation – as you move through the sales cycle, different things are required. At the very first meeting, you are likely to be fact-finding, exploring whether your company’s solutions are a good fit for the prospect, and discovering what challenges they feel most urgently. At a best-and-final pitch presentation, you may be responding to an entirely prescriptive meeting agenda, with scoring on how well you answer certain questions.