Wireless software needs to move beyond the initial group of customers -- moving beyond what Geoffrey Moore calls the "Early Adopters" -- to the much broader "Early Majority" -- the more skeptical group who wants someting more proven and safe.
My company has recently been focused on closing sales to this Early Majority group. This is the crucial phase between when a prospective customer says "Yes, I'm interested and see the value" and when they actually sign the contract and write a check.
My intuition was to not raise issues if the customer doesn't. Why make trouble? If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
We have discovered, however, that invariably what is broke is the concern the customer has not raised directly. In many cases the customer is not even sure what they are worried about. We can't address the concern until they talk about it. When they talk about it, we have a chance to resolve it.
The key to closing is surfacing and addressing the concerns of the prospect. In some cases, the prospect doesn't even know what their concerns are -- they're just not quite ready to sign. Our strategy: raise each and every concern we can think of with the customer. Get them talking. Give us a chance to listen to the issue and address it. Our list of concerns are somewhat tied to the peculiarities of wireless software, but they are easily translated to any other market where technology is being purchased to change a business process.
Here are the concerns we make sure to bring up with the customer:
1. Are they worried about training their people and whether their employees can handle the new technology?
2. Are they worried about how well our system will work with their existing software?
3. Are they worried about having enough time and personnel to get our system deployed?
4. Are they worried about problems related to losing the paper records that our wireless system will eliminate?
5. Are they worried about losing control of their business?
6. Are they worried about losing business or existing customers?
7. New computer systems always bring a certain amount of startup pain -- will that pain be worth the trouble?
8. Can I trust the ROI analysis? Will this really produce the payback I'm expecting?
9. Has the competition been reviewed, perhaps their is something better out there?
10. Are all executives signed off and bought in?
11. Are all the key operational people -- the ones who can torpedo the project if they don't support it -- bought in?
12. Is everything lined up with the wireless carrier?
13. What is their worse fear about the changes that our system will introduce?
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