Being of value in sales doesn’t begin with a strategic sales meeting or a significant mission statement. It starts in the mirror.
“There is one way to differentiate yourself, and that starts with yourself,” says Cleayton Mills, Vice President of Sales for Datamax.
Being a trusted consultant. Collaborating on a solution that brings about positive change for a customer. Listening more than talking. Presenting Datamax as a value-add company and embodying the principles and philosophies in the Little Blue Book.
These are all ways we Value Up! in sales. But Mills challenges his team and others to look inward for ways, individually, all these components can be brought to light in 2020.
Mills Gets Real: 4 Ways to Value Up! Your Sales Role:
1.Value Up! Your First Impression.
When prospecting, it starts with a professional appearance and a professional mindset, says Mills.
More importantly, when you’re meeting with people they should already be well researched – you should know something about what your prospect does and challenges they may face.
“If you walk in and say ‘tell me what you do here,’ you’re already in trouble,” Mills says. “You should know that in advance.”
A better tactic? “I did some research on your company. I see you’re in a very competitive marketplace. What are you doing to set yourself against the competition?..... I’d imagine then you’re not the cheapest in your market. So you would want to deal with a vendor (partner) that has same philosophy.”
2. Value Up! Your Discovery.
Mills says reps must deeply familiarize themselves with a businesses’ current situation. Uncover pain points – specifically, ones that a customer or prospect may not know exists. Ask open ended questions (What challenges are you facing? What are you trying to accomplish?)
“My dad used to tell me, you need to be longer on the ears and shorter on the mouth,” Mills says. “Reps should spend 20 percent of the time talking, and the other 80 percent listening.”
3. Value Up! Your Proposal.
In Mills’ business plan, a main strategy is to optimize the quality of the proposals. And most important page on any proposal? The summary page.
“That lists the pain points. What they’re trying to accomplish. Our summary of benefits that addresses those individuals. That’s our Value up! right there on that page,” Mills says.
When proposals come to him for review, the summary of benefits is closely examined, and Mills routinely challenges reps to strengthen this portion of the proposal. They should be done collaboratively, strategically and thoroughly.
“If you don’t spend most of your time on that part of the proposal, you’ll spend most of your time in a price war. And that’s not who we are,” Mills says.
4. Value Up! Your Follow Through.
The pulse of our customers must be taken regularly.
“One of the questions we have on our current Discovery document is, ‘how effective are your quarterly reviews with your current vendor?’ 9 out of 10 times, people say, ‘what reviews?’” Mills says.
A regularly Partnership Review is more than an account review. The Partnership Review encompasses more than the traditional Major Account Review. It provides a recurring opportunity to:
- Review service performance metrics and service level agreements
- Share best practices, training tips, and strategies to enhance solution utilization
- Promote the adaptation of unused technology features and capabilities
- Build relationships with our customers, including briefing new internal stakeholders
- Ensure our solutions are contributing to the achievement customer business goals
- Validate the value our customers are receiving from our products and our partnership
- Reinforce Return on Technology Investments through evaluation and cost analysis
- Identify changes to facility, personnel, or device location
- Think strategically about customer needs or requirements in the upcoming quarter and beyond.
It perpetuates trust. It seeks out areas of need improvement. And it’s a wonderful opportunity to show how Datamax is committed to Value up!
