Salespeople need to focus on helping buyers and users make progress by understanding their context and outcome and aligning their product to meet those needs.
The main challenge in implementing demand side sales is shifting the mindset of salespeople to look at the customer's context and outcome rather than focusing solely on features and benefits.
Deep dives
Understanding the Progress of Buyers and Users
Salespeople need to understand the progress that buyers and users want to make and help them reconcile the trade-offs. This involves unpacking the underlying causal mechanisms for each critical person in the process and recognizing that the success of their product depends on making progress for both the buyer and the user. It's important for salespeople to understand the constituents involved in the process and focus on helping them make progress.
The Challenges of Implementing Demand Side Sales
The main challenge in implementing demand side sales is shifting the mindset of salespeople to look at the customer's context and outcome rather than focusing solely on features and benefits. Salespeople often struggle to go beyond their product and consider what customers are trying to accomplish with their purchase. Recognizing that progress is a combination of situation, struggle, and outcome, salespeople should aim to shape the field of play by understanding customer struggles and aligning their product to meet those needs.
The Pitfalls of Feature Benefit Selling
Feature benefit selling, where salespeople list out every feature and benefit of their product, can often backfire. It overwhelms customers and may highlight features they don't actually need, leading to price negotiations. Salespeople need to tailor their presentation by understanding the customer's context and outcome, and focus on solving their specific problems. It's essential to drive progress by understanding what motivates customers, helping them overcome anxieties, and identifying the trade-offs they are willing to make. The salesperson's role is to be a therapist, unpacking the progress desired by the buyer and the user, and finding common ground for trade-offs.
The Importance of Understanding Jobs to Be Done
The foundation of demand side sales is understanding the jobs to be done. It is crucial to deeply comprehend what progress customers are trying to make and align sales efforts accordingly. Salespeople often have biases and need to divorce themselves from their product to truly understand their customers' needs. Jobs to be done helps salespeople shift their focus from pushing a product to helping customers achieve progress. Without a solid understanding of the jobs to be done, it's challenging to effectively implement demand side sales strategies.
I don't need to sell my product; I need to help people buy it. On today's Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg discuss their book Demand-Side Sales. They will talk about why they wrote it, and what they learned from it. They'll also talk about what they believe to be the most difficult challenge for people implementing demand-side sales. Bob will give his perspective on between getting the first yes or no, which is more important in sales. You will learn what progress means in Jobs to Be Done and why it is so important in sales. You will discover why you, as a salesperson, actually need to be a therapist. They'll discuss the problem of feature-benefit selling and how to make it more effective.
You'll discover why it is difficult to apply demand-side sales to companies that have not done Jobs To Be Done. They will share how difficult it was for them to do Jobs To Be Done as well and how contracting with another company changed their sales and marketing processes. They will provide insights into the two demand-side sales courses that are yet to be launched.
Join Bob and Greg for this thought-provoking and timely discussion.
Enjoy!
What You'll Learn in this Show:
Why are there no sales professors?
The mindset shift that most salespeople need
In sales, is it more important to get the first yes or the first no?
The value of understanding Jobs To Be Done when doing demand-side sales
Do most companies know why customers buy their product?
Why you need to hire someone to do Jobs To Be Done
