it's not what you sayit's what you ask - eyesonsales

Sales Champions 2001-All rights reserved 1

It’s Not What You Say…It’s What You AskHow to Sell Software in the 21st Century

Sales Champions, 2001

Published by Sales Champions, P. O. Box 32458, Knoxville, TN 37930

All rights reserved.No part of this handbook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by

any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writingfrom the Publisher.


Note from the Author

At the time this handbook was to be published, Software Success was acquired by another company. Thisnew organization didn’t see a target for this handbook written in its current format. They asked if I wouldrewrite the handbook from a “sales management” perspective. I didn’t agree to do this, so the handbookwas never published by Software Success. I have retained the rights to the work, am publishing it myself,and changed to the title to “It’s Not What You Say, But What You Ask .”

My dream is to be going through the Atlanta airport one day and see one of these little books left behind bya traveling and weary sales professional. From heavy use, it would be worn, dirty, and filled with notesinside and out. Then I would know when I was asked to write this book, that what I really wanted hadhappened. That is--to help another sales professional be his or her best!

Good selling,Cathy Jackson


Dear Reader,

If you are reading this book, then you are most likely a life-long learner pursuing asuccessful profession in software sales. At the age of nine, I saw in a comic book where Icould win a ring made with a buffalo nickel by selling a case of all-purpose salve. Once Ireceived the salve, I went door to door in my neighborhood and failed miserably. I gotmy ring anyway and my parents got a lot of threatening letters to send the money for mysales or the salve back. Well, you know the rest of the story!

Growing up among six brothers and sisters, I was always convincing my siblings to sharetheir food and toys with me. I’m sure that it was my art of persuasion that sold them onmy ideas and not that I was the older sister.

When I began my “real” sales career selling word processors, I was grateful that I wasgiven sales training and didn’t have to rely on my door to door selling experience or my“art of persuasion.” As most professionals, I continued learning and practicing sellingskills and methods. I knew what worked and what didn’t. I understood whom my“ideal” customer was and how to sell to that person. People have always bought frompeople they liked and trusted. This is essential today, more than ever.

Even with business-to-business “E-Commerce,” the professional salesperson performs akey role in organizations. The purpose of the software sales professional is to build newrelationships, become a consultant to the customer, and gain commitments fromcustomers.

Sales Champions was formed to combine years of “real-world” experience with provensales skills and processes to help salespeople and their organizations achieve their goalsand become the best they can be.

We invite you to contact us and tell us about your sales challenges.

Good selling,Cathy JacksonSales ChampionsP. O. Box 32458Knoxville, TN [email protected]


Acknowledgements

I have been selling software for more than 20 years. I have sold applications to businessand industry, government, and education. As a believer in lifelong learning, Icontinuously study the “art of selling.” This handbook represents a culmination of what Ihave learned from many effective sales training programs, coupled with real-world, in-the-trenches, just doing it.

My favorite motivational sales trainer is Zig Ziglar. In case you aren’t familiar withZig’s most often quoted philosophy on sales, I want to share it with you. It goes, “Youget everything you want in life when you help others get what they want.” That hasalways summed it up for me. If you truly believe that what you are selling is going tohelp someone improve his or her current situation, then you will enjoy your salesprofession and be good at it.

In the past five years, some of the skills that had proven successful for me were becomingineffective and uncomfortable to use. Selling is about finding people who have a needthat you can answer with your product or service. Selling is fun when you are buildingtrusting relationships with your customers. It was difficult to find off-the-shelf salestraining programs that focused on skills that were needed for selling software systems.Business-to-business software solutions usually have longer sales cycles, multipledecision makers, and are more complex than a one-time event sale.

Needless to say, I was excited when I was introduced to Neil Rackham’s “SPIN Selling”which focuses on using effective questioning skills. I adapted SPIN principals andconcepts for my company’s software product and trained the sales force using thismethodology.

Subsequently, I found Action Selling that is published by The Sales Board inMinneapolis, MN. Action Selling is an “open” sales training system that uses similarSPIN concepts and focuses on using a sales process to advance the sales campaign.

Some of the terms used in this handbook come from SPIN Selling and Action Selling.

All in all, since my first sales training which was a Lee DuBois training program adaptedby Lanier Business Products to Zig Ziglar Top Performance Selling to Action Selling, Ihave learned that effective sales training teaches people skills and how to be effectivecommunicators and problem solvers.

I thank all of the “masters” of sales that I have studied and the many mentors who havehelped me get to where I am today.


Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. “New School” Sales Skills

3. Your Sales Process

4. Preparing Your Sales Call

5. Making a Difference Through Questions

6. Opening the Sale

7. Gaining Commitment

8. Handling Stalls and Objections

9. Instant Replay

Appendices

Questions, Questions, Questions--a handy reference tool withfrequently asked questions and responses.


1. Introduction

More than ever organizations are facing increasingly more competition, rapidly changingtechnology, slower growth markets, slimmer margins, more informed buyers, and lessproduct differentiation.

This trend requires the software sales professional to manage more accounts, build long-term relationships, sell to multiple buying influences, and coordinate company resourcesneeded to close a sale.

Does any of this sound familiar to your sales efforts? Organizations are empoweringteams to make decisions resulting in multiple sales calls and building relationships withmany buying influences. And how do you uncover the “real” decision-maker, anyway?What about competing with the vendor that your prospects repeatedly comment that theirsoftware has a better “look and feel?” How many trips did you make to visit a “hot”prospect only to find out that they don’t have a budget or funds to pay for your solution(even though “it’s the best one they’ve seen”)! Have you ever heard this question, “let’ssee how much you can sharpen your pencil and lower this price?” Have you ever had acampaign on your pipeline report for so long that your sales manager actually quitsasking about it? What about getting access to anybody in the prospect’s company? Thenew breed of administrative assistant is the “automated attendant.” How many voicemail messages have you left that were never returned?

This handbook is for the software sales professional who wants to:

1. Have fun selling.2. Meet sales quotas more consistently.3. Beat the competition more often4. Advance sales campaigns without being manipulative.

Before any new skill becomes a natural behavior it has to be practiced, practiced,practiced. Vince Lombardi once said “practice does not make perfect; perfect practicemakes perfect.” I recommend that you work on one new skill at a time and practice itwith your sales campaigns. For this training to be most effective, you must apply thisnew knowledge to actual sales activities and develop a method for feedback on howyou’re doing.


What is the “New School” of Selling

Have you ever attended a sales or motivational seminar and left feeling charged up anditching to use the newfound skills? Then, within a few weeks, the excitement wears off,the books you bought go on the shelf, and so do your good intentions to practice and usethe new techniques. You quickly and easily fall back into the tried and true ways ofdoing things like you always have. What happened?

Most traditional sales skills training taught in the last decade focused on transaction-based selling. Selling software solutions consists of more than a one-time event with acustomer. Successful software sales professionals solve customer’s problems andbecome an invaluable resource to their customers. Manipulative techniques like knowingwhen to use open-and close-ended questions and alternative closing statements (i.e.would you like delivery on Tuesday or Thursday?) are not effective with the informedsoftware buyers of today. Your customers want your help to understand them and solvetheir business issues. This means gaining their trust and becoming their partner andtrusted ally.

The sales profession has realized the importance of using a “sales process” to be effectivein sales today. Using a sales process will help you put the buying-decision steps insequence. Like any process, when you leave out a step you minimize your chances ofsuccess. Using a sales process is also important with team selling. With the speed oftechnological changes, software sales professionals more often than not include theirtechnical peers in demonstrations, needs analysis, problem solving, and responding torequest for proposals (RFP). (Which, by the way, if you didn’t board that train (RFPs)before it left the station, then spend your time finding opportunities that you caninfluence!)

What is the “purpose” of your sales call? What behaviors are you using that make yourcustomers feel understood? Are you advancing your sales campaigns or do you find yoursales campaigns in a “continuous” cycle? How are you differentiating your company andproducts over the competition? Do you understand your customer’s decision process andhow to sell to multiple buying influences?

Performing effectively as a software sales professional will require learning how to useskills and behaviors that answer these questions.

