Have you ever gone to the doctor's office and were prescribed medication without being asked about your symptoms? Or equally as bad, has a doctor ever handed you a selection of medications and left it up to you to decide what you think will work best? Hopefully not. That may even be illegal. For a physician to accurately prescribe the right treatment plan for you, he has to ask you about your symptoms, listen to your heartbeat, check your vitals, discuss your past issues and so on.
In the world of technology equipment sales, no one's life will be lost if the wrong recommendation is made. However, the bottom line concept on discovering and positioning a financial recommendation for CPE for your prospect is the same. Chances are high that you do it for the actual equipment itself. You go through a discovery process to make a recommendation for the best technology equipment. Why not do it for the other side of the sale? The how to buy. It is alarming how many sales reps commit the sin of solving before discovering or offering every financial remedy available without rhyme or reason.
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Prescribing Before Discovering
Chances are, you have to have some discussion with a prospect to be able to make a credible equipment recommendation. Therefore, why would you prescribe, or POSITION, one or more how to buy options without understanding your customer's current needs, past pain points, and future plans from a procurement perspective? It goes against any sales 101 you have ever learned. -
Trapping Customers With Lackluster Questions
Many unified communication sales account executives interpret positioning finance as asking the customer questions like, "Do you lease?", "Are you interested in leasing?", and "How are you going to pay for this?" Asking these kinda of questions can trap your customer, and set you up for failure, as most (if not all) customers are not aware of the procurement options available to them.
Ask Good Discovery Questions That Power Up Your Position
Unlocking the answers to the right questions early on in the sales process can be the key to setting yourself up to successfully sell a total technology solution and differentiate you from the competition. The more you can uncover about your customer's business, financial, and technical needs and concerns, the better you can suggest the right how to buy options in your proposal.
8 Questions To Position Like A Pro
We have formulated these 8 Solution Sales Positioning Questions as a guide to help you stimulate your prospect's thought process so you can position the right how to buy recommendation for your customer. The questions address planning, procurement, and service needs based on the past, present, and future needs of the customer. Ask these questions early on in the sales process and set yourself apart from the competition by pairing the technology equipment solution with the perfect how to buy recommendation that suits and anticipates their current and future business needs.
