Value-based Persistence: Turn Resistance Into Interest

Don't Just Persist: Use Value-based Persistence

Anyone who has ever sold for a living has encountered a situation like the following.After weeks of trying, you're finally broke through and are talking for the first time to a buyer at a company who you feel you would be a perfect fit for your product or service. Before you barely get two words out of your mouth the potential prospect shuts you down by saying one of three things:1. We already have a supplier.2. We are not in the market right now. Maybe in the future.3. We are not interested.What should you do when you run into resistance on your initial sales call?My answer to this question has two parts. I’ll talk about how to qualify your interest in a potential prospect who pushes back in this article today. In my post tomorrow, I’ll get into how to use Value-Based Persistence to open doors.First, ask yourself this question: Is the solution I'm selling superior to the alternatives the customer is either using or could acquire in the near-term?This is not an easy question to answer. We all want to be convinced of the superiority of the solution we sell but the hard truth is that it isn't always the case. As the old expression goes, there are horses for courses. Some products are better suited for some customers than others.You have to be absolutely honest with your answer. Simply put, are you convinced that you a better fit with the prospect's requirements than the other guys? Do you provide a value proposition that is superior to all competitive solutions? In similar situations, with similar customers, have you reliably beaten the competition? And, have the customers been totally satisfied with the solution you have provided?There is a real, tangible downside for you if you answer the question incorrectly. At risk is your most precious and limited resource, your selling time. You can’t afford to invest your time to pursue a prospect that is highly unlikely to buy from you.Think of it this way. Every minute you spend trying to sell an unqualified prospect is a wasted minute that you can’t invest to close orders with true prospects. Before you make that bet, be mindful of the real opportunity cost in terms of all the other sales opportunities you will have to forego in order to work on this one. That’s a large bet.Let's ask the question again. Are you absolutely, positively the best solution for this customer? If the answer is no, that’s ok. Not everyone can be a prospect. Go develop other prospects that will be better fits for your product.If the answer to the question is an unequivocal yes, then you need to demonstrate this confidence and this sense of conviction to the potential prospect. The way to do this is with a value-based persistence campaign that will result in the buyer engaging with you in a buying process.Value-based Persistence is an easy technique you can use with the potential prospect who has the characteristics to be a great prospect but hasn’t yet committed to investigate making a change.In my next post tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to implement a Value-based Persistence campaign.