“Old School” Characteristics “New School” CharacteristicsTransaction oriented Relational orientedMakes lots of calls on new prospects Repeat business“Wings it” Prepares for each callManipulative techniques Sales process and well-developed questionsOne-size fits all Team selling

Now, let’s get started.


2. Your Sales Process

How Do I Develop A Sales Process?

The first step to understanding your sales process is to develop a list of all the tasks andactivities you do to make a sale starting with the initial inquiry to the final commitment.

For example;1. Initial inquiry made (i.e. prospecting call, trade show contact, they call you)2. Initial call to pre-qualify (do they meet with your “ideal customer profile,”

timeframe to buy)3. Further qualify and gather information (ask questions to build rapport, uncover

problems and needs, decision-making process, buying influences, budgetavailable)

4. ….

This list is usually based on some historical experience of successful campaigns. Oncethis bulleted list is completed then you can use a software tool (i.e. Visio) to produce aflow diagram of the sales process. A flow diagram will help you and others in yourorganization to visualize your sales process.

Documenting the sales process will improve communications with your peers andmanagement. The whole organization will have a better understanding of where you arewith your campaigns and what your next step is with the customer. This process shouldbe reviewed continually and changed based on its effectiveness.

Key Learning Tips

♦ Following a sales process will keep the buying decision process in sequence♦ Leaving out a step in your sales process will result in unanswered questions (or

objections) when you ask for the final commitment♦ Documenting your sales process gives you a map to follow that will maximize your

sales efforts

The table below is an example of a typical software solution sales cycle.


Sample of Software Sales Process

Call and Pre-Qualify

Send InformationPacket

Inquiry

Understanding thecustomers problem

Identifying andcovering all the

buying influences

Followup Call

Identifying decisionmaking process,

timeframe, budget,competition

Get commitmentfunds are available

and decisionprocess in place

Yes

Meets qualification criteria

Schedule on-sitevisit to gather

information (needsassessment)

ScheduleDemonstration

PrepareReferences

Prepare and SendPrice Proposal

(Budgetary)

A

Prepare Demo

Ask forCommitment

Send Final Quote

Negotiate FinalContract

Get Feedback

No

Update DatabaseInterview forreasons not

selected


4. Preparing Your Sales Call

Why Is Preparation Necessary Before Making a Sales Call?

It’s Monday morning and you get to the office a few minutes late. Your first hour isspent getting your coffee and finding out how your officemates spent their weekend. Thenext hour is reading all your email, checking voicemail, and reorganizing the papers onyour desk. Just as you pull out your daily planner and start to plan for this week’s calls,you remember you wanted to check out a new competitor on the Internet. You alsopromised to get back to a customer on a technical question that you had to discuss withone of the software developers so you arrange to meet with him at lunch. By this timeit’s already 11:00am and it’s too late to start prospecting and making calls. Might as wellwait until after lunch. To make good use of the “spare” hour before lunch, you decide tobrush up on the new software features just being released . . .

Sound familiar? All of the activities described in this scenario are appropriate andrelevant to your sales function. A software sales professional’s job is to gaincommitment from prospective customers. Making the best use of your “prime” salestime (when customers are available) is an essential element of being successful insoftware sales.

What Can I Do to Overcome Call Reluctance?

Why are software sales professionals reluctant to prospect? Knowing what your salesprocess is and what the purpose of each step in your sales cycle is will contributesignificantly to reducing your call reluctance.

Most software sales professionals fail to set “commitment objectives” for each step oftheir sales cycle. A commitment objective advances your sales campaign and keeps youout of the “continuous” sales cycle that never moves forward.


Here’s an example of what that sounds like:

Have you been there and done that? How did that conversation advance the salescampaign? What’s the next step with the prospective customer? You can improve theeffectiveness of your calls when you have a purpose to your call and a preparedcommitment objective.

1Good morning, Mr. Prospect. My name isSally Sales and I represent “Really CoolSoftware.” Our company has helped manybusinesses such as yours to improve theirproductivity and I’m calling today to see if wecan help you too. Our software runs in aclient/server environment and offers all of thelatest features…blah…blah…blah

2Well, Sally that sounds good but weare just gathering information now.Send me an information packagedescribing the costs and I’ll get backto you.

3Sure, Mr. Prospect, I’ll get that inthe mail to you today.


Here’s an example of a “Sales Cycle” with an appropriate commitment objective.

Example

Identify your Sales Cycle Milestones

AppropriateCommitment

Objective

Milestone #1:Initial Phone Call

Commitment Objective:Set Up First Appointment

Milestone #2:Meet at the Customer’sOffice or Make TelephoneCall

Commitment Objective:Schedule a NeedsAssessment with Users

Milestone #3:Needs Assessment

Commitment Objective:Schedule a Demonstration

Milestone #4:Presentation of a Proposal

Commitment Objective:Schedule a Meeting toReview Proposal

Milestone #3:Conduct Needs AssessmentWith Users

Milestone #5:Demonstrate Software

Commitment Objective:Gain Commitment to LicenseSoftware


Using the sales cycle in this graphic and the appropriate commitment objective, let’s seethe difference in the effectiveness of this sales call.

In this sales call, Sally’s commitment objective was to get an appointment. She was notgoing to “start selling” until she had learned more about the company and its needs. Shedid her job—she gained a commitment. Gaining commitments along each step in theprocess takes you to a natural conclusion—that is the final commitment to do business.Until you involve your prospective customer into the buy-sell process, advancingcampaigns will not happen naturally.

Key Learning Tips

♦ Prepare for each sales call by setting a commitment objective that you want to achieve♦ A commitment objective involves the customer acting on a request from you that

advances the sales campaign to the next step (i.e. schedule demonstration)♦ Knowing the purpose of your sales call reduces call reluctance

Thanks for your time today Mr. Prospect. Ilook forward to learning more about howwe can help you. See you next week. Bye.

Well then Sally, let me transfer you to myassistant. He keeps all of myappointments.

I will be glad to give you information Mr. Prospectabout our “Really Cool Software” when I know a littlemore about your needs. We call this a “needsassessment” and it helps us to understand how tomatch up our solutions to your problems. May I meetwith you next week to ask a few questions?

Well, Sally that sounds good but we are justgathering information now. Send me aninformation package describing the costs andI’ll get back to you.

Good morning, Mr. Prospect. My name is Sally Sales and Irepresent Really Cool Software. Our company has helped manybusinesses such as yours to improve their productivity and I’mcalling today to see how we may be of service to you. I wantedto schedule an appointment with you and any other appropriatepeople at your company to ask you a few questions. Can weschedule that today?


♦ Asking your prospective buyer “what’s the next step” is what is expected fromprofessionals


5. Making a Difference Through Questions

How Do I Develop Questions That Make A Difference?

Let’s review what you have learned. First of all, you have developed a sales process thatleads you through the buying decision process of your customer. You also mapped outyour sales milestones and understand what your commitment objective is at each step.You have an appointment with the prospective customer so instead of “winging it” let’sprepare questions that will differentiate you from your competitors.

Before you get started, let’s look at the five buying-decisions your prospective customerwill go through.

1. You (Software Sales Professional) Does your prospect trust you? This is themost important buying decision he/she willmake. If this trust isn’t established at thisstep, you will have trouble gainingcommitments from the buyer.

2. Your Company Does your company have a goodreputation, who are its customers, is it agood match with my company?

3. Your Solution Does your product or services solve myproblems?

4. Investment Required Does the perceived value of your solutionto my problems outweigh the investmentneeded?

5. Timeframe Does the customer have a sense of urgencyto solve his problems with your productsand services now?

What Questions Should I Ask to Gain Trust and Uncover Needs?

Spending time doing some basic research on your prospective buyer and preparingeffective questions are essential elements to a successful sales campaign. Sally hasprepared questions to help gain Mr. Prospect’s trust and uncover needs in which hersoftware can provide benefits.

ScenarioReally Cool Software, Inc. markets sales force automation software and that is thesoftware solution that Sally wants to sell to Mr. Prospect. Let’s see how she usesquestions to gain Mr. Prospect’s trust and uncover needs that match her solutions. Nowthat Sally has the opportunity to interview the prospective customer, her commitmentobjective is preparing a proposal based on the needs she uncovers during her needsassessment.


