Sales Kick Off season is officially here. Traditionally, SKOs are a great way to introduce new ideas and products to a team. They’re also usually great for in-person networking. These components are of course going to look a little different this year. So how can you maximize what you are learning from this year’s SKO so you can utilize it in the future?
Keep in mind that SKO is a time for the marketing and product teams to show off the things that they have been working hard on. They are going to be excited. Many will spend the time showing the new features and cool things the product can do. It’s your job to collect the information that will really help sell these products. Keep in mind, it’s not the new features and functions that are important. It’s the problems they solve that tie back to the most important objectives / goals for your target buyers.
As you are sitting through the presentation, keep asking yourself “Who cares?” It’s not meant to be a snarky comment, but rather a compass to point you towards what really matters. You can then use those notes later when you have a prospect who is interested. Figure out ahead of time what the value of the product is and for whom. Remember, we shouldn’t sell on product features, you’re just playing a numbers game if you do. When you sell on features, you’re hoping the prospect will figure out how it solves problems for themselves. Instead, sift through the fluff and find answers to the most important questions:
- Who are the one to three most important target buyers? What are their titles?
- For each one individually, what is their most important goals/objective? (Business Issues)
- What are the biggest problems they are facing? (Problems)
- What is the impact we’re going to bring by solving those problems? (Value)
Take the time to discover this information before you begin interacting with interested prospects.
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