"Some Handy Hints for IT development companies looking to sell their products or services. "
(... 他说，在一个冗长的标题. 哦，看，我是IT销售和市场顾问，你可以打给我 hello@davefrancisconsulting.com )
(我稍后再讲松鼠. 听我说. )
好吧. 现在我们已经通过了冗长的介绍.... 统计, 如果你在英国IT行业从事软件开发工作, 你可能是一家员工少于20人的小公司的一员.
这意味着你不太可能有一个专门的销售团队.
事实上, you're 最有可能的 to be the owner or founder of the company 试一试ing to find time in the evening to sell your products or services. 在给孩子读《澳门十大正规赌博娱乐平台》和努力不错过《十大网博靠谱平台》的间隙.
An inescapable fact is that selling your product or service takes time, and it also takes expertise. 销售, 基本上, 与现实的可怕摩擦, 也占用了你的《澳门十大正规赌博娱乐平台》时间, 它还需要犀牛那样厚的皮肤. (也许这里有太多动物参考.)
The frustration of attempting to sell software may actually put you off even attempting it, 甚至是写一个直接的商业应用软件. You might end up instead writing software for someone who then dedicates the time and effort to sell it to their own customers themselves. “少利润”.
Believe me, neither I or anyone else can hand you the magic recipe for successful sales. 但我可以给你一些方便的提示和建议，告诉你不要做什么. 我们开始吧.
不要联系CTO
如果你是CTO, IT总监，IT经理或IT行业的任何人.... 不 试着通过Linkedin联系其他CTO或IT联系人, 电子邮件或任何其他媒体试图销售软件.
为什么 ? 好吧. 记住你有多忙 ? 他们也是.
当你得意地点击“发送”时, having written a convoluted and technical email to "the bloke who deals with software" in another company, 记住，你只是让他忙碌的生活更加忙碌.
在你点击“发送”之后, he'll click on "delete" or even "block sender" or "mark as spam" when the mail comes through.
就像你处理你收到的所有“销售”邮件一样. 以及“合作请求”和“SEO服务”邮件. 你甚至可能已经设置了邮件过滤器.
他们也是.
让我打个比方. 就像人们被堵在路上一样, 抱怨交通拥挤, 当他们自己也是交通的一部分.
是的，是“软件”。. You may have contacted them because what they do is part of your understanding that "IT departments deal with software". 但.....
那你联系谁呢 ?
谁会购买软件 ?
让我们停止思考“技术”，开始思考“商业”。.
您的软件产品大概有商业用途. Otherwise you may have been slightly mistaken in having written it in the first place.
(实际上，让我回避一下. If you've written something whose use is only going to be understood by someone technical, you have to either explain it in non technical terms or advertise it on a technical or developer forum where it'll get noticed.... 不是通过发送邮件.)
所有的软件都有某种用途. 他戴着那顶“显而易见”的帽子说. Companies will buy it from you as it either solves a problem they have or gives them the opportunity to use it to make 钱.
然而
现在你遇到了意想不到的转折.
Whilst you may have identified who in a company to attempt to flog your software to, surprise ! -“没那么简单”.
Let's suppose that the Marketing Manager is all over the moon about your AI add on which will allow their team to easily identify partner organisations. He is positively salivating over it and would like to send you a payment straight away.
在公司里买东西可不是这样的. The Marketing Manager will have to clear a purchase with the Chief Finance Officer and the Chief Technology officer, 最有可能的. 首席财务官会对适当的电子表格不屑一顾, 联系财务总监, 就季度支出达成一致, then the CTO will have to be involved who will invariably look into the clockwork of your system and see if it can be connected by Zapier to the office kettle / cat / CRM system / whatever.
Then they'll all get around in a meeting - eventually - and find new things to discuss, 比如用户接受度, an appropriate training regimen for new users and probably something about Peppa Pig or Masterchef as well.
同时, 其他优先事项正在浮出水面, 比如办公室厨房的物联网烤面包机.
现在. 这里有一个松鼠的比喻.
像松鼠一样思考
除非你住在核电站附近, you probably didn't open the curtains this morning to see your garden knee deep in dead squirrels.
为什么 ?
因为松鼠在它们所做的事情上非常成功. 当然，他们没有路感. 顺便说一句，我从来没想过"毛毛松鼠俱乐部"的道路安全宣传活动.
除了明显缺乏穿越繁忙道路的专业知识, 松鼠已经把一切都解决了. They use their time and available resources extremely well - they get the easiest food they can, 它们不会把时间浪费在不可能到达的食物来源上, 他们适应, 足智多谋，不能马上吃的东西, 他们埋葬, 记住他们把它埋在哪里了, 在需要的时候回来.
翻译
- 追求容易的胜利
- 不要把时间浪费在不可能实现的目标上
- 尝试不同的方法，创造性地思考
- 把坚果埋起来过冬.
抱歉最后一点，我把自己逼入了死角.