Asking questions that gain trust and understand needs...

Sally Sales Mr. ProspectHi, Mr. Prospect, I want to thank you forscheduling time with me today. I knowyour time is valuable.

Well Sally on the phone you said you had afew questions for me?

That’s right, Mr. Prospect. This will helpme understand your business better anddetermine if our Really Cool Softwaresolutions can help with your needs.As I understand it, you are general managerfor the company? What do you enjoy mostabout this position?

That’s right. I like the interaction withcustomers and helping them to solve theirbusiness problems.

How long have you been with thecompany?

15 years.

That’s a long time with one company.What changes have you seen in those 15years?

Quite a few! We have increased ourbusiness by 100% and continue to expandour branch offices.

That’s exciting! What do you attribute tothis increase in growth?

We have stayed focus on our customer’sneeds and continue to provide them withproducts they ask for. We also havevisionary leadership that is always planningfor tomorrow.

What personal challenges or opportunitiesare you experiencing with this rapidgrowth?

I struggle to find the time to planappropriately and have troubleremembering details about sales andcustomer issues.

How does this affect the amount of timeyou have solving customer problems?

It means that I’m in a reactive mode insteadof proactively helping customers beforeproblems arise.

Can you explain that a little more? As I mentioned before, we care about ourcustomers and want to anticipate theirneeds before they do. That is gettingharder to do.

Mr. Prospect, can you tell me more aboutthe types of products and services you offerto your customers?

We are a restaurant equipment supplycompany that distributes every major pieceof equipment, appliance, or utensil neededby restaurants. We also do projectdesigning and management for largerrestaurants.

It sounds like you are a one-stop shop.What sets you apart from yourcompetitors?

We have been in business for more than 50years and have a reputation as a “fullservice” supplier. We aren’t the lowestprice but we give the best service.


Asking questions that help you understand how to sell to your prospectivecustomer…

What process will you use to evaluatesystems and make a decision?

I want my accountant to review how thissystem may overlap with whatever wealready have. I also want some of thesalespeople who are currently using theirpersonal computers to have input.

In addition to yourself, who else will beinvolved in making a final decision?

Based on input from my staff, I will makeany final decision.

What other providers have you consideredso far?

We have received information from twoother companies.

What did you like most about theseoptions?

One company, XYZ, Inc. is the samecompany from which we got ouraccounting system so we already knowthese folks. ABC has a customer servicemodule that links to the sales forceautomation piece but we didn’t like theirsalesperson…. talked too much!

How open are you to other options? We’ll give a fair evaluation to any solutionthat will meet our needs.

What have you budgeted for this project? We have done some ballpark pricing onthis sort of software and realize we willhave to spend $10,000 to $20,000 for a fullimplementation.

What would the process be to change thebudget if necessary?

I would have to submit a new capitalequipment budget that would have to waituntil next budget year.

How are you justifying the purchase of thissystem?

We think automating sales contacts willincrease sales to customers that will lowerour cost of new sales.

What will that gain look like? We are predicting a 15-20% increase inprofits the first year.


Asking questions that leverage your initial questions to elevate the pain of theproblem uncovered…

Sally Sales Mr. ProspectMr. Prospect, you mentioned the challengeof keeping up with information about salesand customers’ issues. What type ofsystems do you have in place that helpcapture information about customers?

We have an accounting system that keepsup with customers’ purchases and accounthistory.

How does this system help with keeping upwith customer contacts and potential newbusiness opportunities?

Well, it really doesn’t do much fordeveloping new business.

How do your salespeople manage theircustomer contacts and information aboutprospective new business?

Well, some of them use their personalcomputers with a contact managementsystem and some just use their card files.

What type of access do you have to thisinformation?

Not much.

What are the consequences of not alwayshaving this information about customerseasily available?

Well, this is part of the “reactive” problemI have. We have grown so fast that I can’tkeep up personally with our customers andthis really bothers me.

How do salespeople and your customerservice department share information aboutcustomers?

I’m not sure that they do all the time sincethe salespeople are out of the office most ofthe time.

What problems have you experiencedbecause of this inability to communicateeffectively?

Sometimes, the customer service folksknow of potential business opportunitiesthat are a result of a customer problem. Ifsalespeople had quicker knowledge of thisinformation, they could be following upand making sales that would also solveproblems.

What process do you use for forecastingand reporting future sales potential?

Salespeople have to submit their salespipeline reports monthly and then I reviewand “sanitize” them before I submit to theVPs.

How much time are salespeople spendingout of the field working on these reports?

Sally, you’ve hit on a sore spot.Salespeople hate doing reports and I’drather them be spending the time withcustomers but we have to know what’sgoing on.

Let’s review what has happened so far in this call. Sally started the conversation byasking questions that built rapport with Mr. Prospect and showed her interest in hiscompany as well as him personally. Did you also notice that her questions were open-ended and started with What, How, Why, When, Who, Explain more about that…, Can


you describe… Remember—until Mr. Prospect trusts Sally the rest of the sales processwill not continue successfully.

Open-ended questions can’t be answered with a “yes or no” answer. These types ofquestions get your prospective customer talking. Research has shown that the numberone thing customers want is to be understood and that can be accomplished by listening.By designing questions that relate to your product or service and really listening to yourcustomers, you can uncover needs and “raise the level of pain” that your customer feelsabout his/her problems. This differentiates you from the competition who is probablyspending most of their time doing a “data dump” about how great all the bells andwhistles are in their products or services.

Situation questions like “how many employees do you have,” or “what was last year’srevenues” are relevant and necessary. You want to minimize the number of these kindsof questions and maximize questions that uncover problems. The most effective kinds ofquestions are those that “leverage” the problem to create a sense of urgency for solvingthe problem.

Sally’s questions have uncovered at least three needs. Mr. Prospect has a genuineconcern about solving customer problems head on but because of the rapid growth hecan’t get a handle on those issues like he used to. He has also explicitly stated that ifthere was effective communications between sales and customer service that salespeoplecould close more sales quicker while at the same time solve customer problems. Shereally felt some emotion being expressed about the required sales forecasting andreporting.

When questioning your prospective customer there are two key points to remember:

♦ Design open-ended questions that uncover needs that can be solved with the use ofyour company’s product or service.

♦ Uncover at least two or three needs before you stop asking questions. You want tokeep one in reserve in case you need it for dealing with stalls or objections.

Sally wants to make sure that Mr. Prospect agrees with the needs that she has uncovered.Let’s see how she does this.


Asking questions to confirm the needs uncovered…

Sally Sales Mr. ProspectMr. Prospect, as I understand it you need tohave a way to easily access informationabout customers, is that right?

Yes, because I can’t keep up with it like Iuse to.

You also expressed your concerns aboutlost sales from existing customers due topoor communications between customerservice and salespeople. Is that correct?

You listen well, Sally. That’s right!

I also heard you say that getting salesreports is necessary but you would rathersalespeople spend the time doing reportswith customers instead. Is that an accurateunderstanding?

Absolutely!

When summarizing and confirming your prospective customer’s needs, use “close-ended” questions. Close-ended questions can be answered with a yes or no response. It’simportant to get the prospective customer to agree with the uncovered needs. When youbegin presenting your product or service, you will link features and benefits to theseconfirmed needs. At this time, you will also need to decide if your commitment objectiveneeds to change based on the information you received about the decision-makingprocess. For example, if Sally had been talking to a “buying influence” but not the finaldecision-maker then her commitment objective may be to schedule a meeting with thisperson and the decision-maker instead of scheduling a proposal review.

Here’s examples of how to start these questions:

♦ As I understand it …♦ You mentioned that …♦ You described a problem with …

Close with one of the following:

♦ Is that right?♦ Is that correct?♦ Did I understand this right?♦ Is this the way you see it?

