“Stephen Covey’s sixth habit of highly successful people, 'Seek first to understand—then to be understood,' applies to highly successful business developers.” ― Mahan Khalsa

I've been on a small project interviewing executives for a new product launch. I have them tell me stories about similar products to get an idea of where they might categorize this offering, how they like to learn about similar offerings, who they might delegate a sales rep to, and other big projects they've been part of. It's eye-opening to hear the other side of a successful sales process especially when they talk about what they know today they wish they knew in the past.
The surprising thing is how many times the buyer has alluded to, or come right out and said, the sellers were unethical. "We asked for X, they said they could do X, and now two years later we're learning they can't do X." One person's cynical advice for me to give the client is to hire marketers who aren't afraid of ambiguity. Yikes!
What we want
We want to sell the right solution, one that meets the exact needs of the client. If the client thinks our product doesn't meet their needs they don't buy it. If a lot of clients come to this conclusion we go out of business. We don't want that. Worse, however, is what happens if the solution isn't right, and they buy it. At some point the clients figure out it's not exactly right then we get stuck spending time, money, and effort fixing it.
What the client wants
The client is looking for the right solution, one that meets their needs. If they don't think the product meets their needs they don't purchase it. Makes sense, but when they don't purchase it the problem they are solving doesn't get solved, or the results they want are not achieved. Similarly, if they think the solution meets their exact needs, but they're wrong, they still have the problem and no results. In addition, they've spent time, money, and effort implementing the wrong thing. So what happens? We get stuck spending time, money, and effort fixing it.
Either way, we get the blame.
I know what you're thinking. Hey! We get the blame and get stuck with the bill no matter what? That's not fair!
I agree. Blame the tens or hundreds of thousands of salespeople who didn't take the time to set clients up with the exact right solution. The clients have been burned and are wary/looking to limit their risks. The salespeople need to make quota and stretch the truth. Everyone involved shortcuts the process.
No one ends up happy.
You can change it
What can be done? It starts with a mind shift. Commit to finding and delivering the right solution from the start. It takes more time. Some clients won't dance with you. The payoffs are not immediate. But it works.
Trust me, it's good stuff.
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