This is part 7 covering one step to Mastering The Sell, an ongoing series that explores how to transform the process of selling to achieve champion level results. Make sure to go back to the original article titled the Sale Vs The Sell. Each of the articles in the series can be found there.
Be clear like water
Before you can get a prospect to say yes and agree to pay you, they have to clearly understand what they’re going to be paying for. They have to clearly see the value.
Imagine that you and your prospect are in front of a wall filled with a murky liquid impossible to see through. Behind the wall are all the things that show the value of hiring you as their MSP. And all that stands between you and a new client is the wall.
As you present your solution, it makes the liquid either clearer or murkier. The words you use and visuals you share all either act to clear or make the liquid harder to see through.
Job number one is to make everything you say and show to your client so simple to understand that there’s no doubt they can see the value. If there’s any confusion in what you do, even the slightest, it muddies the water. And that hurts your chances to close the sale and get a new client because they just can’t see the value.
Here’s how you can be crystal clear, like water:
Ask and listen
It’s been mentioned before in this series. The more you listen to someone, the more you will understand their needs.
You will also, start to understand more about them as a person. You will build a connection with them.
People just tend to like and trust someone more when they feel they’ve been heard by them. And we all buy from people we know, like and trust.
Speak their language
Speak to them in their language, not yours. As an MSP, you are immersed in a world of technology which is confusing to the prospects you’ll be dealing with. Your singular drive should be to help them completely understand what these things do for them.
You do this by removing all of those technical buzz words. You have to think about all the things you will be saying and work to put it into language they will understand. Speak their language (non-technical), not yours (very technical).
Speak in benefits
No one cares what the thing is. They care what it does for them. You, me and everyone else buys the benefits.
For example, I just bought a new camera mount for my iPhone. But the reason I bought it was because the one I have is a pain in my behind. I bought the ability to easily slide my iPhone onto my tripod with only one hand. And not having a piece of plastic blocking my screen when I film.
The reason I chose the one I bought is because they clearly showed me, in language I understood, that it would do the things I wanted done. The benefits.
Benefits are what is in it for your prospects/clients. Benefits are what your products or services do for your clients.
Features are specifications. They are the things that you as a technician love and understand. But talking about features will only muddy the water more.
You’re not selling a firewall. You’re selling protection from some bad player hacking into your system (or whatever benefit your client told you they needed).
Be concise
Can you explain why a server needs to be replaced in only 150 characters like a Tweet on Twitter? In audIT, we take things down to the bottom-line using summary statements.
This means you will have no choice but to explain this in as concise a way as possible. You’re essentially doing something prospects really want: Getting to the point.
You may have a ton of information about their server. But all they need to know is the bottom line.
For example: The server(s) is over 5 years old, out of warranty or running a non-supported operating system.
From that concise statement the prospect knows exactly what the problem is. And it’s clear what they need to do next… buy a new server… from you!
Use visuals
Visuals just make it easier to understand anything. However, the visual has to follow all the rules you’re reading here. If your visuals are heavy on details, need a lot of explanation or are a jumble of unappealing and deep content, they can hurt more than they help.
audIT is visual. But it could not be simpler.
It actually elicits emotion. When you engage the emotional side of the brain, comprehension and understanding go way up.
Reveal the score
Imagine you go to your doctor to have an examination of your heart. The doctor hooks you up to a machine that is mapping out what your ticker is doing.
It gives off an alarm and spits a piece of paper out. The paper says ’Heart Score’ on the top. And in the middle, it shows a scale that has a zero on the left in red and a 100 on the right in green. Your score is 23. How does this make you feel?
I’ll tell you exactly how it makes you feel… alarmed. Maybe all the blood rushed from your head and you feel like you’re going to faint.
Because we understand where we stand when we’re given a score. We know that on a scale from 1 to 10, a 3 would be bad while an 8 would be good. We get that with almost no context given.
We know that a 23 out of 100 is an F. It’s a failing grade. It needs no explanation.
audIT calculates a score. All red and they will be at zero. All green and they will be at 100. So, if the prospect sees the result of their audIT is a 45, they know with no explanation that they’re not doing well at all.
Tell stories
You likely have plenty of horror stories you can share. Things that went very wrong for that client that refused to let you implement security awareness training. Then a week later, one of their employees clicked on a link that kicked off a really bad virus.
These stories can help you easily explain something very technical. Stories also engage us in a different way. It helps our brains visualize and put things into context much easier.
This is the reason audIT has built in infographics. It lets MSPs use a visual to help tell a story that explains complex technical concepts.
Use patterns
Patterns help our minds understand and put things into context. When we understand the pattern, it helps build familiarity which leads to trust.
Our minds naturally look for patterns. The clearer and easier to understand the pattern is, the more our minds like it.
Of course, keep in mind, there is a fine line between a pattern and a puzzle. The pattern must be simple and non-confusing. audIT uses a very simple pattern of nine items per category.
It looks like a Rubik’s cube or a tic tac toe board. The pattern is clear and simple. It is instantly relatable and familiar. This helps us build trust.
Engage their imagination
When our imagination is engaged, it starts to take us on a journey. It paints pictures of what can be. Emotion is involved which is what we want.
Because audIT is very visual, follows a pattern, is concise… it lets the prospects imagination run wild.
They will paint a picture in their own mind that shows what horrors await if they stay the way they are. And, of course, how great things will be when you become their MSP.
Use tech that helps you do all this
The final tip is a short cut to doing all this. audIT does all this for you and more. Make your life easier and give it a try and see for yourself!