But the remaining 8 out of 9 spend 40% of their !me on the job moving others
PersuadeCajole Convince
InfluenceSway
Hook
Assure
Coax
Entice
Induce
Convert Urge
“The ability to move others to exchange what they have for what we have is crucial to our survival and our happiness. It has helped our species
evolve, lifted our living standards, and enhanced our daily lives.”
Daniel Pink in “To Sell is Human”
One of the most effective ways of moving others is to uncover challenges
they may not know they have
“The first time we met I didn’t have any problems. Now I
can’t sleep at night”
Told to a salesperson by a customer
If the person you’re selling to agrees to buy, will his or her life improve?
When your interaction is over, will the world be a better place than
when you began
Lead Prospect Deal
“I know someone who might be
interested in your product”
DONE DEAL
Long and winding road
Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear event”
Hired for experience
Brand name services
Commodity products/services
Price insensitive
Price sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVEVALUE ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
www.cobb-consulting.com
Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear event”
Hired for experience
Brand name services
Commodity products/services
Price insensitive
Price sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVEVALUE ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of immediately. Price is of little
concern.
www.cobb-consulting.com
Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear event”
Hired for experience
Brand name services
Commodity products/services
Price insensitive
Price sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVEVALUE ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
www.cobb-consulting.com
Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear event”
Hired for experience
Brand name services
Commodity products/services
Price insensitive
Price sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVEVALUE ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
20% Important routine work, tends to go to those with well-established reputations in a particular area.
www.cobb-consulting.com
Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear event”
Hired for experience
Brand name services
Commodity products/services
Price insensitive
Price sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVEVALUE ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
20% Important routine work, tends to go to those with well-established reputations in a particular area.
www.cobb-consulting.com
60% “Grunt work” that doesn’t require special
qualifications and can be provided by any company.
Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear event”
Hired for experience
Brand name services
Commodity products/services
Price insensitive
Price sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVEVALUE ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
20% Important routine work, tends to go to those with well-established reputations in a particular area.
www.cobb-consulting.com
60% “Grunt work” that doesn’t require special
qualifications and can be provided by any company.
20% of the market is price insensitive
“We’d like to reach 20% higher revenue in this
market over the next six months”
“We were thinking of kinda doing some e-
commerce. You do that, right?”
Lead A
Lead B
The buyer’s role, title and vertical industry
Jane DoeVP Sales+098 765 43 [email protected]
GenericCo.
A salesperson is a buying facilitator leading the buyer with
questions that are biased towards the seller's offering
‘‘It’s about leading with my ears instead of my mouth,” Ferlazzo says. ‘‘It means trying
to elicit from people what their goals are for themselves and having the flexibility to
frame what we do in that context.”
Daniel Pink in “To Sell is Human”
Discussing features prematurely is a bad idea
Opens the door for objections.
“Looks too complicated. We don’t need X!”
Leads to premature discussion of price.
“So how much would we pay if we want X and Y?”
Ask questions that are open,
framing or confirming.
Be patient.Listen actively
(and take notes if needed).
Three rules
Help the buyer visualize your product being used to solve a
problem, achieve a goal or satisfy a need
Before meeting
Learn about the buyer’s company
Learn about their competitors
Learn about current challenges in their vertical industry
2. CONFIRM AND
PRESCRIBE
Visualize and confirm usage of product to solve the problem.
Provide information about price.
Agree on terms and schedule.
1. ANALYZE AND
DIAGNOSE
Have the customer admit to a problem.
Break down feature requests using 5 WHY’s.
Ask questions to diagnose the problem and help the
buyer arrive at a solution.
Two steps
CLOSED
With better Y would
your X lead to better results?
Helps create a vision.
FRAMING
How do you do X today?
Uncovers the current
situation and problems.
OPEN
What do you hope to accomplish?
Used to uncover goals
and open a conversation.
Asking questions
“So if I've understood you correctly you'd like to
accomplish X but Y prevents you why Z would be a big help?”
Confirm
Dear Sandra,
Thank you for your interest in ABC. This is a summary of what we discussed. I understand that your primary goal is increase the amount of donations received through web and social media.
[ paraphrase of how the buyer described the cause of the problem and how much it’s worth to them ]
[ list what the buyer said would help increase the amount of donations ]
[ list of usage scenarios with your product or service ]
[ suggest next steps ]
I will call you on Thursday, Nov 22 at 09.00 to review this summary and discuss next steps. If that is not convenient, please let me know.
I look forward to working with you,
John Doe Sales ABC
The letter accurately summarizes the conversation
The buyer is willing and able to provide access to the requested key people
Talking to these people is meaningful and can lead to more evaluation or close
Confirm
Reasons for RFP
Legal requirements such as the public procurement process
The buyer already has a seller in mind
Buyer company policy
The buyer has one or several goals
The buyer can visualize achieving the goals using your offering
You understand the buyer’s current situation
The buyer can influence and provide a budget
There’s a plan for how your offering will be delivered.
Your cheat sheet
Shoots beams. Faster than puny “Enterprise”
Onboard bur!r joint. Awesome dresscode! Trash compactors!
Overpopulation. Too many Jedi.
Sunsets. Happiness.
Wants a cleaner galaxy.
Annihilation :)
Using planet destroyer beam to blow stuff up!
Death Star!
Linking features to goals
Feature Advantage Benefit Goal
Mobile-friendly responsive website
Better search engine ranking and user experience for
all users
More customers can use the website which generates more leads
and sales
Increase sales generated
through website
Blog with content that matters to
customers
Reach your audience with
content they need and want
Improved perception, sense of authority,
more pricing power
Increase profit by being able to raise
prices
Visually appealing gallery featuring previous projects
Offer proof of quality of previous
work and communicate
professionalism
Helps more customers understand that you’re
a good choice
Take market shares from competitors
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing Table with price options
Pg. 3
Feature - Advantage - Benefit Summary benefit
FAB table
Pg. 2
Executive summary Value proposition
Summary Bullets with benefits
Pg. 1
Buyer name Buyer company name
Date and valid thru date Whether it’s a quote or a tender,
Your name Your company name Your contact details
Cover
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing Table with price options
Pg. 3
Feature - Advantage - Benefit Summary benefit
FAB table
Pg. 2
Executive summary Value proposition
Summary Bullets with benefits
Pg. 1
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing Table with price options
Pg. 3
Feature - Advantage - Benefit Summary benefit
FAB table
Pg. 2
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing Table with price options
Pg. 3
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references A visual overview
Pg. 6
General terms Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Reading
Buy Buy Buy