Presenting a benefit-focused solution
You've uncovred your client's explicit needs... You've helped them see the value that would come from meeting them... It's now time to persuade them that sponsoring or exhibiting at an IMAPAC conference will be an effective way of doing this... It's time to present you solution!
Basic principles:
- Present your solution verbally before sending a proposal
- Uncover as many needs as possible first
- Use benefits not features to make your case
- Build desire
- Discuss appropriate investment levels
Are we there yet?
Resist the temptation to discuss benefits in detail until you’ve finished investigating needs. If you have to, then avoid the detail: and let them know you will come back to this in more detail later. Before you present any kind of solution, always ask the question:
✓ A feature is a fact about your conference or our company
✓ An advantage shows how this can help the customer
✓ A benefit links this fact to the customer’s explicit needs and wants
✓ There will be 250 people at the conference ✓ We conduct in depth research for the event agenda
✓ Which will give you plenty of people to meet and do business with ✓ So the agenda is of a high quality and drives high attendance
✓ You said you want to meet directly with this group of people. There will be 250 of them for you to network with over the 2 days… ✓ You say you are looking to associate your brand with the very latest thinking in this area – our research ensures the agenda reflects and contains this…
It’s obvious why benefits are so much more powerful – you are suggesting solutions to needs that the client has told you they have!!!
✓ Benefits are much more memorable than features or advantages ✓ Benefits have a very high impact on buyers ✓ Benefits help your internal sponsors sell to their other stakeholders
- Focus on the customer’s most important explicit need first
- Express their explicit need back to them (use your T-Form!)
- Explain how your solution will help them achieve this
- Make your points one at a time. Make them clear. Check the prospect understands.
- Use the language of the customer wherever possible
- Emphasise Return On Investment based on your earlier discussions of value
- Take into account constraints, issues or priorities that emerged while you were investigating needs
Think & talk solutions, value & ROI
Always think and talk in terms of a solution to your customer’s problems or opportunities. Emphasise the value to be gained – highlight the implications and payoffs you uncovered. Remember - business decision makers buy when they become satisfied that the decision will make them money or save them money or time…if you believe your solution will help them do this, you are halfway there! Refer back to the points your prospect made about how they calculate ROI on this sort of investment. Stress how the solution will meet these needs. Get them engaged and actively thinking about ways in which the conference will deliver value for them.
Where’s the evidence?
Think of things that can help back and build your case:
- Facts and figures that will support your argument
- Evidence of relevant examples where you’ve helped clients with similar needs
- Client success stories from our events
- Testimonials from relevant supporters
- Information on previous and current sponsors of the event
How to build desire
- Use positive, affirmative language – “You will / We will / The Delegates will” rather than “You might / We can / The Delegates sometimes”
- Stand up, move around, use your whole body, get animated!
- Paint pictures – get them to visualise as many aspects of the on the day situation as they can.
- Check what you are saying makes sense. “Can you see how that would be beneficial in your case?”
- Talk about why you love this event – the satisfaction you get from working on this product and helping clients like them achieve their goals…
Establish an appropriate investment level
If you haven’t already discussed investment, it’s vital to raise the subject at this stage before you get any further. You need to establish whether there is a serious conversation taking place here! The most effective way to do this is to: Establish whether all the elements of the solution you have described make sense to the buyer. Calmly present the appropriate investment range.
