You need a plan.
Selling is like taking your buyer on a trip. How will you get them from their position (Point A) to your position (Point B)?
Start at your destination and work backwards. Why would they want to go? What sights do they want or NEED to see? Is it a short jaunt or a lengthy tour?
Big sales need big plans, small sales need small plans.
Five important points to consider when planning a strategy:
A backstory is the “story behind the story.” Something — some event, some problem, or some opportunity — has brought your buyer to you. What is it? Look beyond what your buyer is asking to buy and find their backstory. You need to prove to them that you understand their industry, their business, THEIR buyers, and most of all … them.
As Rudyard Kipling’s helpers would ask: What is their opportunity? Why do they think you can help? When do they need it? Where does it need to happen? How will they use it after they buy it? How will it help them? How much will they spend? How much do they expect in return? Keep asking until you run out out of questions!
What was your last trip? Was it driving back home to visit Grandpa Chuck & Grandma Irene, going to see Mickey Mouse in Florida, or a quick jaunt to the store? Regardless, every trip has a beginning and a destination. The same analogy holds true for selling. As a seller, your goal is to move (convince) your buyer to come visit you — and to keep coming back time and time again.
Know your buyer’s backstory and you can plan an effective trip. Are they are in a rush or can they take in the sights? A journey can be more memorable than the destination (let’s hope not like the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles). Plan your itinerary: think of great sights (unique qualities, value, benefits, …) to entertain and educate your buyer each time they head your way.
We can never predict the future. However, we can look at what might happen and make sure we’re prepared for alternate possible outcomes. I highly recommend you read The Art of The Long View by Peter Schwartz. Schwartz teaches you to understand influencing factors, driving forces, leading indicators and other elements that comprise the art of scenario planning.
A scenario is not a prediction of what will happen, it’s a prediction of what could happen. Use scenarios to create trip itineraries. Even if you grasp all the factors that impact your buyer, you may not know which one or two will be critical when they decide to buy. Prepare a few scenarios: when your buyer steers off (your) course, you’ll have a plan to get them back on track.
Professional tennis legend Arthur Ashe said “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” New York Times author Pat Conroy said “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers, that the mind can never break off from the journey.”
Pick out some sights your buyer will never forget. At Cisco Systems, I brought potential customers to the RTP campus. As we wandered through the expansive Customer Advocacy labs, I made a point — when they chose Cisco, they weren’t just buying a piece of computer networking equipment, they were partnering with the most talented engineers in the world.
Have you ever heard of Preston Tucker and his 1948 Tucker Sedan? Unfortunately mired in scandal, Tucker was however a person who could see what others could not. His vision for a post WWII, radically safe and modern-styled automobile shook the big three Detroit automakers. Sometimes you need to think “way out of the box” when coming up with a plan.
A story with a much better ending is the story of Walt Disney. In fact Disney was so successful his story didn’t end, it continues to grow bigger and touch millions of adults and children every year. Disney was a man who could vision, plan, and execute. Take a lesson from Walt Disney: sometimes the best way to sell your vision really well is to bring it to life.
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