Manufacturing Magazine February 2016 | Page 17

PROMOTING YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
organisation can deliver across their business . Having the best product is no longer enough .
So what does that mean for how companies sell ? Let ’ s consider the web . Not that long ago if a customer wanted to get up to speed on new product developments , compare products or investigate potential new suppliers , they ’ d invite a few salespeople to come and talk to them . The primary role of the salesperson was an information giver . Now , that customer simply goes online . The days of the salesperson as a talking brochure are gone , every sales organisation has to ask : ‘ Do my salespeople add value , for both us and the customer , every time they meet ?’ If the answer is no it has to change .
With globalisation the keys are transparency and consistency . Global customers expect , and deserve , the same experience whenever and wherever they deal with their suppliers . Of course there will be local , cultural differences but your sales processes , sales language and product positioning have to be consistent . A globally implemented , universally applied common sales language and sales process are essential .
When it comes to dealing with professional procurement , things become a bit tougher as most salespeople are well out of their comfort zone dealing with these people . But it needn ’ t be so . Sales organisations simply need to understand how to communicate their technical advantages in ways the procurement people can relate to . For example , when discussing a product with a production manager a statement such as : “ This has a Mean Time Between Failures that ’ s 10 percent longer ,” will immediately resonate ; to the production manager the benefit of such a capability is obvious . Saying the same thing to a professional buyer , or even worse , “ The MTBF is 10 percent longer ,” is meaningless . The salesperson needs to take an extra step to demonstrate how they can help in terms the buyer understands , for example , “… is 10 percent longer which means you have to shut down for maintenance less often , saving you €….”.
Which brings us on to the final piece of the jigsaw - value . The biggest challenge facing engineering and manufacturing organisations is the
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