The worst sellers have one very big thing in common
👇
They don't connect features/functions to business impact and value.
Too much "what it does" vs. "what it means"
So what happens?
Their outbound messaging falls short. They struggle to get access to senior stakeholders in deals. Multi-threading is a dead end.
They drink the company Kool-Aid, but can't figure out why their buyers don't want a glass.
Here's how to fix this:
✅ Start in reverse order
Most reps are taught to start with product. What does our product do? What are the core features?
Then onto benefits...etc
I don't like starting this way because it's not how you'd explain it to a buyer. It's a bad habit.
To provide context, start in the buyer's world: Their priorities & problems. Then align those to your solution.
✅ Example
Let's say you sell a cyber security solution.
Your buyer's priority: Know exactly where they're exposed, understand the criticality of their findings to help prioritize, and fix as quickly as possible.
Now, saying things like this is where you can run into trouble as a rep:
"We can help you augment those spreadsheets you're using..."
"We can help you add more context to your findings..."
"We can help you move away from spreadsheets..."
None of this is bad. But senior stakeholders especially do not care about these surface-level "what it does" soundbites.
They care about what this means.
Here's an example:
What it does: "We can help you add more context to your findings..."
What it means: "...this helps your already under-resourced team quickly prioritize through tens of thousands of findings. They'll be able to find where the risk is highest so they can fix it ASAP and reduce exposure time."
~~~
What problem does this solve?
What outcome will I achieve?
Your buyers care less about "what it does" and more about "what it means" to them.
With me?