This week I have the privilege of introducing a guest
blogger, Paul H. Pearce. As the first Certified
Great Demo! Affiliate Paul has mastered the Great Demo! methodology and today
contributes to its ongoing success and growth.
In his Master Series Great Demo! courses he represents the intricacies
of the training and recommends ways to increase its success with practical
lessons and real-world experience. The
blog below was inspired by questions from one of his clients. Perhaps he will enlighten us again in the
future with comparisons to the Challenger Sales!
CustomerCentric Selling Great
Demo! Style By Paul H. Pearce
We recently reviewed the CustomerCentric sales
methodology (CCS) with a client seeking to blend the best of several sales approaches. Based upon nine main tenets, CCS seeks to
transform salespeople from product pushers to collaborative consultants. As we reviewed each tenet, it was easy to see
how they apply to and support the concepts of the Great Demo! methodology (GD)
(can you hear the voice of Peter Cohan in your head saying ‘But Wait…There’s More…” LOL).
CustomerCentric behaviors have empowered sales strategies
for years and remain highly pertinent today even as we consider newer models
and approaches like the Challenger Sale.
Below we hope you will enjoy a quick comparison and further validation
of the brilliance in both models, one for Sales and the other for Presales, as
you continue to deliver surprisingly effective software demonstrations.
CCS Tenet #1: Converse situationally
instead of making presentations
GD Principle: The Great Demo! methodology teaches that we
want the audience to perceive that the demo is a two-way, bidirectional
conversation, rather than the fire-hose delivery style of information!
CCS
Tenet #2: Ask relevant questions instead of offering opinions
GD Principle: The
Great Demo! methodology teaches us to Peel Back the Layers in accord with the
client’s depth and level of interest.
”Would you like to see more?”
CCS Tenet #3: Focus on the solution
instead of the relationship
GD Principle: By presenting the Delta we can ensure we
are focusing on the solution and how to impact the client’s business and solve
the customer’s problem.
CCS Tenet #4: Target decision-makers
instead of users
GD Principle: Remember the Situation Slide and the
Inverted Pyramid. Address the highest
level problems first and then Peel Back the Layers in accord with the customer’s
depth and level of interest.
CCS Tenet #5: Promote product usage and outcomes to garner interest
instead of the product alone
GD Principle: Use Illustrations. An Illustration is a concise, visual method
of communicating the reality of a Solution.
Often, an Illustration is a desired report, which may be generated from
the results of a series of individual steps.
CCS Tenet #6: Strive to be the best
seller rather than the busiest
GD Principle: Invest
in discovery. Hold the demo until the
appropriate time and after fully understanding the client’s Critical Business
Issues and Specific Capabilities required.
Consider workflow analysis as a great way to fully understand the value
your solution can provide.
CCS Tenet #7: Close on the buyer’s timeline rather than the
seller’s
GD Principle: Critical Dates - By understanding critical
dates and impending events we can create a deal timeline that helps ensure the
solution and value (Delta) are realized for the client.
CCS Tenet #8: Empower buyers to buy instead of convincing
them
GD Principle: Consider
the key elements of a Situation Slide which is a structured way to capture and
communicate key elements of information.
The Situation Slide offers a
critical advantage, it is a tool to review the needs of the clients as presented
in the form of a two way bidirectional conversation using the clients
nomenclature and information.
CCS Tenet #9: Every sales
transaction should either enable a buyer to achieve a goal, solve a problem, or
satisfy a need. If the product or service won’t fulfill any of these three
ends, the salesperson should walk away from the deal.
GD Principle: If
you cannot help the customer achieve a goal, solve a problem and have not
invested in signficant discovery you are not ready to provide a technical proof
demo.
While unique in style, yet fully supporting the other, we
hope you have enjoyed the comparisons above between these two great sales
methodologies. If you have additional
thoughts on how other sales methodolgies can be compared to the Great Demo!
methodology, please leave a comment.
Happy (Solution) Selling!
Paul H. Pearce
Principal, Winning Demo
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