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The Revenue Generation Framework™ Step 3
One of the reasons I hear that we need to have a F2F meeting, is that we need to be able to do a current state analysis with the customer. We need to do a due diligence, or an evaluation of the customer. All this so that we know what the best solution for the customer will be.
In many cases, this is either pure laziness of the web development team, or then the Sales Director really think that their salespeople are wizards in reading minds. Worst case scenario is that the salesperson is trained to up- and oversell as much as possible.
- Who is the expert on the customers’ current situation? The customer!
- Who knows what they need? The customer!
- Who knows absolutely best, what ballpark their budget is? The customer!
I am surely no it-wizard, or htlm / java coder, but I am pretty sure that most of any current state analysis interview could be done online.
There is another step in the sales process where information is crucial, and that is during the post-sale onboarding phase. Remember in the sales process article, that last phase? It had the word delight in it. A lot of the information that the customer is giving to you for your current state analysis, is actually needed in the onboarding phase. Wouldn’t it be so delightful for the customer, not having to repeat themselves, repeat themselves.
If we take an example: a document management solutions company.
They want to help businesses manage their information, on output side (ie. Printing & copying (YES, that is still done!)), or on input (scanning, storing, organizing). Having worked in this field för nearly 12 years, I have some understanding of this field.
Current state questions are
- How many employees (white collar) need continuous access to the system
- What is your network topography (drop-down)
- How many locations are you in
- Please indicate how many people / location:
- Please indicate in how many locations would you be needing A3 output
- Is your output mainly on standard paper, or do you use pre-printed (forms, letterheads).
Then, in the background, the coding would enable the suggested solution to be presented to the customer. There might be two options presented, or just one.
The next step could be either an automated message being generated directly into the company’s CRM, with a notification to the right salesperson. The salesperson would now contact the customer to go through the results, and maybe double check something, make some final tweaks, and then close the deal. There could also be an offer for direct purchase, even including a financing solution (select 36-, 48- or 60-month financing). Boom! A sale with 0 contact with salesperson.
Whichever alternative, the information needed to prepare for the order, and to do configurations of the devices, is all here. How annoying is it for the customer to be contacted after the sale by some customer success person, or implementation manager just to them fill in the same info they gave us before?
The important thing here, is to make sure that we gather as much information as we can about our customers in beforehand. This information is KING: it’s worth its weight in gold for the salesperson who will call the customer later. It’s the juice that will enable us to nurture the lead further if this doesn’t end in a sale. It is the building blocks for a perfect delivery in the future.
When you go into a clothing store, and tell them that you are a size L, and you try on some trousers in size Large. Then you indicate later that you might be interested in looking at some formal wear also. Wouldn't it be so annoying if they would come with a Small or even ask you: what size do you wear?
Make sure all information is gathered where you can have the best use for it!
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