DPF: A New Acronym for Successful Selling in 2020

By Tom Pisello | March 24, 2020

There is a distinct value gap between what buyers expect and what sellers deliver.

    Did you know …

  • 21% of buyers said that their interactions with sellers are “low-value”
  • 80% of sellers still predominantly pitch products and services
  • Only 20% are focused on what buyers really care about: their challenges, potential improvements, and the business value outcome of proposed solutions (Forrester)
    And this will only be amplified by recent events.

  • Buyers are more sensitive than ever to an empty sales pitch
  • Uncertainty is amplifying the perceived risk to any proposed changing or spending
  • Budgets have been cut and spending is frozen, with amplified scrutiny on each and every dollar spent – Frugalnomics is in full effect.

So how can you bridge the value gap and overcome these 2020 selling challenges? It all comes down to three letters – DPF.

    Diagnose –

  • Can you help the company help cut costs, reduce spending and do more with less? Can you help reduce business risk or capture lost revenue opportunities?
  • A good 2020 seller will help the company identify potential opportunities, assessing where improvements can be made, tallying the cost of “do nothing” new, and providing a diagnosis of the problem BEFORE providing a solution.
    Prescribe –

  • Can you help the company understand the “good for what ails them”?
  • Aligning to the diagnosis, a good 2020 seller will not pitch their solution and demo every feature possible, but precisely target the identified issues, communicating what the solution can specifically do to help and the precise savings, business value and ROI expected. Generalities and empty promises won’t cut it.
    Facilitate –

  • Can you help your buyer navigate an even more difficult journey and approval process?
  • A good seller will proactively help the buyer through a sea of stakeholders, frugal executives and budget freezes, providing the right content to help each stakeholder understand the vital importance of the proposed solution. A financial justification business case is important, communicating and quantifying the high opportunity cost of “do nothing”, amplifying and prioritizing the pain, and the business value benefits / ROI, providing benefits relevant to each stakeholder.
The Bottom-Line

Buyer expectations were already high and are now elevated further in a more risk averse and frugal environment.

Sellers are more important than ever to help buyers overcome the challenges they are facing, however, buyers indicate that their approach falls short – the Value Gap. The same old approach and sales pitch won’t work in 2020.

Sellers need to elevate to a new three step method: Diagnose, Prescribe and Facilitate.

Learn more:
Communicate and Quantify your Differentiating Value? This Mediafly ValueStory guide shows you exactly how to bridge the value gap by implementing a better value selling approach and tools –
https://www.mediafly.com/guide/storytelling-101-a-guide-for-modern-b2b-sellers-2/

Source:
Forrester – https://www.evolvedselling.com/forrester-advancing-beyond-powerpoints-to-value-selling/

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