6.9 Test Your Knowledge

Delivering value means asking questions, listening to your customer, and defining value in customer terms.

Dress one step above what you would wear if you worked at the organization. When in doubt, dress up.

Dos include the following:

• Do make your slides easy to read.
• Do replace descriptive headlines with headlines that sell.
• Do use the 10/20/30 rule.
• Do remember that that PowerPoint is only an aid.

Don’ts include the following:

• Don’t turn down the lights.
• Don’t go overboard with technological gimmicks.
• Don’t hide behind your computer screen when using PowerPoint.
• Don’t fill your slides with words.
• Don’t bore your audience with visual sameness.

Make sure you limit your slides to 10 or fewer. Give yourself 20 minutes to go through your 10 slides. And use only 30-point or larger font size so that your audience can clearly read what you’ve written.

Samples and demonstrations bring the product to life and help your prospect to see your solution as part of her story. Samples and demos also educate the prospect, prove the performance of your product, and get the prospect involved.

Opening, investigation, demonstrating capability, and obtaining commitment.

A closed-ended question requires a yes or no answer, such as “Do you currently use a recycling service?”

An open-ended question engages the customer in conversation, such as “How do you currently process invoices?”

Check for understanding.

Proposals should only come after your prospect has clearly made a connection to your product. Presenting specifics like pricing early on can create objections and prevent your prospect from making an emotional connection to the product.

Questions or hesitancies on the part of the prospect or customer.

Review your presentation with someone, write down all the possible objections, and incorporate them into your presentation.

A prospect may object at any time, especially when you are setting up the appointment, during the presentation, and during the trial close.

View the objection as a question, respond to the objection with a question, restate the objection before answering the objection, take a pause before responding, use testimonials and past experiences, and never argue with the customer.

Product objection, source objection, price objection, money objection, “I’m already satisfied” objection, and “I have to think about it” objection.

Value is the worth that a product or service provides to a customer. It is not based on cost but on perceived benefit.

An objection that is not openly stated by the prospect but is an obstacle in the way of making the sale.

Send a personal thank-you e-mail and handwritten thank-you note within twenty-four hours of the interview.