5 Steps to selling solutions
What is it and how to do it! What is solutions-based selling? And how do you sell a solution as sales professional?
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In answering, let’s start with the word itself. Merriam-Webster defines the word solution as:
a. An action or process of solving a problem
b: an answer to a problem
Based on the above definition, solutions selling simply mean providing answers to problems. A solution is the answer to a problem or pain and, therefore, before sales professional can sell a solution, s/he has to identify a problem or pain.
If sales professionals wish to become a solutions provider and business advisor to their clients, they must first uncover the problem or problems and help educate the prospect about them.
To uncover the problems or pains that a prospective client has, begin by examining the benefits your product or service offers. However, don’t confuse benefits with solutions.
A benefit is not a solution unless it solves a problem. If you are not sure what benefits apply to the customer, then ask questions to find areas your product can help.
Importance of solution selling
Many industries are experiencing intense competitive activities in an already challenging economic environment. Potential customers do not see clear a differentiation between product benefits and features of competing products and services. Indeed, buyers perceive almost all products and services as a commodity.
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Another factor is the role of the well-informed, more knowledgeable, skillful and professional buyer. As a result, it is imperative that sales professionals place emphasis on products and customers’ needs and wants instead of emphasising features, advantages and benefits.
To become solution sellers, sales professionals require the relevant skills and knowledge that can add value to their selling activities.
Here are five simple steps on how sales professionals can uncover a problem, and then present the solution to that problem:
1. Examine the benefits of your product or service
Start with your benefits, but don’t stop there.
Instead, consider the benefit and work backwards.
Ask yourself, ‘WHY is this a benefit to the customer?’, and you will immediately find the problems.
As an example, let’s take a sales person who sells the latest and greatest network printers that can fax, email, and do everything but make coffee.
The prospect has a separate stand alone printer and fax machine and both work fine. What is a benefit the network printer offers?
Well, the sales person knows that one benefit with the networked printer is that staff can send their work to the printer and fax it instantly with the click of a mouse, right from their workstation. So, she tries to sell the benefit:
“Mr Prospect, with this printer, your staff can send faxes right from their own workstations!” That’s nice, but there is no motivation—because there is no solution—because there is no problem. They’ve been getting along just fine without the network printer.
2. Figure out why those benefits are indeed benefits
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However, let us take this benefit and work backward; asking what makes it a benefit. Then we can identify and uncover the problem and sell a solution!
The benefit: employees can fax from their desks.
Why is that a benefit: because the staff will save a lot of time and money.
3. Identify the problem at the core of the benefit
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First, they currently have to print hard copy of each document costing tons of money in paper and ink. Then they must leave their desks and walk over to the printer only to then go to the fax machine (which usually has a waiting line) then manually fax the document, also waiting to make sure it went through successfully. If this process takes only five minutes; multiply that by every faxed document and that by every employee and you get huge amount of money literally going to waste. Bingo! That is a BIG problem!
So you do not sell the individual benefits, instead you first uncover the problem and offer a solution!
4. Educate the customer about the problem
“Mr Prospect, your people spend an enormous amount of time and money by having to print hard copy and go to both machines….” If the prospect does not readily see the problem, ask more questions.
“Mr Prospect, do you know approximately how many faxes your staff send out every day?” “Well, if you multiply that by five or six minutes and multiply that by the average salary…”
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5. Offer the solution to that problem and demonstrate roi
Once you’ve uncovered the problem, present the solution…the answer!
“Mr Prospect, with our network printer, you solve that problem because each employee can print and scan without leaving their desk. This will save you time and make you save money.”