Whether you are selling your idea to your own executive management team or trying to get it into the marketplace, the act of selling is an exotic dance of both art and science.
So, your brilliant team of innovators delivered. The idea of a lifetime is now fully developed, tested, and proven to be a viable product. The only thing standing between you and full-scale success is... selling the idea. Whether you are selling it to your own executive management team or trying to get it into the marketplace, the act of selling is an exotic dance of both art and science -- a balance between knowledge, skill, passion, and gut instinct. Here's how you can master it.
Always be a Credible Source of Information
In the world of marketing, are you the used
car salesman, or the trusted physician?
Do you believe your teenage daughter when she says she cleaned her room? No, you go check for yourself. Do you take the car dealer's word for it when he says the car has never been wrecked? Nope, you get a Carfax. But people always believe their doctors or spiritual advisers, because these groups don't typically have a reputation for being untruthful. People know when they're speaking to a person who's trustworthy because they have a reputation for always telling the truth. If you always put forth quality products and are honest and straightforward about what your products are and do, then people will readily believe you when you make big promises about your exciting new innovation. When touting a new innovation or product, be clear about the downsides, so that listeners will believe you when you tell them about the upsides to the item.
Begin by Researching Your Target Audience
The way you present a product is just as important as what the product is. Ministers, cowboys, and computer geeks all need to buy pants and hire auto mechanics, but the way you present these products and services makes all the difference in whether or not that particular person will buy in. Do your research. Find out who your target audience(s) are, and prepare specially tailored messages to each prospective buyer persona. Develop a product voice, and if necessary, create a unique voice to speak to each of your groups of potential buyers. Take into account demographic or firmographic factors that determine what messages are most successful with them, as well as where those messages are most likely to be found and well received. For instance, some groups are best reached by traditional forms of advertising, like radio and magazine ads, while others are most likely to purchase after viewing an online ad or seeing a post on Facebook.
Define the Potential Buyer's Needs and How the Product Meets Those Needs
What does your target audience want or need? How
can your product meet that need? How does this product
meet the need better than the alternatives?
Along that line of thought, you will need to make it clear how this product meets the specific needs of a particular group of buyers. Simplified to its absolute basic core, the art of selling is merely a matter of creating a real or perceived need in the potential buyer and then illustrating to them how your product meets that exact need. This is how you sell anything from makeup to video games. For the makeup buyer, demonstrate the need to look prettier, to attract the opposite sex, or to cover a flaw. To the video game buyer, demonstrate the need to have fun, relax, build a skill, or spend time with friends. Then demonstrate how your product uniquely and fully meets those needs.
Be Specific When Describing How the Product Delivers an ROI
The trick here is to help build a clear picture so that the potential buyer can visualize themselves using it and benefiting from the product. How does the product deliver a return for the investment the buyer makes in it? How is it less costly and more valuable than any of the alternatives, including doing without? Be specific. Help the buyer picture how grand everything will be once they own this thing. For instance, if you're touting a new camera, explain how it can do something that other cameras can't, like achieve a clear shot of a hummingbird in flight or capture an underwater scene with clarity and vivid color. Mentally help the listener walk through the actions of trying to do something, needing a better way or another option, and using your product to accomplish the task.
Be Brief and Get to the Conclusion Fast
We live in a society that expects everything to get from
0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. You need to get to the point quickly
or they won't give you time to make your point at all.
Don't let this level of detail fool you. You need to get to the point quickly. In fact, begin with your conclusions. If you have ever studied the marketing funnel, you are aware of the stages of a lead or prospect becoming a paying customer. First, they are exposed to the concept of a new product and made aware that it even exists. Next, they enter the phase of discovery, which is active research to learn more about the product or products like it. After that, they begin the consideration phase in which they consider your product versus the other options (including the possibility of doing without). If they decide to buy from you, they become a paying customer and you begin to develop and nurture a customer relationship. What you'll notice when studying the marketing funnel is that prospective customers need varying amounts of information during the journey from awareness to purchase. Don't overload someone in the awareness phase with details that they won't be ready or willing to consider until they are ready to buy or have already bought the product.
Learn the Art of the Call to Action (CTA)
Marketers refer to the end pitch in a piece as the call to action or CTA. The call to action is the conclusion of a presentation, which explains exactly what the marketer wants the listener to do next. For instance, on a website landing page, the marketer might conclude by asking the visitor to fill out a web form to get a free e-book or register to win a contest (in other words, to enter the next phase of the marketing funnel). The end of an actual advertisement or commercial might have a stronger CTA, such as how to contact a sales person for more information or what steps to take to actually purchase the product. Even a pitch to your own company's top brass needs to end with some type of CTA. You might conclude by asking them for their support or even to bluntly request that they sign a check to fund the project. Always tailor the CTA to the audience and actual circumstances in which you're giving the pitch.
Of course, there's a long stretch of time and work between initial conception and a finished product ready to put to market. Does your innovation team have the tools they need to create innovative success stories? HYPE Innovations can help. Download the whitepaper: The Execution of Innovation: What You Need to Know to get started on the right path today.
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