I had coffee with one of my hero consultants last week. Over a decade ago, I watched him work with a customer, and he was magic. In an hour he gently gave the customer a better understanding of how to operate his business that lasted for years.
So now he’s older. Just talking to him I can see he is wiser. I am so happy.
Sure, sales are harder (for everyone I know), he has restructured his offering, gone downmarket.
The next day he sends his brochure and I am shocked. It’s a diagram of his process!
That’s not what he does! I saw what he does! He does magic!
Since I am basically a six year old with a hammer, it got me thinking about sales.
Why do so many presentations displace a sales opportunity with a process picture?
The idea for the sale develops in the prospect’s mind.
If I provide a diagram, it probably won’t match the mind picture. I should be working on THEIR picture.
But I like my diagram. It’s how I won the last war. I am secure I can do that again. Who cares what this new guy needs!
If the diagram doesn’t sell, I’ll add more pages!
Here’s a question. If you truly wanted to help your prospect define what they want to buy, what would you do?
I think I would ask questions to make that mental image as vivid as possible.
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