Key Learning Tips

♦ Effective questions take time to prepare♦ Open-ended questions are designed to get your customer talking and you listening♦ Listening is the most important characteristics of professional software salespeople


♦ Use questions that uncover problems and “leverage” questions to elevate the level ofpain about the problem

♦ Buying decisions are made emotionally and justified with reasoning and logic♦ Effective questioning skills can differentiate you from the competition


6. Opening the Sale

How Do I Convince The Prospective Customer To Buy My Products Or Services?

In our scenario, Sally has met all of her commitment objectives and the next steps in herprocess are to demonstrate the software and prepare a proposal for Mr. Prospect and hisstaff.

Remember the buying-decision process. Sally has done a good job getting Mr. Prospectto like her and she has started building a relationship because he is beginning to feel thatshe really understands his problems. She also told him about Really Cool Software andwhy the company would be a good match with his. Mr. Prospect is beginning to see valuein talking with Sally and is probably getting curious about what she will propose to him.

Because of the needs Sally has uncovered she is well prepared to demonstrate the featuresand benefits of the software that can solve Mr. Prospect’s problems and present aproposal.

Let’s see how she does.

Sally Sales Mr. ProspectMr. Prospect, how much do you knowabout Really Cool Software?

Just what I read on your web site.

Let me cover a few things about ReallyCool Software that I think are important.Okay?

Sure, Sally.

(Tell the unique key points about yourcompany)Really Cool Software has been in businessfor 10 years and focuses on buildingsolutions for sales and customer serviceteams for companies your size. In the last10 years we have doubled our client baseand have an award-winning customerservice process. Like your company we arededicated to “customer delight.”(Need #1) Mr. Prospect, one of the areasthat we discussed that you are interested inimproving is to easily access informationabout customers.

That’s right, Sally.

(Feature) Really Cool Software isdesigned to capture data about yourcustomers and uses friendly windows andicons for finding information quickly.(Sally demonstrates the software showingthis capability.)


(Benefit) What this means to you is thatthis information is at your fingertips sowhen customers call, you can quicklyaccess the latest information about thiscustomer.(Feedback Question) How do you feel thiscapability would help with “getting ahandle” on customer issues andanticipating customer needs?

I see all kinds of ways this could help. If Ihad customer information in one place Icould save time in looking for files orcalling a customer service rep orsalesperson to find out the last time theytalked to the customer.

(Need #2) Another need that we talkedabout was making communicationsbetween customer service and salespeoplemore efficient and effective.

Boy Sally, I don’t expect you to workmiracles! Ha, Ha!

(Feature) No, I can’t work miracles, Mr.Prospect but with the networking andcommon database design of Really CoolSoftware we can start making a difference.Customer service reps and salespeople willhave access to the same customerinformation instantly. Here, let me showyou how this works (Sally demonstratesthis capability.)(Benefit) Because customer service repsand salespeople now share the sameinformation, salespeople can react quicklyto follow-up with customers and sellservices or additional products that solveproblems.(Feedback Question) What advantages doyou see in enhancing communications bysharing customer information instantly?

If we work this right, we may be able towork a miracle after all. We can entercustomer problems right in the system andmake notes and comments to thecustomer’s file that salespeople can seeanytime, anywhere. If I understand thesystem right, we can also get reports oncustomer problems so we can see whatpatterns are emerging. This will help withbeing more proactive solving problemsinstead of being reactive.

What did you observe in the exchange above? What, if anything, was different about thisdemonstration and feedback from the prospective customer than what you are doingnow? There’s an old saying “you can’t argue with your own data.” Mr. Prospect actuallyused his own words to describe how he values Sally’s software solution. Because these


are his words he won’t forget how this solution will solve his problems and when hedescribes this software to others in the organization he will remember and use his ownwords. Sally also learned directly from Mr. Prospect some new perceived benefits of hersolution. This skill is particularly useful when selling to buying influences thatrecommend products and services. Have you ever competed in a sales campaign and theprospective users confuse the benefits of your product or service with your competitors?More and more, features and benefits are harder to differentiate unless they are linked toa need that is important to your customer. When your customer tells you the advantagesof using your software, then he/she begins separating you from the competition.

In contrast, if Sally had started describing every feature about her software and didn’t tieit back to the needs she had uncovered, how much value do you think Mr. Prospect wouldplace on those features?

Key Learning Tips

♦ Always back up a feature of your product or service with a benefit. A benefit tells theprospective customer how he/she will win personally if they use this product orservice.

♦ Link the needs you uncovered to the features and benefits you demonstrate.♦ Your prospective customer is looking for value—the more value he/she perceives in

you and your product or service, the more willing they are to make an investment insolving the problem.

♦ Don’t “outsmart” your prospective customer by trying to impress him/her on howmuch you know by doing a “data dump.”


7. Gaining Commitment

How do I “close” the sale?

After 20 years in sales, I am convinced that gaining a successful commitment for the saleshould be a natural evolution to the sales process. If you leave out a step in the processand aren’t successful gaining commitments along the way, then you may default tomanipulative techniques to “close” the sale. These are techniques like:

“Mr. Prospect, let’s compare the pros and cons of why you should do this (of course thepro side will have more reasons for saying yes than the con side.)” This is called the“Benjamin Franklin” close.

“Mr. Prospect, would you like to start this implementation in May or June?” The old“alternate choice” close.

To have more fun in sales and feel more like a software sales professional, I promoteusing a straight forward question like, “would you like to go ahead?”

Let’s see how Sally gets a commitment to prepare a proposal on her sales call.

Sally Sales Mr. ProspectMr. Prospect let me summarize for youwhat we have covered:-The ability to capture customerinformation that is easily accessible andgives you knowledge about customers andtheir needs. This also saves you timebecause you’re not tracking down files orlooking for people to give you the latestinformation.-A common database that is shared by bothsalespeople and the customer service teamwill enable salespeople to quickly followup with customers to sell them products orservices that can help solve their problems.- Sales reporting takes less time becausethe system will do it for them freeing themto spend more time with customers.

That’s right, Sally.

What’s your opinion about this? Sally, this sounds like something we shoulddo right away! What’s this going to cost?


What a go, Sally! Did you catch Mr. Prospect’s buying signal—“how much will thiscost?” Sally’s commitment objective after demonstrating the product is to prepare aproposal and present to Mr. Prospect and the other buying influences (the accountant andsalespeople). That is the commitment she’s after.

Sally Sales Mr. ProspectMr. Prospect, I would be glad to prepare aninvestment proposal for you. When can weschedule a time that I could present this toyou and any other appropriate people inyour organization that will be involved inusing this product?

Okay, Sally. Let’s get my administrativeassistant in here and look at schedules.

When the prospect asked Sally “what’s this going to cost,” she could have asked for thebuying commitment then. However, she knew she had other buying influences in whichMr. Prospect would consult and get their input. She wanted to meet these other buyinginfluences and be able to present her proposal to the entire decision-making team. Sheknew her success rate was higher when she kept her sales cycle in sequence so she stuckwith her plan to set up an appointment with Mr. Prospect and the other team membersinvolved with this decision.

Key Learning Tips

♦ Before asking for the commitment, summarize the features and benefits of yoursoftware tying them back to the problems you are solving

♦ Keep your sales cycle steps in sequence♦ Use a straightforward question to gain commitment not a manipulative technique (i.e.

do you want to get started?)♦ Remember that commitment questions are used throughout the sales process to

advance the sales campaign to a natural conclusion.


7. Handling True Objections

What do I do when the customer starts to “crawfish” or object to moving ahead?

An objection is an “unanswered” question. If you prepare effective questions and coverall the areas that we discussed in the previous chapters, then you should have alreadydealt with potential objections. Then to “smoke” out the true objection, what should youdo? You’re right—ask more questions!

Sally has presented her proposal for Really Cool Software to Mr. Prospect and is going toask for a commitment to start the installation.

Sally Sales Mr. Prospect(Summarize the Needs, Features andBenefits)Mr. Prospect, you wanted to easily accessinformation about customers. You alsomentioned the need to improvecommunications between sales andcustomer service. You mentioned thatreducing your costs on new sales byincreasing sales to existing customerswould yield you a gain of 15-20% increasein profits. Mr. Prospect, with Really CoolSoftware current customer information is atyour fingertips and alerts your salespeopleto business opportunities from existingcustomers. To get started, your investmentwill be $500 a month for the next 60months.(Ask for personal opinion)How does this sound to you?

