On our annual holiday to France last year, I decided to modernise. Not with my choice of trunks – I couldn’t cope with those mini Speedo briefs on the beach nor could my wife. No this time, I upgraded my Sat Nav mapping to include maps of France so I could rid myself of paper maps for ever.
This decision set me back £25 rather than the cost of a map book, around £8 for a large version. So what made me do it? Its quicker, causes less stress, it’s fun especially when you give the device a French accent. And it worked out cheaper since it showed my how to get to Bretignolles without using those expensive toll roads.
Today’s selling has got a lot to do with my decision to go Sat Nav in France this year rather than buy a map book. You see, I had to justify why I’d spent £25, I’d convinced myself with the ROI – the Return on Investment. Not that I had to convince myself. But that’s where the impact hits for today’s selling world.
Many of your clients, particularly corporate clients, have budgets to spend but they still need permission from someone above them to spend, they have to convince someone above them as to why they need to make the spend. “What’s the ROI” is the question they have to ask. Justifying a purchase is purely a logical step, there’s no emotion in the justification step, the emotion is in the decision to buy.
Sometimes the power above your client is the number cruncher who’ll be looking for a real ROI. Metrics, numbers, profit forecasts turn these people on. How much of their world do you understand?
My message to those who sell. Remember to show your client the ROI because they may have to use this same information to convince someone above them. The modern buyer has the budget but often not the power to make the purchase.
And did the French Sat Nav work? Yes it did, but terribly confusing at roundabouts. The Sat Nav told me to take the 3rd exit or the 2nd exit but no one told me the French navigate roundabouts the wrong way around.
