For "Credence Goods", Leadership is primary, Ads & brochures are secondary

When customers cannot see - or differentiate between products - the "source" of the products becomes important. Customers prefer to buy from leaders in the field and they also pay a better price to the Leaders. It is therefore important to act like a leader.  Are you one ?

As the incomes rise in our economy,  a large class of customers willing to pay a huge premiums is emerging.  Who would have thought 10 years ago that people would routinely 

• buy flats costing a couple of Crores ?
• buy cars costing 20 Lakhs ?
• spend thousands in beauty parlors ?
• pay thousands for a child's school fee ?
• spend thousands for a personal trainer ?
• dine in restaurants costing thousands per person ? 

These are called "Credence Goods" in marketing language. In this article I present :

1. The rules of marketing them are different.
2. You need persona, process and evidence.
3. The source of customer's trust is your Leadership.
4. How to acquire such leadership.

 

RULES ARE DIFFERENT

It will be a cardinal mistake for anyone to sell luxury products and high end services as if it was a cake of soap or a bar of chocolate. The rules of selling such "credence goods" are different altogether because the process of buying them consists of two steps.  

1. Customers need to believe in the "source"
2. Only then the second step comes into play : what is the "offer". 

PERSONA, PROCESS, EVIDENCE

The source can become believable  due to all - or any combination - or one of the following three things that make a source trustworthy

1. A Persona, A Face, A Name - that represents a cause or becomes a genre. Ex : Mahatma Gandhi's Ashram, Mahesh Bhupati Academy. Ex : "Apple" imbued with the spirit of "Steve Jobs": technological innovation.  Ex : "Beatles" music became a genre
2. A Process of Grading, Examination, Selection, Verification, Quality.  Ex :  Passed from Harvard School, IAS Batch of 1980, Padmashri Awardee. Welspun pipes certified by American Petroleum Products Association
3. An Evidence of quality.  Ex : "Champagne" is white wine from the French district. Ex : "iphone" business is higher than the whole "Microsoft" company  

SOURCE AS A LEADER

It is therefore important that the source brand be seen as an expert and a thought leader in the field. 

You or someone who represents you should be the face(s) that lives, speaks, writes, breathes and evangelize the areas that are important to the prospect's most pressing problems and opportunities.  

For example, a major cause of success of Anna Hazare was that he became the visible face of the anti-corruption sentiment that was seething in the minds of people in India.

Partners at the consulting firm McKinsey speak and write and publish regularly and this gets them business. The same is done by law firms. Doctors conduct camps like wise. You can do the same.

Free blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger have created explosive growth in Internet publishing. You should write blogs too.

BECOMING A LEADER

So, if you are selling "credence goods", stop wasting money on ads, brochures and sponsorships. Instead, start writing how-to articles and convert those articles into speeches and seminars. The best marketing investment you can make is to get help in creating informative websites, hosting persuasive seminars, booking speaking engagements, and getting published as a blog columnist and eventually a book author.


Be curious. Start by asking following questions to your customers 

1. What do they want to achieve ?
2. What do they want to fix ?
3. What do they want to avoid ?
4. What do they fear ?
5. Whom would they like to be associated with ?
6. What do they doubt ?

Be the expert who educates your prospects on how do they compare with their peers and what are the  best practices to overcome these issues. The more your prospects hear about your being in the field of solving their problems in general, the more they will hire you for doing the specifics. 

The same is true of products too. Why is BMW a Leader ? Not only because it makes good cars but it also undertakes following leadership activities

1. It regularly enters and wins some of the toughest races in the world and proves it has the engineering skills that matter when the going gets tough on the track.
2. It sponsors a "Driving School" which teaches driving in critical conditions
3. It spends enough in R&D to ensure that no other competitor is ahead in innovation

Never do this in selling ...