It seems a little high.

(Use a “cushion” and add anotherbenefit)I understand. In addition to these benefits,you also mentioned that you could see howthis system could monitor customerpatterns and trends that will help withfuture planning.Would you like to get started? (After thisclose-ended question, do not say anotherword until your prospective buyeranswers.)

Yes, when can we schedule installation?

What Sally experienced was a “stall” not a true objection. She used a “cushion”response, “I understand” to help her transition to a new benefit statement. We talked


about keeping needs and benefits in reserve in case we needed one for the close. Sallyreminded Mr. Prospect about his own benefit statement about using the system withidentifying customer trends that could be used for future planning.

In the following scenario Sally gets a negative response to her commitment question.

Sally Sales Mr. Prospect(Summarize the Needs, Features andBenefits)Mr. Prospect, you wanted to easily accessinformation about customers. You alsomentioned the need to improvecommunications between sales andcustomer service. You mentioned thatreducing your costs on new sales byincreasing sales to existing customerswould yield you a gain of 15-20% increasein profits. Mr. Prospect, with Really CoolSoftware current customer information is atyour fingertips and alerts your salespeopleto customer business opportunities. Yourinvestment will be $500 a month for thenext 60 months.(Ask for personal opinion)How does this sound to you?

It seems a little high.

(Use a “cushion” and add anotherbenefit)I understand. In addition to these benefits,you also mentioned using customerinformation to help spot patterns andtrends. Because Really Cool Softwaretracks customer information from sales andcustomer service, this data is easilyavailable to help with future planning.(Feedback Question) How else would youuse this type of information?

You’re right Sally. I have to prepare amarket plan for the company and I can seehow this customer data would support theneed for new product features.

Would you like to get started? (After thisclose-ended question, do not say anotherword until your prospective buyeranswers.)

Sally, I need to think about this some more.It will involve an investment of our timeand I want to make sure that we plan forthis right so we can realize a timely returnon this purchase.

(Understand the objection)What ideas do you have about theimplementation plan?

That’s a good question, Sally. I’ve heard alot of horror stories about companiesbuying sales force automation systems andnever getting them off the ground. I can’t


afford this to happen to me. Before I makethis investment I want to make sure we canget trained effectively and have time toapply what we learn.

(Summarize and quantify objection)I see, Mr. Prospect. So what you’re sayingis you have a concern about theimplementation and you want to know howyour staff will be trained to get the mosteffective use of the software. Is thatcorrect?

Well, yes it is, Sally.

(Confirm that this is the “true” objection)Setting aside your question about howmuch time is needed to implement ReallyCool Software, what other questions doyou have?

That’s it, Sally.

(Re-tell your company story or usereferrals)Really Cool Software has been in businessfor 10 years and focuses on buildingsolutions for sales and customer serviceteams for companies your size. In the last10 years we have doubled our client baseand have an award-winning customerservice process. Like your company we arededicated to “customer delight.” ReallyCool Software works closely with you andyour staff during the implementation andtraining. We plan the installation andtraining according to your schedule anddon’t leave your side until you feelcomfortable that your staff is using thesoftware efficiently. Even after theimplementation, our support staff is just acall away to help with questions andproblems that may occur.(Feedback Question) How would you seethis type of service helping with yourimplementation?

We would want to take advantage of yourexpertise in helping to plan theimplementation and the ongoing training.When we take salespeople out of the fieldfor training, we want them to be able to usethe software effectively.What happens if a salesperson has aproblem with the software when they are inthe field?

(Clarify questions before answering) I don’t think I want them calling your help


That’s a good question. What kind ofsupport do you think will be the mosteffective?

desk every time they get frustrated becausethey can’t get something done. What aboutassigning a person here to supportsalespeople’s questions. Can you train oneof our people to do that type of support?

Would you like us to include advancedtraining for that person?

Yes, I think so.

Should we go ahead and get started so wecan start planning the implementation?(After this close-ended question, do notsay another word until your prospectivebuyer answers.)

Yes. Let’s get started.


Congratulations! Sally has a new customer and has gained a new relationship for herand the company. Let’s review what she did.

.

She summarized the “agreed upon” needs and tiedthem to the features and benefits of Really CoolSoftware.

She asked for a personal opinion about the proposal.

She received a negative response so she used a cushionstatement, “I understand.”

She then summarized the features and benefits andasked a “feedback question.”

She asked a straightforward commitment question,“would you like to get started?”

She received another negative response so she asked aquestion to better understand the objection.

She again summarized and quantified the objection.

She confirmed that she was handling the “true”objection.

She described the benefits of doing business withReally Cool Software (she could have also usedreferrals).

She asked another “feedback question.”

She asked for commitment again and received apositive answer—Yes!


Key Learning Tips

♦ An objection is simply an unanswered question that wasn’t covered in the initial stepsof your sales process when you were asking questions about needs, opportunities,timeframes, decision-making process, and budgets

♦ Determine if the negative response is a “stall” or a “true objection” before handlingit

♦ Understand and quantify the objection♦ Re-tell your company benefits and use referrals♦ Ask “feedback questions” to help identify potential solutions♦ Ask for a commitment at least three times. The “true” objective usually comes out by

the third commitment question.♦ Always clarify a question with a question. Knowing the reason behind the question

will help you respond with an answer that helps move the sale forward♦ Never challenge an objection


8. Instant Replay

What’s the Best Way to Improve My Selling Skills?

It’s the day after the big playoff game, and the football team is sitting around the TV inthe coach’s office. Peering at the screen with intense frowns etched in their foreheads,they are watching the video taped at the big game hoping to see mistakes that were madeso they can improve their skills.

As a software sales professional, you don’t have someone taping your sales calls to getthis instant feedback on your performance.

Thomas Edison wrote a memo to his salespeople with this thought:

“The art of selling goods is as difficult to acquire as any other art. The proper methodscan be acquired only by a multiplicity of actual experiments, and the one who tries thegreatest variety of experiments will become, finally, a master of the art.”1

Selling is a profession and like any other profession it takes training, practice, andcontinuous learning.

After a sales campaign, I recommend you review what you did right as well as areaswhere you could improve. If you were working with a team of people on the campaign,then doing a team review would be beneficial. Without feedback on how you are doingit’s hard to know where you should hone your skills.

Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:

♦ How well did I prepare and meet my commitment objectives?♦ How well did I listen and take notes?♦ Did I spend enough time building trust with each buying influence?♦ How many needs did I uncover that my product or service could solve?♦ How well did I prepare the software demonstration to link my product’s benefits to

the needs uncovered?♦ If working with other team members, how well did I consult and strategize with team

members.♦ Did I use enough customer referrals?♦ How well did I understand the customer’s position, decision-making process,

timeframe, and budgets?♦ Was I able to identify and assess the status of the buying influences (i.e. technical

influences, user influences, and financial influences)?♦ How well did I understand how the buying influences would win personally by using

my product or service?♦ Did I use my “coaches” inside the account to give me information and guidance?

1 Quoted in “The Wizard of Ads” Copyright 1998 Roy H. Williams


♦ What evidence did I have that the prospective buyer understood my company’sunique differences?

♦ What would I do differently?

Now, go sell something!


What to Say When Your Prospect Says…

Here’s a reference tool that may come in handy when responding to your prospectivecustomer’s questions. Remember the tip about answering questions—answer a questionwith a question. Always clarify the question to better understand the reason behind thequestion. Of course, if you have practiced the skills shared in this handbook, you shouldhave uncovered most of these questions in the first stage of the sales process.

Since you are still honing these new skills, you may find the following responses helpful.The responses are general in nature. The important elements to learn about theseresponses is clarifying questions, using “cushions,” tying the answer back to a need, andgetting a reaction to the answer. You will want to modify your responses to reflect yourspecific business climate.

When Your Prospect Ask… Respond With …Company Reputation

How many clients do you have? Howmany clients have you sold in recent years?How many clients has your company lost?

