
The best way to shorten the sales cycle - Aegean
http://www.inc.com/resources/sales/articles/20070801/jthull.html
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augustflanagan
I'm really interested in learning more about this. I've been making sales
calls lately (for the first time in my life), and one of the biggest sticking
points I have come across is when someone tells me they have a problem (that
my business solves), but that they are happy with spending time and resources
to solve it in house.

I've been playing with a lot of numbers, and I'm almost certain that I can
solve their problems a lot cheaper than they can. I've tried to convey this in
a couple of different ways.

1\. Telling them straight forward "I can solve this for cheaper than you can
right now." 2\. Asking them if they would consider using an outside tool to
solve the problem and explaining more about how my product works.

Neither approach is really working for me. Does anyone have some solid advice
on how to guide the customer along so that they come to the conclusion that
they have a condition that needs to be fixed?

~~~
skmurphy
Make sure you communicate a clear understanding of their problem. There is a
strong temptation to leap to your solution, try more focus on making you sure
you understand their problem and that they know you understand it. Then offer
proof that you have solved similar problems for firms like theirs. Here is
where case studies, testimonials, references can help. Finally, try and
determine a trigger for action: is there a date or event where their situation
will get worse? For example, April 15 for taxes, summer vacation driving trip
for oil change, adding a new employee for a payroll service.

Jeff Thull's website is <http://www.masteringthecomplexsale.com/> and the 2nd
edition of his "Mastering the Complex Sale" is on Amazon at
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470533110/>

~~~
derefr
Definitely: customers aren't thinking purely about cost, but instead about
cost:benefit ratios. Saying "we can do it cheaper" implies not only less cost,
but—through an intuition that you're charging what the market will bear— _less
benefit_ as well. Instead, prime them by first telling them of a greater
benefit ("we've solved your problem 1000 times for 1000 companies, while
you've only solved it once; we know more about your problem than even you do"
etc.) and only _then_ cancel out the intuitive expectation of greater cost.