1. Never put your needs ahead of the interests of the customer.
2. Do not volunteer who your competitors are (unless they are worse) (and unless customer asks)
3. Never send anything important to the customer without reading and when you are tired
4. Do not pitch or answer questions unless (a) you know you have a prospect (b) understand his needs. If you do, they will take your information and share it with their existing vendor, who of course "can do the same thing. 
5. Never ever walk in without reading the bio of who you are about to meet with. There are always great opportunities to learn important insights about their passions, skills and often point of view. Also, by checking linked in, you may realize you have friends and/or associates in common - call them and do some due diligence so you can be even more prepared. Its a little thing but can deliver some hugely important results. 
6. Never, assume that your product is the best thing for the customer. 
7. Never stretch the truth, fib, sugarcoat, lie and put yourself in the position where you can be "found out". In this age of social media it is easy. If you lose credibility, you have lost everything.  
8. Be up front with people you are dealing with. I have found that whilst brutal honesty may not win you today's battle, those that meet you will remember you for the future and you will win the war. 
9. Never be angry when a prospect misleads you and doesn't follow through on something they said they would do.
10.  Never 'badmouth' your competition. If you do, you either come across as jealous or vindictive, or both. When pointing out weaknesses in the competition, do so by subtly representing how you might do it a bit "differently" and let the customer draw his/her own conclusions.  When asked directly what you think of a competitor's presentation, be frank but point out all the good points before summarizing the bad - and then do that "with class." 
11. Never assume the customer knows the answer to their problem.  Often, as sales people, we provide excellent customer service by being responsive and promptly handling their requests.   But we forget we've acquired a valid industry experience ofen with a different perspective to the customers.   Yet we're hesitant to question their plans or suggest an alternative solution to help them achieve their outcomes.  Being an above average salesperson means tactfully questioning your customer's plan at the appropriate time. Never assume the customer knows the only right answer. 
12. When I first started out in sales over 25 years ago, I had a sales job where I was learning how to prospect. At that point in my career, I was easily distracted, and didn't tune people out that came to speak with me at my desk while prospecting. 
13. Pay attention and listen to whom you're speaking, and avoid all else.
14. Never tell a customer you are doing them a favor and providing your services gratis.
15. When client request a decrease in price, never give up immediately. That is a sign that he wants our service, so if we do it, we are probably losing money. You always have time to do it later. Just show a little bit more value, and the sale is done.
16. Learn to loose, before you try to learn to win.   Explaining ... If you are not ready to loose something you´ll probably give more than necessary to win sales.
17. Never tell a customer they're doing something the wrong way.   
18. Never presume your value proposition is what the prospect's value perception is.
19. Never EVER wave the arch rival's brand in front of your prospect when you're making a pitch! Here are two examples of what I mean.   When I was an assistant at a media analysis company, without thinking, we sent a pitch to UPS just like we did with all of our pitches.... in a FedEx package!   When I was in marketing at a big 5 consulting firm, we were courting Pepsi. Our CEO showed up to the meeting with a Coca-Cola in his hand.  
20. Never believe that your job is over once the sale is made. I worked in a company that did highly customized services, and in my first big sale I was told: "Let the project manager handle this from now own, your job is to go on to the next sale." The next time I heard from my customer it was because they were furious about a misunderstanding about scheduling. They weren't angry with the project manager, they were angry with me because I didn't even know there was a problem!  Needless to say, I lost the customer and any future sales to them.
21. Never forget that the word ‘NO’ is not a stop sign but rather an acronym for Next Option/Next Opportunity/Next Offer.  Always ask for the reasons behind the "no. By realizing that ‘NO’ is not a stop sign but rather a detour, it’s allowed me to focus more on my Customer’s options instead of my own ego. 
22. Don't say it unless you're sure about it, and don't EVER make promises you have no right to make. Oh, also? He had been fired for arguing politics with customers one time too many!
23.  Never trust a verbal agreement. In today's economy verbal agreements are worthless.  For all you know the person who shook your hand may not be the only decision maker.
24. Never bluff your way through a technical product presentation.
25. Never call your customers customer and try to sell directly. 
26. Never stop asking questions. We often think we know everything we need to know after we have completed the first few phases of a sales cycle. 
27. Make sure you have thought provoking questions for every visit with a prospect and especially a customer. It takes less time and effort to sell more to an existing customer than to convert a prospect to a customer. 
28. Never stop by, drop in, or check on a customer without adding value in each contact.  
29. Never miss an opportunity to ask a customer WHY they chose to buy from you and equally important, never miss an opportunity to circle back to a loss and ask WHY they did not buy from you. 
30. Never argue with your client, no matter how forceful or antagonistic they are in their objections.  
31. Never ever break a promise even if you think the situation has changed to warrant it. 
32. Remember what is important to us may not be important to our customer. 
33. Never show up late to a meeting
34. Never stick to the "script", paying no attention to what the customer says. As I rookie salesman, I accompanied a senior colleague to a meeting. He just barged ahead with what he wanted to say, not taking any notice of the customer.
35. Never assume who your customer is when they walk through the door.  Talk to all.
36. Never argue with a prospect. That will only make him defend his point of view instead of focusing on the issue at hand - Always ask questions to get him where you want him to be.
37. Never get slipshod on the truth. That one fudged fact always seems to be the be one a prospect remembers.
38. Also Jill always check written material 3 times to catch typo's.
39. When a direct question, problem or unfamiliar topic that I don't have enough info about comes up during a conversation, it is a bad idea to guess. The more important the question and answer, the more important it is to respond, "I don't know, let me find out and get back to you." Addressing the customer's concern honestly builds more credibility than faking an answer.
40. Never assume! (anything about your customer) but LISTEN.
41. Never over-extend your stay.  
42. Reschedule if he keeps you waiting more than 10 minutes.
43. Make sure you never ever fail with what you have promised to do within the specified deadline -be it a phone call, visit, offer, proposal or anything that matters to your prospect/customer even though it may seem unimportant to you. Prospects and customers will always look for signs to make them believe you are credible and interested in them well enough. This is one of the most professional ways to show you care about your prospects and customers. 
44. Never hurt a customer's feelings. 
45. I've had people ask me if it was okay to ask questions or if I was really going to serve them--because some other sales person treated them shabbily. Customers are people, not 'prospects' that you can offend at random. 
46. When working with a prospect using a competitor's product, NEVER run that product down. If you do, you just called your prospect stupid. If they're stupid, you better hope they're stupid enough to do business with you. Your attitude needs to be that the competitive product was purchased by the customer with the best information they had at the time of purchase. Your job is to provide your prospect with new information, and a better opportunity. Keeping in mine that the competitive product itself might be superior to yours. Service and pricing might be the issues. The reasons why you might be a better choice now could be many You need to be prepared to find and present those. #2. If all you can do is run down the competition than you don't have much to offer yourself. #3. It's disrespectful, maybe not overtly, but disrespectful never the less. First to your prospect, and also to your competitor. Competitors are not our enemies. They're out there making a living just like us. Anyway, your prospect may personally like the competitor.
47. On the "Never" section ... ever since the advent of cell phones I've always mandated to "Never, Never, Never" take a "loaded" cell phone into any business meeting of importance ... or rather into any situation that requires you to "pay" attention.
48. "Never be late for an appointment. Never. If it will snow, leave earlier. If there is traffic, leave earlier. If you have a busy day, leave time between appointments. Never be late. It is a sign of disrespect, not caring and not having your act together"