These are interesting questions. What’smost important to you about the numberof clients we have?(Prospect: We want to make sure thatthe company we do business with will bearound for the long haul.) I understand.Many of our customers had the samequestions when selecting our softwaresystem. Since starting our company 15years ago, we now have more than 100clients with 99% retention. We are proudof our growth and ability to keep ourcustomers happy and are eager for you tojoin our family too. How important is it toyou to talk to some of our clients?(Prospect: I think it would be veryhelpful to get a feel from your users oftheir track record with you. Can yougive us a list of folks to call?)

Are you financially sound? We have had 15 years of profitability andrevenues have increased by 20% eachyear. What else is important to you aboutour financial health? (Prospect should listbenefits.)

What attributes or actions do your mostsuccessful clients exhibit?

What a good question! Are you lookingfor a specific pattern? (Prospect: we’rejust matching up our current resourceswith what it will take to have a successful


implementation.) Our most successfulclients are those who give us theopportunity to learn all we can about theirbusiness and what they want to achievewith our software. Like you, customerswho spent time planning for the newsystem and understand the importance ofongoing maintenance and training havebeen the most successful. How do you seelearning from our customers helping youwith your implementation? (Prospectshould list benefits for you.)

What other kinds of clients do you have?(x = banking, manufacturing, healthcare,Education, government etc.)

Can you give me a little more informationabout what you are looking for?(Prospect: we feel it’s to our advantageif you have customers who are in thesame business as we are. It also tells uswhere you focus product developmentand that is important to us.) Thanks forenlightening me more. I see why thatwould be important. As you know, anycompany that wants to improveproductivity and sales performance canuse our software. We have found thatbecause we do market to a variety oforganizations, we get a broaderperspective on features and functions thatall our customers can take advantage of.Our professionals are experts on solvingyour problems with our softwareapplications. This frees you to run yourbusiness and leaves the softwaredevelopment to us. How does this soundto you? (Prospect: I guess it would beadvantageous to get ideas from othercompanies.)

For what reasons have you lost clients (notprospects)?

You get the award for a first-timequestion! (Prospect: Well, we think thisis a good indicator of client satisfactionwith your software.) Making customershappy is the number one priority for usand we do all we can to prevent customerattrition. That’s why our customerretention is so high. The few clients whohave discontinued using our software didso because of management changes,


budget deficits, turnover in personnel, orinadequate resources to maintain thesystem. We don’t want to lose customersand work hard to keep communicationsopen. What does your company do toretain clients? (Prospect: We work veryhard not to lose clients—and we expectthe same kind of treatment from oursuppliers!)

What's your mission statement? I see that your organization has a missionstatement and understand how importantit is for everyone in the organization to beworking toward that mission. You’ll behappy to learn that our mission is verysimilar to yours. That is--our mission isto give our customers the best softwareand the best customer service—whateverit takes. How do you think this matchesyour company’s values? (Prospect:That’s what we wanted to hear!)

How many employees do you have? We currently have 50 employees andrecruit on a continual basis to keep upwith demands from new clients. Wereyou looking for specific information aboutour employees? (Prospect: Yourcompetitor has 100+ employees. Whatassurance can you give me that you cansupport our needs with half the numberof employees?) I see. To clarify, are yousaying that you have questions about ourcustomer service and support? (Prospect:Yes, that’s right.) This is important andI’m glad you have brought it to myattention. We are proud of the customerservice processes that we have been ableto implement that streamline our HelpDesk and increase our productivity peremployee. Our new processes andsystems have enabled us to continuegiving the best customer service with lessresources. We have been able to passthese savings on to our customers bykeeping our service fees very reasonable.What’s your opinion about being moreeffective and more efficient with lessresources?


What is the ratio of support and productdevelopment personnel versusadministrative personnel?

That’s a good question. Most of the 50employees are in software developmentand customer support. Since we use oursoftware, we have very efficientadministrative processes and have aminimal administrative staff. Can you tellme why this is important to you?(Prospect: We want to make sure ofcontinued product enhancements to oursoftware.) I see. You will also be happyto learn about our annual enhancementprogram and users involvement in addingfeatures to the software. Would you liketo know more about this? (Prospect:Absolutely!)

Do you have an established users’ group? A users’ group is a very important benefitto any company using informationtechnology. Our users’ group is veryactive and in addition to holding anannual conference it also meetsregionally. How involved would you liketo be with the users’ group? (Prospect:Very involved.)

How long have you been in business? We started 15 years ago and are proud ofour continued profitability and growth.This amount of time spent developingsoftware and serving customers isreflected in our feature-rich software andsuperior customer support. What would itmean to your organization to do businesswith a customer-centric company?(Prospect should list benefits.)

Competition

Who are your competitors? We compete with some excellent softwarecompanies and if my company andproducts weren’t superior to them, Iwould recommend them to you. Whatother options have you considered so far?

What things differentiate your product andservice from your competition?

I appreciate this question. You mentionedthat doing business with a vendor thatspent time understanding your businesswas important to you. Is that correct?(Prospect: This is very important to usand feel it will help with our ongoingrelationship.) We are committed to


understanding your business problemsand matching our solutions and servicesand that makes us standout in comparisonto our competition. What’s your opinionabout that? (Prospect: I guess that’s ourgoal, too.)

Why should I select your system? Whatmakes your product unique from othervendors?

You shared with me that having an easy-to-use system that your users couldoperate effectively is a high priority inyour selection criteria. Is this true?(Prospect: Yes, this is a majorinvestment and we want to make sureour people can use this software to itsfullest capabilities.) Many of our userstell us how much they appreciate howeasy our software is to learn. They alsoappreciate our training process andongoing support. What other advantagesdo you expect from an easy-to-usesystem?

Why are you using this technology, isn't Xbetter or more accepted in the industry?

Your technology decision is importantand can be confusing with technologychanging so fast. You expressed earlierthat it is important to you to do businesswith a solid company that has a vision forthe future. Did I understand this right?(Prospect: Yes, you did. We don’t wantto make this major investment in thewrong technology.) I can understand that.Our company is a leader in providing thebest software that solves your businessproblems and is dedicated to usingleading edge technology. What this meansis that no matter what the “latest”technology is, we are going to keepsolving your problems by keeping up withthe changes in your business andupgrading our software to meet yourneeds. How does that sound to you?

Your competitor gave us names of some ofyour clients to call. Would you like to giveus some of theirs?

That’s interesting. I’ll be glad to give younames of our clients to call. We believethat customer lists are proprietary and it’snot our policy to give out other vendor’scustomer names. Will that work for you?


Your competitor told us that your companyis being bought. How will that affect us ifwe select your system?

That’s news to me! Acquisitions andmergers are becoming a common practicein today’s economy so I’m not surprisedwhen companies explore this practice as away to grow and take advantage ofeconomies of scale. I have no knowledgeof this and can assure you that if mycompany is acquired or merged it wouldbe done with customers in mind. Whatfurther data do you need about thissubject? (Prospect: I would hope that ifanything like this is going on that youwill let us in on it.) If this is important toyou, then of course I will.

Pricing, Licensing, and Payment Terms

Why should I pay for that up front needsassessment? It sounds like a sales call tome.

I understand why you would think that. Alot of companies do “free” needsassessments as part of their sales processto uncover needs that are solved with theirproducts. This free needs assessment isusually done for the benefit of theprovider to help sell their products andservices. We can do the same “free”needs assessment that would becomparable. The purpose of our needsassessment is to do an in-depth study ofyour business processes and prepare areport that documents our findings. Weuse expert systems analyst to analyze theinformation and provide you with a detailblueprint that you can use to contract withus or any other systems company toimplement your network. This blueprint ismuch like the work an architect would doto lay the foundation for a building.Based on our earlier discussions, we feelthat your requirements go beyond a “free”needs assessment. What has changedabout your requirements that we shouldconsider? (Prospect: Nothing haschanged. You have given moreinformation that I didn’t have before.)

Can you show me a return on myinvestment if I purchase this from you?

