The "So What?" Test

No, I am definitely not going to ask this morning that question of whether Mr. Trump's conviction yesterday will make any difference in the election, or will it be simplified to a "So What?" and the election discussion moved to inflation, the border and the budget.  One thing we've learned early as salespeople is never to get involved in any discussions about politics.  One basic rule is that it's none of my business, and two, as a salesguy, I'm 100% focused on selling VALUE that fits my specific persona, whether that person is a new prospect or an existing customer.  I simply cannot afford to be sidetracked or fall down the rabbit hole of politics!

What I use on the street, and what I teach in my Science of Sales course at Tufts in the Derby Entrepreneurship Center is all about defining and delivering very specific VALUE PROPOSITIONS, each of which are designed to specific personas.  For example, although the product I provide would be the same, the Value Prop I  deliver to a CFO, since I know that she will be involved in the buying decision, will be focused on ROI, while the Value Prop I deliver to the CRO, the primary decision maker, will be very specific about increasing sales productivity, reducing time and shrinking the overall sales cycle funnel by x days. 

The simple Test 

We've been studying, experimenting, developing and honing Value Propositions for 15 years now with thousands of examples across very diverse markets ranging from sophisticated software and biotech companies to toy manufacturers selling products for pennies, and the simple test always bouncing around in my head is: 

• "So What?"  Is that marketing push, that social post, that email, that voicemail, that trade show booth, or spammed text message just a "So What?", which gets a quick delete, or...
• "Tell me More?"  Does that specific sales message have enough specificity in it that appeals to me personally such that I respond with a text, an email or immediately book time on that salesperson's nicely provided calendar?   In today's fast paced environment where none of us have any time, every sales message must be "Tell Me More"!

On the last day of the month, with one more 30 days left in the Q, take a few minutes this weekend and write out your own Value Propositions and test them out with your co-workers or someone else who lives in the reality of today's rapidly changing world of the Science of Sales.   You can always send me a copy for a quick scoring and comment  at jack@derbymanagement.com.  

Have a great day selling today...and a superb weekend which looks just perfect weather-wise!  I'm off to Vermont, chainsaw in hand to tidy up the woodlot! 

WRITING THE WINNING SALES PLAN IN 2024 

For a few ideas on Sales and improving the productivity of your own team, you can click here for this brand new  "Writing the Winning Sales Plan in 2024", for a few ideas on structure, sales models, process funnels and a number of productivity tools and how to recruit and hire the best.  

www.derbymanagement.com  
Derby Entrepreneurship Center@Tufts.