- Are you giving unpaid consulting time to your clients?

Under the garb of finding suppliers, many customers are likely to ask you to quote -  only to get themselves more educated , to compare if their current arrangements are competitive, and to fish for anything new. Although it is difficult to completely avoid it, you may at least try to train your salesperson to "qualify" a prospect and gain his commitment  before submitting a proposal.  Because if you qualify a prospect, submit the proposal and then try to close;  you will land up doing unpaid consulting.

Know "real" prospects. Discard false ones. 

False prospects waste your time; real prospects get you business.

What is the difference ? A  good prospects is not only qualified by you but whose commitment has been obtained by you before spending time on developing a proposal and giving a demonstration. Only then you are in control;  otherwise the prospect is using you to get some free advice. 

As a sales manager ...

• Dont accept "We have been given a chance to quote" but look for "the prospect has agreed to talk to us and answer our questions before we quote"
• In fact the real purpose of the introductory sales call is (1) to get an agreement from the buyer to ask questions (2) to establish a buyer-centered purpose (most important) around which future dialogues will hover (3) communicate who you are and why you are there.
• A buyer's RFP (Request for a proposal) is not a "progress signal" unless the buyer also agrees to take some action.
• Dont accept  "I'm talking to the decision maker" but look for "I have understood the decision making criteria and the process." 
• Dont accept "We need to be aggressive in our pricing" but look for "They're willing to pay our price, and we don't have to match the incumbent."
• Dont accept "It looks good" but look for "We have a clear commitment if our solution fits the budget we discussed."

Recognize a true prospect !

• He expresses reasons to change his business relationships 
• He understands lost opportunity of not doing business with you
• He has indicated his budget and it seems adequate
• You understand participants, criteria, timing and process of prospect's evaluation & decision process
• You have set clear agreements as to what happens if you offer a solution that addresses the prospect's pains and is within their investment expectations

If a prospect gains attributes over time, you're working on a pipeline. Do not measure the validity of a pipeline by activity, and do not equate busy with being productive. If a motive to change (what I call a gap) is not discovered in the first conversation, just say no and walk away because such a customer will not buy.

Good salespersons are also good consultants ..

Good consultants do the following :

1. Ask questions
2. Provide expert opinions
3. Are accessible
4. Build creative solutions
5. Deliver what they say they will deliver
6. Develop relationships
7. Act with clients' best interest in mind
8. Solve problems
9. Introduce clients to new ideas, helping them see a better way 

Is this not exactly what the good sales people do? 

