Remember when Burger King first showed us how to “Wake Up with the King” with a series of commercials that showed a really weird guy in a mascot get-up? Everyone seemed to be a little freaked out by him; but now everyone sees him as a mainstream character. If you’re working on business development inside a start-up, this is how your clients will view your new product, and your goal is to get them thinking about your product as something they need to have.
Like the BK commercials, starting out, your clients are a little shocked and distorted by the images shown to them. After their initial confusion has passed,they quickly try to process and translate the images that have just passed in front of their eyes. This is the part where you have to be on top of your game because it’s now your job to “connect the dots” for them. If you fail at this juncture, then you will lose your prospect quickly; and it’s will be terribly hard to get them listening again.
These 3 things will help get them interested and the conversation warm:
1) Know Your Product In and Out – Seems obvious right? Well, it’s not enough to know just your product. You must to know all the ones that are alike, seems alike and nowhere near alike. This is your golden opportunity to establish yourself as an expert. In a business relationship, this is what will make you trustworthy.
2) Be Familiar with Their Needs – Don’t be arrogant in trying to know more about the client’s business needs than they do. You won’t, and it makes you look unprofessional. Some business development professionals are so anxious to get a client that they start sprouting off irrelevant ideas. Instead, have an idea of what they might be looking for and begin a dialogue with your prospect at that point. Listen!
3) Establish a Strong Follow-Up Agenda – You just found out their true needs, so how can you possibly have a solution for them already? If you’re selling something revolutionary, then you can’t. Even if you think you already have a “God-like” solution in mind, establish a follow-up agenda. It will show that A) You care about their brand and want to give them the best possible solution and B) You now have a reason to follow-up that is mutually beneficial.
When selling a “revolutionary” product, it’s important to remember that they don’t have to have your business because in their mind they have survived to this point without it. It’s your job to understand your product and their needs, so you can “connect the dots” for them.
These 3 simple strategies will help you sell like The King by helping potential clients brush off the initial confusion of your product and get them to look at your product as a mainstay of their business success.
Tags: Sales 2.0
