Tools in your arsenal help you get clients!
Whether you are in the consulting space or not, you need to have tools in your arsenal if you are planning to signup a large number of clients for your high-value product or service.
Those were the days, in my first job, when I got an additional responsibility to sell Scala ERP Software.
Oracle Apps came much later.
I was selling Software Products initially, then I sold IT Consulting Services. And then came ERP.
How to sell an ERP?
Selling ERP software was a different ball game altogether.
It is not like selling MS Office. You can’t quote the lowest price and take the order. NO.
It calls for some management consulting skills, to sell an ERP.
Selling an ERP and implementing it is a multi-year commitment for both the seller and the buyer.
We cannot rush things.
If there is no fit, you should walk away and not sell it.
If you force a sale, you will have a lot of heartburns later.
They say, and I believe, buying is an emotional decision first. Then you look for justifications for your decision. That’s backward engineering.
In the case of ERP too, buying can be an emotional decision. But it depends on whether the client’s company has deep pockets, time, skilled knowledge workers, etc.
We need to involve the top management. And we need to get their buy-in. That can happen only with data. So, it is an emotional + rational decision.
I liked the sales process and enjoyed selling ERP software.
The feeling that I am going to help my client turn around, build efficient processes, cut down inefficiencies, save time and money & improve the bottom line is a very valuable one.
Also, I thought the people at my client’s place are going to be happy using the ERP that I sold.
Prospecting:
Before deciding to work with a prospect, I qualified the prospect with something called…..
Preliminary Questionnaire document.
Once the prospects are qualified, there was another document called….
Scoping document!
These documents were important tools in the arsenal of a consultant. The details captured in these documents helped us in many ways.
This exercise also helps us in knowing if a prospect is a right fit for us or not.
The scoping document covered almost every aspect of the business.
As we went along, we qualified the prospect and also found the bottlenecks & challenges we might need to address later in the project if the client signs up.
This was simply possible because of the scoping document.
If a client didn’t qualify in the first stage, then it means they are not a fit for ERP.
If they didn’t qualify in the second stage, then it means they are not a fit for the ERP products that we were selling.
Enter 2022.
I am in the process of creating a document for providing my consulting services. My past experience will come in handy to me, while I create this document.
Some tools in the arsenal of a consultant:
- A playbook for the client: It can be for Sales / Marketing / Business Growth / any area that you specialize in that may be of interest to the clients, and giving it free prior to the contract or as a deliverable as part of your contract.
- Your book: It can be published by a publishing house or even self-published. This will make you an authority in your domain. You can give multiple copies of your book to your client even prior to the sale.
- Speaking assignments: Wherever some mega event is happening in your domain, you should be speaking there. This also makes you an authority in your domain. Give free tickets to your prospects to attend your event as your guest!
If you are in Sales/Marketing, you should also create some tools that will be helpful in your work. In the near future, you should think of getting an NFT [non-fungible token] for your work [I meant tools]!
Key Takeaways:
- Sell only if it’s a win-win.
- Enjoy the sales process. Else quit.
- Don’t sell on price ever but on the value, you are creating.
- Have the maturity to walk away if it’s not a fit.
- Recommend only products that have your seal of approval.
- Sign-up with a client only if you can add value.
Happy Selling!
Read more ERP stories here: https://zignalytics.com/2021/07/08/selling-to-engineering-companies-is-a-diff-ball-game/
#b2bsales #erp #consulting #kkrocks #enterpriseresourceplanning