We’ve put this video together based on some of the more common questions that we get from our wholesale reseller partners. These include VARS, IT integrators and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) who sell Storagepipe’s data protection services to their business clients.
Every salesperson dreads the idea of selling to committees. This is especially true in highly technical fields such as those targeted by VARs and Resellers, where the ultimate decision maker might not be the most technical person involved in the project.
Generally, you will have a group of technical decision makers who are primarily concerned about features and capabilities. Then, you will have business decision makers who are concerned about things such as cost, ROI and the impact of these new technologies on the company and its objectives.
In these discussions all of these concerns must be addressed in a way that balances the need to be both comprehensive but also succinct and to-the-point. Before going into these group decisions, it’s important to spend time in preparing for the final committee presentation, and to understand the political climate of the group so that you understand what needs to prioritize, and in what way your offering delivers value to the client.
One of the biggest mistakes to avoid in committee decisions is to make sure that you have all of the appropriate decision makers present in the room when you make your presentation. This is important because your only chance to make a good first impression will be at this presentation. And the second time you tell your story, it will be less compelling and less dramatic than the first time.
It’s also important to ensure — above all else — that this presentation is primarily about the customer’s needs. It’s tempting for many salespeople to want to talk about themselves, their products, their industry or their benefits. But ultimately, the customer only cares about how doing business with you will deliver value to their own lives. And this should always be your primary focus.
For more advice on how to handle group sales decisions when promoting business technology services, have a look at this short video for VARs and Resellers.