正如我所提到的，销售在现实中是一项可怕的工作. 有热情是件好事. 过于热情是不好的.
“我试了15次都没能打通某人的电话”这样的想法也很糟糕, 我再试一次，16可能是幸运数字, 毕竟, “持久化”. "
你很可能会持续失败. 把那个特别的坚果埋起来，以后再去找容易吃的. 如果你不缺数据，可以试试别人.
“完成90%”是没有意义的. 这是一个二元练习. 你要么100%成功，要么一无所获. 事实是，有些公司或联系人无法获得最后的10%, 或者甚至会陷入“如果 ? “他们会把你推到价格谈判阶段的练习, to see how much potential discount they could get from you - or someone like you - in the future.
这是令人沮丧的. 这是可怕的. 它是沮丧. 现在你知道为什么销售人员拿这么多钱了吧.
现在.....
你如何接近潜在客户 ?
你们中越聪明的人可能就会意识到, 事实上, 读书是为我的才华做广告, 深刻而又诱人的廉价服务. (hello@davefrancisconsulting.com 顺便说一下.) You've probably been lulled into thinking that this is an amusing piece written for your edification.
And I've not even mentioned "leverage your elevator pitch with a Call To Action" yet.
不. 我在把自己卖给你. 你还没有意识到.
第一点-语言. 我在用简单的英语跟你说话. 事实上，这是大多数人彼此交谈的方式. 我曾经在领英上读过一篇十大网博靠谱平台“如何使用C级语言”的搞笑文章. 自封为销售大师的人写的, it worked on the supposition that "C level contacts all spoke a special language" and that you could utilise that fact to "leverage" something or other to your Sales advantage.
我的印象是, 办公室没人的时候, all the bosses took off their human masks to reveal reptilian heads and all made hissing noises. 好吧. 谁知道呢? ? 似乎不太可能.
正常说话. 每一个人, 天知道是什么原因, gets endless identical mails where someone supposes it's clever or "professional" to speak gibberish. One sales consultant where I used to work used such florid and artificial English that he earned himself the nickname, 出谜语的人“. 他太“专业”了，以至于办公室里没有人, 或者可能在外面, 能听懂他在说什么吗.
第二点，简洁. 我们都有忙碌的生活. 保持简短. 不要离题. 最好不要扯到松鼠的话题上.
在你身上强加简洁条件的一个很好的工具是.... Linkedin连接请求. That 300 character limit will ensure that your initial contact is brief and to the point. “我们能给你发送一些信息吗?..... 等等等等.
你是如何找到相关联系人的 ? 阿波罗是一个伟大的工具. Apollo is a contact database - like Zoom Info but far cheaper - which will allow you to find potentially interested contacts for your Sales campaign. 它连接了Linkedin和免费的客户关系管理工具Hubspot. 它不贵，我建议你们去看看.
第三点 不“卖”.
(哦，天哪，他现在成了“大师”了，提到动物已经够糟糕的了...)
现在. 这是一个很难理解的概念. 人们不喜欢被“推销”.注意引号.
当新手销售开始时，奇怪的事情发生了. They assume the personality of a 1950's US vacuum cleaner salesman and 试一试 to be pushy, 完成交易, 掌控谈话并“推销”.
这可能对50年代的吸尘器销售很有帮助. 除了你不是卖吸尘器给无聊的家庭主妇. You're selling expensive software solutions to knowledgeable people with restrictions on what they can buy and when. No one ever spent £40,000 on a software solution and then went back and told the boss.
What you are doing is having a conversation with a potentially interested person about how your software can potentially 为他们可能遇到的问题提供解决方案.
如果他们没有问题或者你没有解决办法, 向前看，去找一个真正有问题的人. 就是这么简单.
事实上，你可能很合适，只是他们没有意识到. 这就引出了最后一点....
“教育傻瓜是没有百分比的。”
引用马克·吐温的话. 可能.
还有一个伟大的销售神话叫做“异议处理”. 客户说:“不是这样的.他们错了. 你用《十大网博靠谱平台》来纠正他们的错误想法. 京、销售.
理论上是这样的.
前提是你处理的是正常的, 理性的, non egotistical human beings who are prepared to alter their point of view when confronted with Salient Facts. 我不知道你最近有没有上网，但这种情况很少发生. 你可以做很多事情来温柔地说服人们，事实上, 你可能是对的，他们可能是"less so", 但超过了某一点, 你得问问自己, "would it be better if I left them to their delusions and moved on to someone perhaps a bit more receptive ?"
再一次，万能松鼠的类比.
结论和联系方式
好吧，一如既往，我希望你觉得这有用——而且有趣. (After 20 years in IT Sales, you tend to develop a sense of humour through sheer necessity.)
In conclusion: it's not easy for small IT businesses to embark on selling their own software. 希望上面的一些建议能给你一个解决方案, 然后更好地了解所涉及的内容.
And here's the plug: if you want professional help and advice on how to set about selling your product or services to the world, 试一试 hello@davefrancisconsulting.com .
