Does your customer know what you are talking about?

Let us face it, technology startups are often founded by geeks, employ geeks and hence are, more often than not, geekdoms. There is tremendous value in it. However, there is a significant downside to this as it relates to communication. Geeks speak geekspeak and unfortunately that is all the customers hear a lot of times. This is a HUGE mistake.

Never forget who you are in the business for. It is your customers. If your value proposition is not clear to the customer, you will perish. The customer needs to see value. She needs to know that you understand her pain and will help her. She needs empathy not geekspeak. And this is true even when you are speaking to tech buyers. You need to be very clear on how you and only you understand the pain they are feeling and can help them. If you can establish that empathy and can weave it into the product you are pitching, you are already ahead of the competition.

Abandon the geekspeak and the discussions on all the bells and whistles that your product has. Instead, focus on business value it creates or the business pain it alleviates. Use simple, easy to understand language. For example, instead of saying “the product has an enterprise class data warehouse based on a dimensional data model, supported by all major RDBMs, that houses information from disparate sources”, you can say that “using a single repository of data all the business users see the same version of truth. This allows for accurate and timely decision making and meaningful interdepartmental communication”. By eliminating geekspeak you have shown how the product is meaningful to the business user. Nice technology is good, in fact it is essential, but it is not an excuse for clearly articulated benefits. It is almost as though most technology companies operate behind a cloud of geekspeak, and it is the company that breaks through the clouds and communicates simply, that stands out.

So, spend some time. Understand the business problem you are solving, develop empathy with your potential customers and analyze your competition. You should then be able to come up with a story that resonates with the customer. If you are able to do that, you have the power to change the dialog, project yourself as the hero and differentiate yourself from the competition. And that can’t be a bad thing.

customers geekdoms selling value proposition

Sameer Agarwal

Its that you play Base that got me ! 🙂 Great post ! And couldn’t agree more… However there’s a step before the balms bottles can be opened – grabbing attention. That still remains a challenge for the seller. AND the buyer ! 🙂
- Sanjiv Sinha
  
  Well if we ever get together we can make music. I agree, The attention getting approach in the B2B world is different from B2C. In the B2B world, which I have direct experience with, a diagnostic approach works very well. I have used sales scripts before where sales folks walk down a list of diagnostic questions and subconsciously set the stage for the product. Works fabulously and establishes trust. Will share more in a later blog post.
  - Sameer Agarwal
    
    What if you can remove that ‘script’ from a sales person’s agenda. Let’s say for a minute that the sales person can stop ‘pitching’ and instead get into a real conversation with the customer – from the moment the CRM changes the prospect to a Qualified Lead.
    
    Basically automate THAT part of the sales cycle.
    
    I’ve been in and out of a few B2B sales profiles and ‘rehearsed scripts’ may seem redundant, but there ARE a set of things one needs to get done with before a ‘real’ conversation can begin. Call em Hygiene facts – Cloud Based, Pay-per-use, Freemium may be enough.
    
    B2B or B2C don’t matter – almost all conversations today have become one-on-one.
    
    And in such a case, where a consultant will talk about her ‘skills’ from the moment go – a call back comes only when the consultant will save your ass or money. Which is why accountants and lawyers continue to make so much money in every economy.
    
    For us mortals who have competition (sometimes unknown), telling your story as quickly as possible with as little frills as perhaps as good a strategy – if not better- than a ‘get-in-bed-and-i’ll-tell-you-the-secret’ approach.
    
    And if you need time from me to hear your story – you better make it fun and interesting. I already know my problems. I need solutions – not ‘reminders’ about my problems.
    
    What do you think?
    
    On ya – on the music, we already are. This is a good discussion. Let’s keep it going…
    - Sanjiv Sinha
      
      I am so sorry I dropped the ball on this. I have been traveling and did not get a chance to respond to you earlier. I think my use of the term “script” may have thrown you off. Call it a script, or call it a guideline, it is a consultative way of getting to the customer’s problem and them feeling that you know what they need solved. If you can move from the role of yet-another-salesperson to somebody they can talk to, it is a HUGE step. I agree, establishing credibility before you can even begin a conversation is absolutely key. How one does it varies but talking about a similar customer situation (if you have a story) never hurt any one.
      - Sameer Agarwal
        
        Yeah – the word ‘script’ did throw me off. Sorry – occupation hazard – comes with my job. 🙂
        
        I was speaking with Shruti Challa in the NPC12 lounge and this was exactly what she was talking about. And surprisingly Bob Wright said the exact same thing too – know your customer. (I’ll share videos soon – currently under review with the Nasscom team). If more than 1 visitor can spot dirty linen, your restaurant may be doing that part of the business wrong.
        
        So here’s my question – how does a ‘Product’ company do this? Especially early stage – when the ‘exact’ customer needs a little discovery. Given that a product company will deliberately move away from a ‘consultative’ approach to a sale, an early stage product company can very easily fall victim to a ‘semi-services’ approach. “At least it generates revenue…” is a natural way to think isn’t it?
      - Sanjiv Sinha
        
        Good thoughts. Semi-services is not a bad way for an early stage startup IMO. What the startup needs to be crystal clear on is the domain it wants to tackle problems in and its professed expertise in that field. Building up credibility in the domain and putting clear boundaries around what it would do and how it would do it is a good way for companies to avoid becoming custom-dev shops for its clients.
      - Sameer Agarwal
        
        Totally agree. Good chat – thanks ! 🙂
Sanjiv Sinha

Sorry but I had dropped the ball on your response to my post. I just responded.