Nobody cares what you do
Newsflash: The products and services you make are of no interest to your customers. Sorry, but it's true. They just don’t care. And if you’re waiting for a witty twist to this tale, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.
If we all agree that everything we do, say, think and write should be through the eyes of the customer, why does this get thoroughly lost in the world of B2B sales? Instead, we spend inordinate amounts of time obsessing over a strategic solution or idea, using buzzy jargon and catchy names, describing at length our fancy new features and functions. And yet, we give very little time to why someone should actually care. Consequently, they don’t.
With my strategic background, I constantly get asked to help sales teams sell strategic solutions. The thinking usually goes something like this: We lost the deal because we weren’t ‘strategic enough’, we missed the insight, or the idea wasn’t big enough etc etc.
Now, yes these can be real issues – but often that is not the whole truth. There are some brilliant insights that lead to solid thinking. The problem lies in how it is packaged and presented. This is the tricky part where the grand idea becomes less about the value and utility it delivers for the customer – and more about all the stuff you get. Even worse, you may get taken along some torturous journey through their strategic process that illuminates the genius in their seven steps, almost as if no one else has ever thought of a seven-step process before…
Very simply, we buy things that we see as being useful to us. Things that solve a specific problem.
Which brings me on to the bigger issue. We are not shining the light on the benefits our idea can bring to the buyer's needs. Instead, we are spending all of our time on us: how we made it, the component parts, and why we all love it. Well, that’s great to hear – but what about the buyers?
I call this selling the ingredients, not the dish. Apparently, I have become known for this phrase – so maybe the message is finally getting out there. You see, flour and water are way less tasty than pancakes if I’m in the market for food, or nowhere near as useful as glue if I want to stick paper on a balloon. When we sell the hungry person pancakes smothered in honey, they not only buy from us, they happily pay us more than if we simply sold them the flour and water. Even if we talked at length about how well-milled our flour is: “Look how white and fluffy it is after going through our seven-step milling process, want to learn more? Hey, come back, there are six more steps to tell you about…”
If we want our customers to actually care about what we do, we have to move on from selling raw ingredients and master the art of creating tasty dishes.
If this hits the spot with you, reach out. I am happy to review where I think the challenge lies, and provide an honest perspective on how your menu can better resonate with your buyers.