Many customers will never believe you until you show them the numbers.
Just because you know them in your head doesn’t excuse you from having them on a chart or spreadsheet.
If you’re like me, numbers are great, but there’s no need to show me the detail. Problem is for many of your customers, they do want to see details.
When we walk into a customer and call out to them some statistics or numbers, we may think we’re showing them how smart we are, but for the analytical customer, it also means we could be losing a sale.
We don’t always have to put the details (charts, spreadsheets, etc.) into a presentation. I’ll argue they should be left out more often than not.
However, just because you’re not putting them in a presentation does not exclude you from having them ready to go in some form you can show the customer. If you’re dealing with a customer who is into numbers, they want to see detail. And if you leave it out, you might as well have skipped the call and stayed home.
An argument can be made even with these people to not put it in the presentation. Many times analytical people always want to feel like they’ve been able to push the salesperson a little bit further in digging into the numbers.
With this being the case, for many of them the best way to wow them is to suddenly pull them out and present them after you’ve put the presentation on the table. By doing this, it appears to the customer you’ve done something extra for them.
Beauty is in the details, especially for the analytical person.
Don’t think just because you don’t need them or, worse yet, you don’t fully understand them, that you can leave them out.
Have those details ready. Your next sale might be depending on it.
Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
2 Responses
Good advice because you often aren’t sure what type of personality you’re dealing with until you’re sittong across the desk from them.
Sales people typically sell the way they would like to be sold to. This causes a disconnect if the buyer is a different type of personality from the salesperson. The key for the salesperson is to understand one’s own personality, recognize the difference in the personality of the buyer (particularly if the buyer is a “polar opposite”) and adapt.
An example: the assertive buyer who doesn’t feel the need for a detailed numbers presentation to support his decision is thinking, “Ok, I got it. Let’s move on.” The analytical buyer who needs evidence to support her decision is thinking, “this isn’t going anywhere until I’m certain it’s the right move.” Most hunter type salespeople are assertive and experience more difficult sales calls with the more analytical types of buyers.
I agree, showing the numbers can be powerful. Showing clear total cost of ownership advantage and clear ROI on the purchase is essential.