Recommending
Solutions to Your Customer
Once you’ve
had a chance to speak with your
customer to discuss the various
options that are available to them, you can start moving into
the part of the sales cycle when you recommend solutions. Since
the act of discussing options can take place over more than one
meeting or phone
call, this part may take place either during an existing meeting
or at a later time. Many sales
professionals prefer to have some time to reflect on what has
been discussed in order to make an appropriate recommendation. This
is a wise approach.
Don’t feel pressured
to make an immediate recommendation. Some customers may ask for
a quick answer. Let them
know that you need some time to mull over your discussions so that
you can provide a recommendation
that truly fits their needs. In some instances, it may very well
make sense to make an immediate recommendation. Just focus on that
which will make it easier to then move towards closing
the sale.
Before making
a recommendation, you first need to make sure that the customer
is in the right frame of mind to move forward. Test the waters…
Sales Rep: “Were there any requirements
you wanted to discuss in regards to the initiative?”
Customer: “No, I think that pretty much covers it.
We just want to make sure that the core requirements are met when
making our decision.”
OK… the customer
has given you the green light. They don’t have any more specific
needs other than what you have discussed. Once you know it is
“safe” to move forward, you can recommend the appropriate solution.
Solutions need
to answer those specific needs or concerns brought up by the customer
in other phases of the sales cycle. They need to be applicable and
stated as benefit statements so that clients don’t have to guess
how or why they will benefit. Utilize the same FAB
formula we have advocated throughout this class:
Feature: “Based on our discussions,
I would like to recommend the ReliaTone presses to handle the printing
needs of your in-house documentation center as it designed as an
all-in-one machine.”
Advantage: “The ReliaTone is engineered
to accommodate both small to large-scale electronic and hard copy
print jobs in a compact, yet powerful machine.”
Benefit: “This will enable you to
minimize the expense
of purchasing multiple presses while increasing the productivity
of those employees who only have to learn how to use machine.”
You can use
additional FABs to back up your recommendation so that your
customer truly understands the applicability of your solution.
As you go through this phase, your customer will let you know if
you are on the track, if they have an objection or if they are ready
to buy.
Another example might include:
Feature: “Given your requirements
and the discussions we’ve had, I would like to recommend the eFlood
online portal with a web-based interface that can be used by loan
officers in all of your branches.”
Advantage: “The interface is designed
as a quick and easy to use tool that can provide a response
faster than any other system on the market.
Benefit: “This will improve
loan officer productivity via access to flood zone data for the
lower 48, Hawaii and Alaska. The faster you can provide approvals,
the more business you’ll win.”
Be sure to practice
using FABs
for this phase of the sales cycle as well as others. Doing so will
empower you to show your customers how they will benefit from working
with your company.
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