Buyers know that every company on the planet wants their money.
The way companies get the buyers money is by making money “FROM” the buyer or “WITH” the buyer.
There are some buyers who look forward to competing with the seller to see who pummels who. There are some times when a buyer just needs to fill their empty tank with gas and puts up with a little pain at the pump price, but most of the time buyers want to do business with persons and organizations who want to make money with them. They want others who are on the same side of the table, where they value similar things, have integrity, and where everyone works for long-term value.
There are sellers who would like to make money with the buyer but don’t know how to do that. Here are 3 teachable, trainable and measurable ways to be sure the seller team is making money with the buyer by living and engaging from the “buyer frame of reference.”
First, get the last two weeks of written communication for members of your team (emails, letters, proposals, presentations, cover letters, etc.). Next get a colored highlighter and start reading the written communication.
Every time some first-person reference is in a document put the highlighter to work. Every time there is an I, me, we (talking about the seller’s team), company name, etc. shows up in one of those communications light it up.
Now pick one or two of those documents and ask the writer to do it again with no more than two first persons (none is better). Now facilitate your team talking about two things. Which language is more powerful – more thought leader like and which will be more compelling to the reader.
Second, ask the team to identify the next three scheduled communication connections with suspects, prospects, partners or customers. For these three activities answer this question: Why will the receiver of the communication be glad they got the communication.
If the receiver will not be glad, how do you change the message to be of value to the receiver. Then never again send an email, letter, proposal, request, introduction or make a phone call when you don’t know how to delight the receiver of the communication before it happens.
Third, make a “Joint SOW” (scope of work) part of the engagement process. A Joint SOW is how you create clarity between you and your customer around customer value. The clarity starts with the problem, need or goal of the customer. Once you think the customer’s problem is clear align what you believe you can do to eliminate that problem and link your plan with their pain seeking continual and measurable clarification.
Part of the Joint SOW is who does what (you, the customer or some other party). Another part of the Joint SOW is sizing (how long will it take, how much will it cost, what is the result the customer can count on) and finally what exactly is the engagement model the customer can expect from you and you from them. This is all being done before what is thought of as selling. This is making sure that engaging with the buyer is the best possible choice for both of you.
Amazon does the “Joint SOW” as a process in about 3 minutes, in a restaurant great wait staff do this when diners sit down, and Oracle does this with the buyer’s enterprise team buying ERP over a 3-month period. Build the “Joint SOW” that fits you and your ideal buyer.
The power in a “Joint SOW” is that the buyer knows the outcome will be based on a joint understanding of their goals that is supported by an aligned and measurable engagement model.
All three of these activities can easily become habitual for no financial investment. Almost immediately each of the three create better relationships with prospects and customers making everyone more money with less effort and risk.
Go get the yellow marker and start highlighting the trajectory of your increased sales and profitable growth.