Lesson #2- Jeeps anyone?
Product knowledge was in fact important, and the dividends paid off in not only respect from the manager who gave me sweet prospects, but also I was armed with confidence so that if the customer did have specific questions about features, I could list a single benefit or two, and relate how it results in a benefit for them.
I was in a mall a few weeks ago and decided to stop in a men's underwear store. I was looking at a pair of boxer-briefs made from a crazy material. The clerk came up and started listing features of the materials- It's 80% lycra, it's made from poly synthetic fibres, etc... etc... that really stuck in my mind because it didn't tell me anything I needed to know- or what someone would probably be asking at that time.
1)Will it feel comfortable?
2)Will it be too hot?
3)Will it shrink in the wash?
4)Will it last- is it durable?
In the end- he never answered those questions, so I didn't buy it- and thus, I was condemnned to an eternity of cotton boxer-briefs which are comfortable, are not too hot, don't shrink in the wash, and are durable.
When I first made the jump from techie to sales, besides trading in my t-shirts and cargo pants for button downs and kahkis, I also had to get used to speaking in benefits instead of features and understanding what is important to the client and why.
Now I know what is important to the client, because the needs of the client are pretty universal. They want to maximize income, minimize costs and ensure there's value in the products and services they use for those ends.
Product Knowledge- Jeeps anyone?
My first sales job- and my first 'real job' after University was selling cars in Ottawa. Jeeps to be exact at a place that was the number one Jeep/Eagle sales room for years, but recently slipped to second in the city.
Even though I was green- I was hungry! And even though I was young- I was not the youngest guy there.
I did a fax blast and got a number of interviews for car sales guys around the city. This one made the first offer, after a number of gruelling interviews testing how well I could think on my feet, my personal skills, how I build relationships, etc...
I remember being over joyed when they gave me the job.
I also remember the sliminess of the sales men; racist, sexist, two-faced jerks who would step on their mother for a sale.
I remember two important things that I learned in that job and still use today though:
1) Learn the technical information about your product.
2) Forget the technical information about your product.
OK- what I mean by forget the technical information is that if you start going on about "This sprocket has a 0.5 mm variance..." your prospect is going to either lose interest or nod off.
The only people that technical specs mean anything to is engineers and they'd rather look up the technical specs than talk to you. What matters isn't features- it's Benefits!
That being said- you have to remember the product specs. You have to know them, know what they mean, and how they improve the product, and translate into benefits for the customer. Why do you have to know it?
It's your job.
Welcome
I am Mike. I am a business development manager at a small IT company in Toronto. I'm off to do my MBA in Dublin (Ireland) in September. I have 3 years experience in the business side of things, doing sales and marketing for eBusiness companies. Before that- I worked for 4 years as a developer of eBusiness systems.
This is is a chronicle of my journey in sales.