Selling is not about persuading someone to buy something they don't need. It is about helping clients and prospects find solutions to their needs and about providing value.

Kit of 4 Dignostic Questions to ask when sale / share is down

Diagnostic Question 1

Symptoms : Unclear accountability

• Marketing : is responsible for finding out and analyzing how many customers exist, their needs, their readiness, their behavior, their habits, the prices they are willing to pay, the competitors and their activities, collaborators and their activities.
• Marketing : is responsible for choosing the target customers. 
• Top Management : is responsible for approving the steps taken by marketing as above because all long term decisions like locations, machinery, plant, organization and capital structure will depend on these decisions.
• Marketing :  is responsible for defining the products and services - through the process of positioning - such that they represent good Value Propositions for the chosen markets. You can work out product specifications and pricing only after this is done.
•  Marketing : The right go-to-market strategy - you must be at the right places with the right offer with the right messages and facilities when the customers come searching for you. Alternately, when you are in search of customers, you need to prospect, contact, communicate, convince, close and transact and set up mechanisms for doing so.

Diagnostic Question 2

Symptoms : Poor choice of "Target Customers"

1. Market too small for you to focus your resources and attention
2. Market too big for your resources to tackle
3. Market growth too little to meet your ambitions
4. Market growth too high and you may not be able to scale up so rapidly
5. You cannot make much difference to what the customer expects
6. You cannot differentiate your offer much from your competitors
7. Chosen market pulls you in a different direction than where you want to go
8. Participating in the market does not enhance your competence / eco system
9. Participation in the market reduces your average realization / profitability

Diagnostic Question 3

Symptoms : Poor choice of "Value Proposition" (Offer) 

1. Your customers are not clear why should they choose you
2. Your customers are not clear where they can apply your product
3. You sales force cannot get better price than your competition
4. The money you spend on promotions does not work efficiently
5. Your sales force does not know which competitor you are targeting
6. Your sales force convert less number of calls into sales
7. Your sales force cannot convince your customers
8. Your competitors spend less but sells more

Diagnostic Question 4

Symptoms : Poor choice of "go to market" activity 

1. You do not know which customers are more likely to buy than others
2. You do not know how many and where are your high priority customers
3. You have planned without knowing how customers come-to-market
4. You do not know who is searching for you and how
5. You do not know whether you should search for the customer or the other way
6. You do not have a cost efficient and effective system of 
• prospecting ( cannot separate cold customers from hot )
• reaching ( cannot meet the right customers )
• contacting and engaging ( cannot generate interest )
  
• messaging( cannot give message to move the sale forward )
• overcoming objections and negotiating ( getting stuck in finalization )
• closing the sale ( getting commitment of the customer )
• transacting ( invoicing, delivery and collection )
• giving pre/during/post service ( customer relationship )

Developing Organization Capabilities to Sell High End B2B Services

Today's hardware, connectivity and software has dramatically altered the equations in the world of B2B buying and selling. Hardware like smartphones and computers, anywhere connectivity offered by mobile networks, and search capabilities offered by Google and others have created a new world which did not exist before ten years.

Today, it is common for a salesperson to find that the client - even before their first serious meeting - has already found out a lot about him and his company. He has seen your facebook, linked in, twitter accounts. He has seen your websites and blogs. He probably has even found on the web what people say about you and your company and your products. In short, you may be meeting him for the first time but are not really a complete stranger to him. He knows a lot about you.

Most sales management books of today still are based on the mindset of the buyers as prevailed 30 years ago ...tell me who you are, which company you come from, what does your company do, who are your customers, what do they say about you ....AND NOW TELL ME WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO SELL TO ME. Those days are gone. The buyers already have a pretty decent idea to many  of these questions EVEN BEFORE YOUR FIRST MEETING.

These days many clients want to quickly get into how you will work through their issues and whether you can, and will, do what you say. These days the sales meetings get to the heart of issues more quickly, and clients' expectations for results are higher. Therefore, from the seller's side you need salespersons

• who are more knowledgeable
• who are more solution-savvy
• who are more responsive 

In short, today's client needs to see a B2B Business Developer as someone who knows the subject-matter well enough to see the whole picture quickly, understand his problem, and collaborate effectively to design a workable and effective solution. This has important implications on the type of organization you need to create to sell well in today's environment.

