Stage Two – Pre–Positioning
It is necessary at this stage to create a strategy and like any good strategy, research and preparation is essential to pre–positioning effectively. Researching the market and understanding the customer's unique business is a great starting point. The following questions act as a great starting point and will help to identify the information needed to make a strategic sale.
Helpful Sales Questions
Who: position, role, interests, personality
What: industry, organisation, culture, driving forces
When: deadlines, cost of delay, special offers
Where: geography, marketplace
Why: unique pitch, what are they paying for, value, benefits
Which: provider, competitor, product
How: selling strategies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
Features and Benefits
It is also important to bear in mind the features and benefits of what you are selling customers don't buy features, they don't even buy the advantages - what they buy is what the product's features and advantages will do for them, in other words
the benefit.
Moreover, the few customers who recognise the product benefit by its features and advantages will recognise your competitors' products too. The aim is to formulate a service / product offer which elegantly comprises enough of what the service / product does and how, with the most important or unique benefits for a given target market or prospect type. This will become important
when dealing with objections later in the selling process.
