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You Presenting What Your Owning a Porsche has always been high on my "nice, but not necessary to have" list. Visiting a Porsche dealership in Connecticut where I lived twelve years ago, I was greeted by a well-dressed salesman who immediately threw open the hood of the car and began explaining, with great passion, the functionality of the automobile. What I know or care about car engines could be explained in less than two words . . . nothing. Having heard a lot I didn't want to know, and very little I wanted to know, I left. Later that week I went to another dealership and the presentation was totally different. Instead of throwing open the hood and pontificating about the engine, the salesman suggested that I get in the car and we go for a test drive. As I slid behind the wheel, he said, "Before we start, reach into the left hand pocket and remove the genuine leather driving gloves." Genuine leather driving gloves, Wow! I'd never driven any car with genuine leather driving gloves. In fact, I'd never heard of genuine leather driving gloves! The moment I slipped the gloves over my fingers, the sale was closed. The test drive, as it turns out, was the add-on sale. After all, a Porsche is just a Porsche . . . isn't it? When this guy finished explaining how "other people" look at a Porsche and its driver as it passes them by, one word stands out -- TURBO! Two thousand five hundred dollars more . . . five hundred dollars per letter. This guy knew what his customer was buying. The first guy was selling a car, a form of transportation. The sales professional was helping his customer invest in an experience, satisfy a life-long dream. He ultimately became a client of mine and together we tested several presentation strategies. One suggestion included installing a large mirror on the exterior wall of his service department and to conclude the test drive at that point. Now the customer merely turns his head to the left as he prepares to exit the car and develops the picture that's been in his mind for many years. As everything has changed in the last twenty years, so has the way we present our products and services as well as ourselves to our customers. Establishing relationships with clients has always been very important. Twenty years ago, however, taking a client to lunch, a basketball game or perhaps out for a round of golf certainly did enhance, if not secure, the possibility of receiving the client's business. And when problems arose you did your best to resolve them as soon as you could. After all, good clients were reasonably patient clients. Competition has forced us to understand more about our customer than every before. It is critical to know not only what our customer buys from us but also why they buy it, how they use it, how they make the decision to use it, and most importantly how their customers use the end result of the entire process. Twenty years ago if your customer wanted a car, you sold them a car. If they wanted a diamond engagement ring you sold them a diamond engagement ring. If your customer was looking for equipment leasing, you sold them equipment leasing. If the customer was buying steel bars for jail cells you sold them steel bars. It's important to understand what your customer is really buying from you. A young man walks into a retail jewelry store to buy an engagement ring for his fiancé-to-be. The jeweler's questions revolve around the size of the stone, the mounting, and most of all how much this young man plans to spend. Knowing nothing about diamonds, or even if he knows a lot about diamonds, he leaves the store to begin a process most men abhor, shopping around. The jeweler who really understands what his customer is buying approaches the sale with a completely different presentation. First he asks the customer how he plans to present the ring to her. Most men have absolutely no clue and respond in kind. Recognizing what this young man is really buying, a longing to be really deeply appreciated by her followed by an incomparable romantic evening, not only does the jewelers school him on the great significance of this event in her life, he helps him plan the proposal process. In a sea of other jewelers just waiting to gobble up this guy, this retailer will come out a winner because he truly understands what his customer is really buying. What is your customer really buying from you? Well, it's certainly not the product or service you are selling. That is merely the by-product. We've all been taught need-based selling, ask the customer questions to determine their needs and make a presentation directed at those needs. In the twenty-first century we must go beyond that and determine the customer's wants, their passion, a real reason to buy from and trust you. So, if the customer is seeking a strategic advantage, why is it that the majority of the questions we ask are tactical in nature? "How do you use these widgets now?" . . . "How many widgets will you be using this year?" . . . "What is your budget for widgets this year?" . . . "What do I have to do to win your business?" I particularly dislike that last question because it's a question from the decade of the seventies. It sounds like you're more interested in making a sale than you are in me, my business, and the development of a mutually profitable relationship. By asking strategic questions as a prelude to your presentation the customer now begins to share their vision and the concerns they face on a daily basis. Questions like, "What are the two biggest challenges your company will face in the next six to eighteen months?" Let's analyze that question. "Two biggest challenges" forces them to prioritize their answer. "Six to eighteen months", the short-term and long-term challenges covering all bases. "What is the single biggest change you've seen in your business in the last five year?" This is a great question to get a customer talking about some of the unique changes they have made (or haven't made) to remain competitive in their marketplace. Here's a great question: "If you were in my business, recognizing that you must make a profit, tell me two things you'd do differently". If you were in my business" puts them on your side of the table. "Recognizing that you must make a profit"; without those words the response you get could be highly revenue based. "Tell me two things you'd do differently"; now, in relations to the products or services you provide, the customer tells you what is not happening in their business today. By asking strategic questions during your presentation you get the customer talking about ideas and concepts; you've now entered a zone where few other people who call on this customer will ever have the privilege of visiting. You now have a relationship with that customer which others can only dream about. Carefully examine your presentations and be absolutely sure that they meet the specific needs of your customer. Your customer listens to and participates in many presentation every day, so many that they all begin to sound the same. Make your presentation unique, different, and memorable. To
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