Page 88 - 25148.pdf

76 • The 100 Greatest Ideas for Building the Business of Your Dreams

was going to cost about £1500 and at most £3000. Yet the process the salesman
had to use was the same as the process for the telecommunications team.

If, however, you look at how computer component salespeople work in the
component distribution business, you will see that they sell on price andavailability.
After all, the actual products they are distributing are exactly the same as those of
their competitors. So they work on developing sound and friendly relationships with
their customers, but never try to think of something new they might do with the
components they buy in. And yet, in terms of value, they can be taking very large
orders indeed.

So, I conclude, big ticket selling is a misnomer. It is not just the value of the
order that chooses the selling method, it is the need to discover what impact the
product or service you are selling will have on the prospect, knowing that this will be
different from every other customer you have sold to, and will also be different from
the customer's original expectation. The salesperson or sales team is adding to the
value of the products and services being offered in the course of the sales campaign.

So, it is big ticket, it is different from selling fruit off a market stall but mainly it
is about selling not a product or a service, but selling a solution to a problem or
selling the ability of the customer to exploit an opportunity. In the words of an IT
director, 'Choose to sell for a company with whose objectives you can identify, put
yourself into the moccasins of your customers, and try to understand their business
better than they do.' And you don't have to charge the thick edge of a billion pounds.

Idea 49 - Sell high

The topic of level of contact is frequently discussed by selling teams. This is not
surprising, as it is probably the most difficult thing to get right in solution selling.
Imagine that you are selling a service that has a technical content, heating and ven-
tilation say, as well as financial ramifications.