1: “Picture a room with about 10 people from Ford sitting around a table,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
In front of the room, a salesperson stands with two flip charts.
“After several months of unsuccessfully trying to sell a laser device to Ford’s plant managers, this salesperson knew that she needed to change her approach,” Erik and Tim observe.
This creates a major obstacle to closing a sale: the prospect’s denial of a problem or belief that it does not justify changing the status quo.
Yesterday, we explored the power of client stories—not as proof of our solution, but as a way to transport prospects into another client’s reality.
To achieve this, you must tell the “before” story (the pain) and the “after” story (the gain).
“The bigger the contrast you can create between the ‘pain’ the customer experienced before your solution and the ‘gain’ the customer experienced with your solution, the greater the perceived value,” the authors note.
2: Now, let’s watch a textbook example of this concept in action.
“Let’s take a look at what this product did for Chrysler,” the salesperson tells the Ford executives.
“Before this solution, in a single facility, Chrysler had an 8 percent scrap rate.
“They needed to have a minimum of 24 hours of inventory on hand,” she says.
“And they had to replace 60 bad engines per month.
She records these details on the left flip chart.
She moves to the right flip chart.
“With our solution, Chrysler was able to reduce its scrap to 4 percent.
“They were able to reduce their inventory from 24 hours to 1 hour.
“Out of all these numbers, this is the one I’m most proud of,” she says. “After installing our solution, Chrysler went from 60 engines replaced to 0 engines replaced. The reduction in the scrap rate led to a savings of $360,000 the first year.
“The reduction in inventory led to a savings of $40,000 per month.
“And the engines? That was a savings of $1,200,000 the first year,” she shares.
“Chrysler saved in excess of $1.5 million in one year with an investment of only $275,000.”
All of a sudden, one of the Ford executives stands up. “Do you realize that we have the same exact thing happening at two of our plants today?
“We’ll take two,” he says.
Erik and Tim write: “This is what happens when you create value up front. There was no debate over product cost—$275,000—and the salesperson hadn’t even demoed the equipment.”
3: So, why does the customer-story-with-contrast approach work?
It reduces your prospect’s natural defensiveness.
Would this presentation have had the same impact if the salesperson had used Ford’s numbers and hadn’t mentioned Chrysler at all?
What could have happened when the salesperson shareed the 8 percent scrap rate?
“Actually, it’s 7.25 percent,” says the person responsible for scrap rate.
“All of a sudden you are lost in the weeds in an argument that derails the point and the power of the conversation,” the authors note.
The reality is that whether the rate is 8 percent or 7.25 percent, reducing Ford’s scrap rate to 4 percent would yield a gain significant enough to justify the change.
You run into the same issue when you use an ROI (return on investment) calculator.
What usually happens? The prospect wants to challenge the model’s assumptions.
Contrast this with what happens when the salesperson shares the Chrysler story. It’s as if she has come over to the prospect’s side of the table and says, “Let’s take a look at what’s happening at this customer over here.”
The bottom line: “It puts you in a more consultative position,” Erik and Tim explain.
More tomorrow.
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Reflection: Am I unintentionally triggering defensiveness by focusing on my prospect’s data instead of helping them see a clearer picture through a story?
Action: Identify one customer story with strong “before and after” contrast and use it to lead your next sales conversation.
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