Expanding on the notion of the complex sale a bit more.
It may seem old fashioned, but one of the things that you are going to need to succeed in sales is something to sell. (No, really.) Product origination is something that I have discussed here earlier.
Basically products fall into two main classes, innovative or derivative. Innovative products, briefly, are those that solve a new problem, or solve an existing problem in a new way. One good example that springs to mind is the Segway.
Problem, I need to travel a distance in a semi-urban environment that is not conducive to taking a car, but is too far to conveniently walk, and I am too stupid/lazy/malco-ordinated to buy a bicycle. Answer, a gyroscopically controlled golf cart, with an intuitive lean-where-you-want-to-go steering system.
Derivative products are those that expand on a well-known and understood class of problem, and the existing solutions.
The derivative problem solving solution in this case could be the bicycle; I need to travel a distance in a semi-urban environment that is not conducive to taking a car, but is too far to conveniently walk. I go to a bike shop and explain my requirements, and they offer me a range of broadly similar options, and I pick the one that I like the best. The products are all derivative of the same class, e.g. bicycle, but the range of options and styles is a positive advantage, from a customer point of view.
The offering does not have to be a physical product, I personally sell (SAP) ERP solutions, and the deliverable in this case is a number of DVD-ROMS with zeros and ones on them. What the customer is buying is the fact that the code will do something useful when put in the right environment, e.g. a large computer network. Services are also saleable, lawyers, doctors, bankers and musicians just a thin sliver of the possibilities for sale of services.
So, in understanding the offering, there are some things that are common:
· What is the problem that what I am selling is going to solve?
· How does it solve this problem?
· What elements make up the product?
· How is it packaged?
· Contractually, what do I have to manage?
· What are the generic benefits of this approach and product?
What is the lifecycle of this product, through the following stages?
· Conception
· Design
· Build or creation
· Packaging
· Implementation
· Daily usage
· Maintenance in use
· End of life or replacement issues
In addition within this there should be some concept of the replacement cycle for the products predecessors and successors.
I am going to go into more detail in each of these areas in subsequent posts. But carry this thought, until then: “Cheapest or Best, there is nothing else.” Which does your product that you will sell wish to be?
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