I appreciate your concern about showing areturn on your investment. Earlier youtold me that you expect to increase


revenues by 15%-20% by implementingour software, is that correct? (Prospect:Well, that’s right. We expect to see anincrease in business with this newsoftware system. That’s how we arejustifying this investment.) Other thanthat return on your investment, what elsewould you need to justify the purchase ofthis software? (Prospect: I wondered ifyou had any actual documentationshowing how companies can increaseproductivity by using this software?)That’s a very a good question. I’ll asksome of our customers if they have doneany work like this and let you know?Will that be okay? (Prospect: Yes, thatwould be great! We can always add it toour own numbers.)

Why can't you install it free, yourcompetition does?

Can you tell me more about this option?(Prospect: One of your competitorsprices the software free. You downloadit from a web site. You only pay whenyou start to use it.) So what you aresaying is that the software is free and youpay fees once you activate a license?Does that sound right? (Prospect: Yes, Ibeliever that is right.) There are a varietyof models in which to price software.After looking at how our clients use oursoftware, we decided to use a one-timelicense fee with annual softwaremaintenance fees. Our clients appreciatethis method because they know what tobudget for every year and there is noadministration hassle to deal with. Withthe per usage fee your costs maycontinually rise over time and you willprobably end up paying more for yoursoftware. You will also want to reviewyour monthly billing statements foraccurate billings which can be additionaladministration work. What are yourthoughts about this? (Prospect: I didn’tunderstand how this would work and Ithink now I would prefer a simple one-time license fee.)


How much does it cost? How much do you want to pay? (Justkidding—this is a great buying signal!)To start receiving the benefits (list all theneeds and benefits that were uncoveredearlier in the sale) of using our softwareimmediately, your investment will be$500 a month on a 5-year lease. How doesthat sound to you?

What other items do I need to budget thatare not included in your proposal?

That’s a very good question. As a serviceto our customers, we will review yourcurrent resources and establish a list ofrequirements for which to budget. Whenwould you like to get started on thisreview? (Prospect: Let’s get startedright away.)

I don't understand why your price is somuch higher than your competitor.

I see. (Understand the position) Puttingprice aside for a moment how does thecompetitor compare to the features andbenefits (list actual benefits) of oursoftware? (Quantify) What is thedifference in price? (Prospect: It’s abouta 20% difference.) So what you’re sayingis that you prefer our software solutionand are concerned about the difference inprice, is that correct? (Prospect: Yes, itis.) What possible solutions do you seethat would convince you the value of oursoftware and services outweighs thedifference in price? (Prospect: Inlooking at the difference, it seems thatyou have included more training daysand consulting services. Can you do asuccessful implementation if we cutsome of these services back. I canexplain what happens during the trainingand consulting and will give you myopinion based on my experience howcutting these out will affect yourimplementation? We can then comparethe value of a successful implementationto the 20% difference before we reduceany services. How does that sound toyou? (Prospect: That’s a good idea.The 20% is not a significant enoughdifference to jeopardize ourimplementation.)


This is going to cost more than we hadexpected!

I understand. How much more is thisinvestment than you expected?(Prospect: $10,000!) You mentioned thatyou were justifying the purchase of thissoftware because of the revenue gains youexpect to receive. You also want thesoftware to be easy-to-use and mostimportantly you want to make sure thattraining is effective. Are these stillimportant to you? (Prospect: Yes, it isbut we only budgeted for $30,000. Yoursolution is more.) I understand. Puttingaside the price difference for a moment,would you like to get started with oursoftware? (Prospect: Yes, I think yoursolution and services are the one wewant.) If we break the $10,000 downover 60 months which is the terms of yourfinancing, then we are only looking atabout $170 difference a month. For thissmall difference you will be getting thebest solution and best support. What’syour thoughts about this? (Prospect: Iguess we could do that. Can’t you giveus a little discount to help?) What typeof a reduction were you thinking about?(Prospect: I didn’t have anything inmind. What can you do for us?) If Idiscount the price, then we will also haveto reduce some of the services tocompensate. What areas would you liketo reduce in services? (Prospect: I don’twhat to cut out anything. Let’s keepeverything and give me a 10% discount.)You’re a tough negotiator, Mr. Prospect.If you can go ahead and sign ouragreement today, then I’ll give you the10% discount. How does that sound?(Prospect: You gotta a deal!)

Our lawyer is reviewing your licenseagreement and has a few points to modify.How flexible are you in changing yourlicense agreement?

(Ugh! -don’t youjust hate it when

lawyers get


involved!)I’m sure we can

work through thesechanges and

negotiate a win-winfor you and us. Howdoes that sound to

you?We like your solution and may havedifficulty coming up with the capitalrequired to make the investment. Whatpayments options do you offer that wouldreduce our up front costs?

(Don’t you lovegetting thisquestion!)?

I’m very excited that you have selectedour software. We have helped many ofour clients with finance options. Whencould we meet to explore these with you?


What are your payment terms? (Another great question that you like tohear!)What terms are you looking for?(Prospect: Just your standard terms.)Our payment terms are in line withstandard industry terms for softwarelicensing. A deposit on contract signingand then full payment at time of deliveryof the software. How does that sound toyou? (Prospect: That’s fine.)

We have decided on your system but willhave to raise the funds? Can you holdthese prices for 12 months?!!!!

(This prospect must have been lyingwhen you asked him/her if budgetswere approved for this purchase!)That’s great that you have selected oursoftware and we know that you will behappy with this decision. Tell me moreabout how you plan on raising thesefunds? (Unless this prospect representspotential volume business, I wouldpolitely walk away from this one fornow!)

Service, Support, Implementation, and Training

How many people do I have to hire tosupport this software in my environment?

What questions do you have aboutstaffing resources for this software?(Prospect: We don’t want to have to hireprogrammers to support this software.)I understand. What your saying is that thesoftware you select will have to beoperated and managed by your existingstaff. Since your staff is already usingMicrosoft Windows products, they will becomfortable in this environment. Afterour project management review, shouldyou need additional resources, then wehave a consulting team that can help you.This means you shouldn’t need to hireadditional staff. How do you see thishelping with resource needs? (Prospect:That’s great!)

How long will it take to implement? Implementation planning is important.Describe for me what an idealimplementation timeline would look like.(Prospect: We would like to geteverything up and running within sixmonths.) We will make sure that thistimeline is incorporated into the


installation schedule. Would you like toget started?

How many of your personnel will besupporting my installation?

Can you clarify that question for me?(Prospect: I want to know that when wecall for help, that you can respondquickly.) Thanks. So you are concernedabout getting timely response time whenyou need help with problems, is thatright? Keeping customers delighted withour customer service is vital to thecontinued growth of our company. Wecontinually review our support processesand refine them to meet the needs of ourcustomers. Would you like to go aheadand plan for the installation? (Prospect:Let’s hear a little more about yourservices first.)

Are there other sources of support, ormaintenance other than your company?

I’m not sure I understand your question.Can you expand upon it for me?(Prospect: We want to consider all ouroptions.) Let me restate this back to youto make sure I understand what you’resaying. If you aren’t satisfied with ourcustomer service, then you want to knowwho else can service your installation. Isthat correct? (Prospect: Yes, that’sright.) We are proud of our customerservice and if at any time you aren’tsatisfied with your service, then we wantto make it right. Having service from onesource for your software, hardware, andnetworks will be more cost effective andefficient for you. What advantages doyou see in getting your service from onesource? (Prospect: I think eliminatefinger pointing, be easier to solveproblems, and leverage the relationshipbetter.)

Why did you recommend the services (orthe amount of services) in our proposal?

Thanks for asking this question. It givesme a chance to review each of theservices with you and explain theirbenefits. Before I get started, are thereany specific areas you have questionsabout? (Prospect: No, go ahead andexplain.) The services proposed representwhat we think you will need to have a


successful implementation based on ourexperience installing more than 50systems. It also matches up with ourunderstanding of your needs and goals forthis software implementation. In whatways do you see these services beinghelpful to your organization? (Prospect:Now that you have explained this more, Ithink it will help us get started quickerand also getting a payback on ourinvestment earlier than expected.)

What does the software maintenanceagreement really include?

