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1.The Value Proposition is not Clear
We often tell our clients before you start selling. "Ask yourself why you?" When you answer this question it should never be subjective. It HAS to be objective with factual "Logos" data to support it if not you will always struggle taking market share. We always suggest using the Sales technique "F.A.B" as a simple way to over come this challenge.
Next, another issue that leads to unclear value prepositioning is when your internal sales resources and marketing aren’t integrated around a common sales strategy that clearly presents the company’s value proposition. This lack of integration leads to your sales cycle being inefficient, confused customers, and brand dilution when engaging with your target /ideal market.
2. You aren’t offering the best deal.
Have you compared your offer to your competitors’ offers lately? If you’re offering a similar product for twice the price, you can’t expect your salespeople to close the deal effectively. A good salesperson can make up for a handful of drawbacks or competitive weaknesses, but there’s nothing they can do if the deal just doesn’t make sense.
We suggest quarterly you need to check up on your market leaders and direct competitors to see if they are improving their product offering and value proposition. Often we see companies come to us and we do a consulting audit and they have the same value proposition that they had two years ago while the market leader has changed 3 to 5 times by now.
Two ways of looking at business. I need to change so my clients love me. I changed because my clients love me. The great companies do the latter. We at NOA believe "Change before you have to." Jack Welch
3. Your follow-up strategy is losing you valuable leads.
The follow-up process is where most leads either become sales or drop off and become lost forever. Sales is a contact sport as my sales mentor used to say. Studies show that most leads don't become deals until after the 4 or 5 contact. Look carefully at the sales process, and see where you’re losing most of your leads. Is it upon initial contact? Or is it in the contact-less days between that first contact and the final sale? Reevaluate the types of communication you incorporate into your follow-up strategy, and what language you use within them. Sometimes, a 2% change can get you a 20% gain.
Here is some great statistical information from insidesales.com
4.You are selling by selling when you should sell by asking.
Most sales people have a script they go by that focuses on impressing the potential client of the accomplishments of the sales person or company. This is going to hurt but your potential clients don't care about you they want to know what can you do for them. Now we do believe in the sales technique "Jones Effect" but it isn't be the foundation of your sales approach. if you are going right into your sales pitch by giving your potential client a long list of services they don't need by trying to impress them with out asking them what is their true pain point, you are losing sales.
We train our sales team at NOA to "Sell by asking" find out what your prospect is struggling with. Have they used a company that offers your service before if so, what did they like about that experience? What didn't they like? You can ask about 5 questions and get a really great understanding as to where you are with your prospect in your sales cycle and how to make your value preposition clear.
In the sales process there should be a direct connect resolution between your prospects pain and a product offering solution that it will address their pain. Without this connection, there is no sales opportunity. This is even more true in B2B. Prospects who believe that their pain is clearly understood will be more willing to share critical information throughout the Sales Cycle which will lead you to improving your Value proposition and product offering.
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