Sell it right way to right person

05/19/02
Brigham Young University
By By Gary Williams Printed in the Deseret News
      How often have you made a sales presentation and felt like you were talking to the wall?
      You knew that you had the best product and that the customer was ready to buy, but your presentation was not working. Maybe you were selling the wrong message to the right person or the right message to the wrong person. I once made three sales presentations to a potential buyer before I realized that I had the right person, but the wrong message.
      History has taught us that products have a life cycle. If you were to chart this cycle, it would be in the shape of a bell. In the early stages, sales are minimal, profits probably non-existent. As product sales gain momentum, the curve rises, and we may see a steep incline in the rate of sales growth. Later we pass through a flattening period labeled as the maturation phase. The curve eventually starts a downward trend and moves into decline.
      The sales approach typically changes with each shift in this life cycle. What we communicate and to whom we sell can be dramatically different in each of the phases.
      What is known is that the buyers (those individuals who make the purchase decision) change as we move through the cycle even though the companies to which we are selling may remain the same. It is this fact that is missed by many sales professionals, managers and owners of companies.
      Let's review the characteristics of each phase and how we might approach the buyer.

      Early phase: We are looking for visionaries and adopters. We need to find people who are willing to take a chance on our product or our company. These individuals are usually the first to market, or just have the itch to try something new. They are often not the manager or owner but may be a "techie," an inventor or the marketing manager. The sales approach needs to address the visionary theme. Share your ideas, paint a picture of the future, talk about the advantages of being first to market.

      Growth phase: Our buyers become more pragmatic. The purchase decisions reflect more rationality. Buyers are infrastructure managers (IT, manufacturing). The sales presentation must now reflect logic, facts to support our claims, case studies and references. The buyers do not want to try something new. They want a proven product or service, and they want reliability.
      One high-tech firm entering this phase decided to move its chief technology officer to a sales position to help influence the purchase decision — a big step for the firm, but one that proved to be highly successful.

      Maturation and decline phases: Buyers are conservative. The customer may be required to purchase the product to stay competitive in the marketplace. Reluctance exists, and you need something to motivate the purchase decision — discounting is your competitive weapon. Your buyer needs to make a deal with you. You are probably working with the purchasing department, and they are taught to buy at the lowest possible pricing point. Your sales materials must address economy, savings and incentives.

      As a business owner or manager, you need to strategically think through how you will approach each of the above phases. Make a conscious decision regarding marketing materials and messages, sales teams and the sales pitch. Don't be afraid to dramatically change what has worked in the past if you sense that you are entering a new phase. At each point in the life of your business, be sure you're selling the right way to the right person.

author1 is associated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via e-mail at Mr. Williams is associated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via e-mail at cfe@byu.edu. .