Use Value to Win the Sale

Every sales rep has run up against the dreaded “Wall of Silence,” that all too pervasive unwillingness of executives to share the critical details of an operation that would help you make a compelling case for your product or service. It’s a classic Catch-22 situation. A prospect wants to be certain you have a persuasive value case before he opens up to you, but you can’t make a persuasive value case without transparency.

To maneuver around this wall, you need to become an investigative reporter. No, we’re not suggesting a mid-life career change. Rather, try modeling your information gathering approach on that used by investigative reporters. “There is no one better at unearthing an important, hidden story than an investigative reporter,” says Mark Cook, a speaker, advisor on growth and leadership, and author of Sales Blazers: 8 Goal-Shattering Strategies From the World’s Top Sales Leaders. They know how to get past the partial, public facts to fill in the real story. Here’s how:

1. Start with public information. Think of yourself as trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle. You don’t have all the pieces, but you can start gathering some of them from public sources: company Web sites, analyst reports, SEC filings, blogs, and newspaper articles. Listen in on the CEO’s quarterly earnings call. Learn to quickly scan these public sources with “an investigative zeal but without over-searching,” says Cook.
2. Contact the end users. Once you’ve got a high level understanding of a company’s relevant pain points, ask yourself, “Who else knows about the pain and would talk? Who rubs shoulders with the people struggling with these challenges? Who is directly affected by these problems every day?” These are the “end users” and are your best bet for getting the information you need. “End users can often illuminate the private money trail issues and paths to decision makers,” says Cook. For investigative reporters, this often means hanging out at the bar where end users go after work on Friday, or waiting outside a building to catch someone on the way out. It’s not about stalking people; rather, approach them with the attitude of needing help understanding an issue and most will talk to you, says Cook, especially if they’re affected by the problem on a daily basis.
3. Get out of the office. You can’t get the whole story from your desk. Visit the prospect’s stores, talk to employees, put your eyes on the problem, go talk to the customer’s customer. People are more likely to open up to you face-to-face than they are over the phone. Plus, you’ll see things in person that you wouldn’t catch in a phone call.
4. Revisit the decision makers. Executives who were once reluctant to talk may suddenly open up when you come back and demonstrate you know a lot of the story. The closer you get to finishing the puzzle, says Cook, the more help you’ll get, even from those who were reticent before.

Remember as you complete your “investigation” that the reporter who finishes second has no story. In other words, don’t get mired in exhaustive research; instead, get enough information to make your value case and make the sale. By getting to the heart of the story and getting there first, you’ll win.