How do you simplify the sale? Share what the product or service does, not how it does it. Sieve is much easier than filament and precision instruments, yes?
“Do you want a 50-seater or 100-seater?” Likely if planning a wedding, you’ve already guessed I’m talking about tents. If only sellers could simplify their products to such. Alas, most will extol the smooth canvas and the sturdy poles that hold the tent up. And therefore frustrating the sale or killing it altogether. Why? Connection with the buyer takes longer and likely never happens. The buyer tries to process what the poles and canvas mean for him especially because he was only concerned about size. Frustration kicks in.
If you cannot explain it to a two year old then you don’t understand it yourself, it has been said. And this holds true for financial derivatives, government policy, complicated surgery, a Eurobond and pretty much anything that must be communicated or sold effectively. It must be reduced to that product’s equivalent of 50-seater or 100-seater.
How do you simplify the sale?
How do you simplify a process? Also, how do you simplify a business? These questions are common responses to learners in my training when I talk about how do you simplify the sale? Scientists are especially susceptible to complicating the sale. Take the engineer who indignantly told me that, “Our industrial water purifier is not a sieve!” The process takes place in a 40-foot sanitized container continually infused with oxygen, and other minor chemicals developed in our labs, and there is continual calibration of precision instruments. There is also…” Meanwhile, all the curious onlooker wanted to know, was how the installation happening at the hotel where he is a guest, works!
Scientists understand science. They do not understand salespeople nor selling. Sometimes the simplification can also help you eliminate disqualified prospects. “It works like sieve” will let you get back quickly to installation than a lengthy explanation, especially if the onlooker was not a prospect.
But scientists are not the only culprits in complicating the sale. Many sellers still insist on starting their presentation with who they are than what the customer needs. In fact, likely your PowerPoint slides start with ‘About Us’ (sigh!). The listener is instantly bored. Human beings are selfish by nature, so they want what concerns them first. That’s why there is wisdom in this gem. “Give people more of what they want, and they will give you more of what you want.”
Share what the product does
Yes, there are times it must be ‘complicated’. Medical representatives with their pharmaceutical detailing skills, while pitching to the doctor, need to get into the nitty-gritty chemistry of how their drug works. But, they are two scientists sharing information, not selling per se. Now you know why detailing in pharma is also called missionary selling. However, when the doctor is explaining to the lay patient, he limits himself to whether the patient is allergic to any medicine. Also, based on his prognosis, which he does not share with the patient, he proceeds to prescribe the medicine. Simple!
How can you simplify a process? Share what the product does, not how it does it.
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