What questions do you have about thesoftware maintenance agreement?(Prospect: If you come out with a wholenew product, will we get it under thisagreement?) I see. Our softwaremaintenance agreement includes helpdesk support and annual upgrades to thesoftware licensed under the agreement. Ifwe develop a new software module that isnot an extension of the software youpurchased, then it would not beconsidered an annual upgrade. Forexample, If we release a CustomerSupport Maintenance package, it wouldbe considered as a “new” software systemand you would have to purchase a licensefor it. Does that answer your specificquestion? (Prospect: Yes it does,thanks.)

How long does it take to learn to use it? What questions do you have about ourtraining methods? (Prospect: Tell meabout your training.) You expressed tous that getting your people trained on thesoftware immediately was a priority.Right? That’s why we haverecommended our “quickstart” trainingprograms that are designed for people ona fast track. How’s that sound to you?(Prospect: That’s great and exactly whatwe want.)

How much training will we get? Training is important to the success ofyour software implementation and use.This was also one of the concerns youexpressed to us during our initialassessment of your needs. We have


proposed a substantial number of trainingdays per software module. We feel this ismore than adequate to get your people onthe right foot with the software. If anydays aren’t used, then we will credit themto your account to be used for additionalservices you may need in the future.What do you think about that? (Prospect:I’m glad to hear you will credit anyunused days. When can we get started?)

How often do you send out upgrades? Keeping clients on the newest version ofsoftware is a goal we have set forourselves. What is your experience withsoftware upgrades? (This one isimportant to clarify because if you sayfour times a year then the prospect maypanic! If you say once a year then thatmay not be enough.) We have found thatcustomers like to take advantage of smallproblem fixes more often. So we send outthese types of updates quarterly.Substantial changes in the software aresent annually. How does this compare towhat you are used to? (Prospect: Thiswill work out good.)

Will we have to purchase new versions oris it included in the annual softwaremaintenance fee?

Can you define for me what you considera “new version.”? (Prospect: I woulddescribe a new version as having majorenhancements to it.) I see. Your annualsoftware maintenance fee covers a majorupdate to a current module. That is one ofthe added values you receive with oursoftware. What’s your opinion?

Once you make this sale, will I ever seeyou again?

Would you really like to see me again?(Ha, Ha) The relationship I have builtwith you is important to me too. We willbe transitioning a project manager to youraccount who is better qualified to takeover the implementation. We are a teamand I will continue to keep tabs on howyou are doing. If you agree, I will also becalling on you for referrals to newcustomers in which I begin to work. Willthat be okay with you? (Prospect: Sure,and we will miss you.)

What about data conversion? How much of your data do you plan on


converting? (Prospect: We aren’t sureyet but as much as possible so we don’thave to re-key stuff in.) We have aprocess for doing data conversions thatincludes giving you an estimate for thedata conversion layout. At that time youcan decide how much of the data is worthconverting to the new system. How doesthat sound? (Prospect: That soundsdoable.)

Are you using the Web for support? What type of support would be importantto you on the Web? (Prospect: We wantto have access to information about thesoftware anytime.) Great! We do have aWeb site for customers to look atfrequently asked questions, downloadupgrades, submit help questions, anddownload documentation. Whatadditional benefits do you see from usingthe Web?

How soon can we begin? I like your enthusiasm! Let’s look at ourschedules and decide on the best time toget started. When can we schedule a timeto review the license agreement and get itsigned?

Features and Functionality

Can you guarantee that the functionalityyou showed me in your demonstration willwork in my environment?

I don’t believe I have ever been asked thisbefore! What questions do you haveabout the functionality that we covered?(Prospect: Sometimes it’s hard to reallysee what’s going in a demonstration.) Isee. What you’re saying is that it’s hardto trust what you are seeing in a salesdemonstration. Is that an accurateinterpretation? (Prospect: No offense,but yes.) Many of our customers haveoften told us how straightforward andhonest our product demonstrations wereand that weighed heavily in their decisionto select our software company. One ofyour first statements to me when we firstmet was you wanted to build a long-termrelationship with your new softwareprovider. We have been working togethernow for three months and I feel I havebecome your ally in this software project.


Would you like to move ahead with thisproject?

We want to make sure we are investing insoftware that will not be “out of date” assoon as we get it implemented. Whatassurances can you give us that we willalways be using the state of the arttechnology?

I really appreciate this question. Why isthis important to you? (Prospect:Because, we are making a largeinvestment that we want to pay off.) Sowhat you are saying is that this is a largeinvestment for you in time and money andyou don’t want to go through this processagain any time soon. Is that what you aresaying? This is a very legitimate concernconsidering the fast pace of technologytoday. Our company has been built on itsability to respond to customer needsquickly. Since our first product launched10 years ago, we have migrated clients totwo new technology platforms. Theseclients did not loose any of their originalinvestment. How do you see this type ofmigration planning working in yoursituation?

I liked the way the other product lookedand how easy it seemed to move around thescreens.

I understand. Can you tell me more aboutthis demonstration so that I can make sureI’m comparing apples to apples?(Prospect: The other product seemedeasier to use because it’s like theMicrosoft office products we use.) Sowhat you are saying is that you liked thepulled down windows and tabs used in theother product. Is that right? You’ll bepleased then to be reminded that ourproduct also has pull down windows andtabs. You have seen two other demossince ours so I’m not surprised that youare confusing products. In addition, oneof your main requirements was being ableto do reporting easily. Remember howexcited your staff got when they saw howthey would be able to do their ownreporting without having to ask the ITguy? How soon would you like to getstarted on the implementation?(Prospect: We want to start by nextmonth? If we signed with you, can youget us started then?

If we select your software, we want you to I am so glad you asked this question.


make a few customizations. Can you dothat?

(Actually, you hate getting this questionbecause it makes your development guy’stoes curl up!) What type ofcustomizations are you thinking about?(This is to clarify the quantity ofcustomizations). Since we have installedover 50 systems, we know to expect somecustomizations in our standard system.We have built tools in the software toallow you to add data fields; changereport formats, and adds new menus.How soon would you like to get started onestimating your customizations?

Easy-to-use reporting is very important tous. Tell us how your system will handlethis?

All of our customers tell us the samething. Have you seen reporting tools thatyou like? What did you like about them?What didn’t you like about them?(Prospect: There was one vendor whohad all types of reporting toolsdepending on the type of user. We likedthose options.) I think you will be happythen with our reporting tool. We providethree reporting capabilities: power userreporting, user reporting, and executivelevel reporting. Who might benefit mostfrom these different reporting tools?

We want to make sure we are usingproducts that are easily compatible withother applications. How does yoursoftware meet this requirement?

Please explain a little more about whatyou want to accomplish with this?(Prospect: We don’t want to get a systemthat can’t talk to other systems.) Iunderstand. What you are saying is that ifyou install a third-party software productyou want to be able to share theinformation from our software system. Isthat correct? Our software uses industrystandards and an “open” database. Whatthat means to you is that data is written ina format that can be shared with otherindustry standard systems using non-proprietary databases. How does thismeet your requirement?

Can you change the color of the screens? What color did you have in mind?(Prospect: Nothing really, I just thoughtI would ask the question.) Actually, sincewe use the Windows environment you canuse the Windows display options to


change the color of your screens. Wouldthis be important to you?

Does your software work on the Web? What areas of the application would youwant to be on the Web? (Prospect: Wehave been thinking about giving some ofour customer access to our system forlooking at products, ordering, andgetting status of their shipments.) Veryinteresting! We have been developing aWeb interface for our software and arelooking for sites to help test it. Wouldyour organization be interested in thistype of co-development?

What questions have I not asked that Ishould ask?

You are serious, aren’t you? You haveasked some great questions and I feel thatyou have covered the essential points.We have discussed; our company’shistory and reputation, our customersupport process, our technology vision,our management team, we have talkedabout implementation and training, dataconversion and upgrades, you’ve seen thesoftware work, looked at reporting, andreviewed our proposal and licenseagreement. I think the only question youhaven’t asked is “where are you taking meto dinner?” Would you like to go now?

it's not what you sayit's what you ask - eyesonsales

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