Too complicated for customers?
The reason for this is often that they’re selling something complex and that complexity confuses the customer. Are you making this mistake?
How complex is your product or service?
In conversations about getting business my clients often say:
“If I can sit down with someone, I can explain what I do. I can give examples and let them really get to understand the value of what I offer.”
There are two problems with this.
- You can’t always get people to sit down with you.
- It’s a very expensive way of getting new business.
What should you do instead? Sell something simple.
Sell something that you can explain without needing to sit people down and have thier complete attention for twenty minutes – or longer.
Sell simple products and services
I have a simple definition of a complex product or service.
A complex product or service is something that you can’t explain in a single sentence.
You are at a disadvantage from the start if you can’t explain what you do simply. You’re almost always at a disadvantage, if you’re selling a complex product or service.
A prospective customer will give you a few seconds to tell him or her how you can help. That means that if you can explain what you do in one sentence you already have a huge advantage over the competition. If you can’t, you’re losing sales from the very beginning of the interaction.
To see if you’re selling a complex product or service try completing the following sentence.
We help businesses/people to ………..
Can you explain what you do in ten words or less?
If you can, that’s good. If you can’t, you’re probably confusing your customers. No wonder you need to sit them down to explain what you do.
Differentiate your product or service
So far so good. In a second sentence can you provide a straightforward explanation of why someone should buy from you rather than from anyone else?
You might try saying something on the lines of:
We’re the only people who ………….
Specifically our product/service is the only one that ………
Think of ways in which you are different from other suppliers and, at the same time, work out how and why that will help your customers.
Get people to buy now
Of course, having a great product or service that you can explain simply is good. Being able to let people know why they should choose you as a supplier of that product or service is also good.
What’s even better is being able to explain to your prospective customers why now is the time to buy.
Focusing on special offers, or deals is one way to bring a sense of urgency into the sales process. Finding a reason to buy that helps people and businesses now is even better. You will be demonstrating how you add value to your customers, if you can do this.
For example, an image consultant might inject urgency into the buying process by reminding a prospective customer of all the clothes he or she has bought that just sit in the wardrobe and are never worn. That person is making expensive mistakes and will go on making expensive mistakes unless …….. (you can complete the rest of the sentence).
Wearing the wrong things could also be costing the customer sales because image is important. It could mean that someone doesn’t get that important job because the impression created is not very good. It could mean that someone doesn’t feel good about himself or herself and hence doesn’t create the right impression.
You can see that the image consultant is doing by giving these examples. That consultant is saying:
You must do something about that situation NOW.
The message is simple and focused. The customer understands the importance of immediate action and the benefits that action today will bring.
Stop selling complex products and services
There’s a very important reason why you should stop selling a complex offer. If you’re selling something complex, you focus too much on the intricacies of what you do in any sales meeting you hold. You focus too much on the features of your product or on the intricacies of your service. You need to spend more time working out with the customer how whatever it is you do can help him or her.
So my advice to my customers is simple and straightforward.
Streamline your products and services and spend more time thinking about how you can serve your customers.
What to do now?
If you think I’m setting out good advice here, please retweet this post. Click the button and say you “like” it. Leave a comment, too. Let’s hear your views.
About Margaret Adams
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