New age B2B Business Developer needs to play following roles :

1. Business Consultant : Your objective is to find the best answer for the client's issue, even if your service isn't part of the solution. Study the client's current business and future objectives, stay on top of developments in the client's industry, and work to become a valued client resource instead of just a seller.
2. Creative Ideator : Selling professional services always begins with ideas clients can use. You must go far beyond the traditional advice such as sending relevant articles to clients. Dig below the surface to explore the relevance of ideas for your clients. Then, find innovative ways to get those ideas in front of your clients.
3. Win-win Strategist: You can never lose track of the big picture—foremost for the client, but also for your own business. As you envision a solution, focus on results for the client, assess whether the opportunity makes sense for your business, and decide how you will both win.
4. Project Leader: A services sale is a project in itself, with its own objective, scope, timing, staffing, and budget. Buyers rightly view the sales process as a dress rehearsal for how you will operate if you win the work. So manage the sales process with a vision, communicate widely, and manage tasks to meet your objectives.
5. Change Manager: Your ability to guide clients through change is as important to the sale as the quality of your service. In the past, too many clients watched the erosion of promised value when a seller's implementation approach resulted in delays or worse, project failures. Now, they're not just asking questions about what will change; they want to know what you will do to bring about that change—and minimize disruption to their operations.
6. Relationship Builder : None of the seller's roles is more important than the others, but without the ability to build strong client relationships, you'll struggle to stay in the game. The other roles you play provide the necessary foundation for relating to clients. And those who master those other roles are usually also the best relationship managers.
7. Communicator: The seller's primary responsibility is to negotiate the sale with favorable terms, and that requires highly tuned communication skills. Each of the roles above offers ways to strengthen client relationships and manage the sales process, but those roles only facilitate the sale. To take a prospective sale from a lead to closure demands expertise in persuasiveness, building trust, and, at just the right time, asking for the sale.

Hence what matters is the improvement in the following skills which makes the selling effort less complex to manage

1. Client Relationship Development: Think strategically and plan for clients' long-term benefit; establish trusted client relationships based on recognized expertise, innovative ideas, competence, and a mutual exchange of value.
2. Interpersonal Communication: Lead discussions and influence direction and outcomes; exhibit active listening and questioning skills; communicate effectively at all levels in client organizations.
3. Client Interviewing: Prepare for and conduct insight-based discussions with client executives and others to gather relevant facts to support the development of a winning services offer.
4. Problem Diagnosis: Use analytical techniques to uncover the root cause of client problems; envision a range of viable, sustainable solutions.
5. Sales Proposal Development: Convey a persuasive written view of objectives, approach, economic terms, and expected value.
6. Project Leadership: Plan and direct the sales activity of the seller and client teams, from initiation of the sales process until the sale is completed—and beyond.
7. Personal Selling, Negotiating, and Closing: Offer compelling reasons to spur action, in both one-on-one and group settings. Propose and obtain agreement on terms and conditions that serve the client's needs and preserve your profit.

Locate customer dilemma and develop your sales approach

Having to sell a service - which is intangible - is bad enough : having to sell a complex and high end service like consulting service, advertising service or a placement service is a nightmare. If are in outplacement service, what do you tell and what do you sell ?

The technique of  differentiation based on some elements of "marketing mix" - product, price, place, people, process, or physical evidence, does not work well in high end services. 

That is where the technique of selling based customer's dilemma comes in. A dilemma is defined as a choice among options that seem equally unfavorable or equally favorable. Dilemmas are not problems - because problems have solutions but dilemmdeas do not.  Dilemmas are not solved but resolved - by properly weighing competing options.   

If you sell your service as a solution to a problem, the client may say “I can do it better myself" or "I know someone who can do it as well as you". But say the same thing as an answer to his dilemma and he may get interested. For example, take the outplacement service mentioned above. Don't say "we are in the business of outplacement". Say "We help management fire their friends.” Similarly, don't say "We are business lawyers"; Say;  “We are retained by corporate clients who are caught in a dilemma - if they move too quickly, the company may not be acting in shareholders' best interests but if they don't they may fail in their fiduciary responsibility.”  Positioning based on dilemma captures several messages at once. It conveys what you do and also the special way in which you do it.  

Dont say "we are PR consultants". Saying "We help align the company's message with its strategy" is better. But saying “we help companies develop communications in situations where communicating facts is a risk but not telling them is also a risk". Dont say "I am a financial planner". Say “I work with senior executives who don't trust experts but are simultaneously afraid that the world is complex and if they don't take an expert advice they may forego  opportunities.  An HR consulting firm may say "we help clients who do not know whether to take a rigid approach to treating talent and see their best people leave or whether to treat people on a case by case basis"